4 Best Haunted Walking Tours to discover Dublin
The streets of Dublin are exploding with history. While a lot of this history is known both to locals and visitors, there is a haunted and ghostly past linked to Dublin’s streets that not many know about. If you are looking for a fun and spooky activity to do, why not gather friends or family and try out one of these haunted walking tours around the streets of Dublin. Below is a list of the best haunted walking tours Dublin has to offer.
Dublin Ghost Hunt: City Exploration Game
Unlike the other walking tours on this list, the Dublin Ghost Hunt offers groups a different kind of ghost tour. Instead of exploring with the help of a guide, groups can explore by themselves! Leaving behind the usual group tours, Dublin Ghost Hunt offers a unique experience whereby the haunted quest through the streets of Dublin is led from the convenience of your smartphone. Just make sure to download the Questo App on your phone before playing. And don’t worry! For this tour, no internet connection is required, so it can be played offline.
Because this tour is mostly self-guided, players can start at any hour, and can take breaks at any time. On top of that, if players would like to investigate certain locations a bit more, they can do so with no rush or pressure to move on to the next location.
On the app, players will solve clues that lead them from location to location while listening to the stories of ghosts, horrors and secrets that fill the streets of Dublin.
Beginning outside the National Museum of Ireland, the Archeology branch, players will find amazing treasures of gold, Viking exhibits, and the terrifying history of the Bog Men. If you haven’t heard of the Bog Men, Questo gives you one piece of advice: stay away from the swamplands! As you explore, make sure to check out the surroundings to find clues in order to answer the questions and find where to go next.
Moving on to the bronze Theobald Wolfe Tone Statue, players will learn about the founding father of Irish republicanism and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. Walking by St. Ann’s Church, the place where many famous people were baptized or got married, such as Oscar Wilde or Bram Stoker, two important Irish writers, players can immerse themselves into the quest to uncover the dark stories St Ann’s Church will disclose.
Continuing on to the 3Olympia Theatre, players can unlock the venue’s mysteries before advancing to the next location: City Hall. Located on Parliament Street, City Hall vaults the history of the city in the form of a multimedia exhibition. Make sure to look around to find the clues to be able to move on to the next location. To end the tour, players will reach the River Liffey that runs through the heart of Dublin. Find the last piece of the puzzle here to become a Dubliner and a real Questo explorer.
Cost: €7.99 and free for kids! (free cancelation is available up to 24 hours in advance)
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Meeting Point: National Museum of Ireland- Archeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Hours: Available to play every day, 24/7
Extra: Follow the directions on the Questo mobile app
Hidden Dublin: Northside Ghost Walk Tour
If you’re a fan of the supernatural and are looking for a guided ghost tour through the streets of Dublin’s Northside, one of Dublin’s most haunted districts, look no further. Throughout the tour, curious travelers will walk through a former Viking enclave, known for its various ghost sightings, and visit a number of locations known for their paranormal activity. And with each tour taking a maximum of 55 travelers, this is a tour that you can rest assured will not be too crowded!
After meeting outside of The Church, a bar on Jervis Street, guests will be introduced to Dublin’s haunted history before walking to the first location of the tour: St. Michan’s Church. Under this church, there are a number of vaults containing the mummified remains of a number of Dublin’s most influential 17th, 18th and 19th century families. Here, guests will pass the long-abandoned site that was used as a football pitch in the 20th century, however, prior to this, it was the final resting place of hundreds of rebels that were executed after the 1798 rebellion, so who knows what spooky ghost sightings walkers could catch.
Moving along, this tour will take guests through one of the oldest parts of the city, an area that was once known as Oxmantown. This area was originally founded in the 12th century by Vikings, or ‘Ostmen’, who migrated out of Dublin after the arrival of the English. In this area, St. Mary’s Abbey, one of the most powerful monastic settlements dating back to medieval times, can be seen. While it once stood proudly, today all that remains is a small ruin down an alleyway that remains oblivious to the thousands that pass by it every day.
The last stop on this ghost walk tour is The Brazen Head, Ireland’s oldest pub that was established in 1198, where guests will hear stories about Lord Norbury, a sadistic ‘Hanging Judge’ who was hated in life and now returns to continue his reign of terror, Scaldbrother, an infamous medieval thief, and Billy the Bowl, the 18th century murderer born without legs that terrorized Stoneybatter and Grangegorman. For those brave enough, a trip to the site of two of the most haunted houses in Dublin, nos. 7 and 8 Hendrick Street, is on offer. While these houses were demolished in the 1960s, the terrifying ghosts that haunted them still linger, ready to spook any passers-by.
With fun and enthusiastic storytellers and guides, this Ghost Walk tour of Dublin’s northside is an enjoyable way to spend the evening exploring the streets of Dublin.
Cost: €19.00
Length: 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours (approx.)
Meeting Point: Outside The Church bar on Mary Street, North city, Dublin 1, D01 YX64
Star time: 8.00pm
Operated by: Hidden Dublin Tours
Extra: The minimum age to attend is 10 years, and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Dark Dublin Guided Walking Tour
On this tour, guests will hear Dublin’s horrifying stories of murder, torture, cannibalism, grave robbings, brothels, proposals to eat young children, unearthly worships, to name a few! Beginning at Dublin Castle, guests will spend some time in the Lower Courtyard of the castle hearing about some tortures of the past and about priest hunters. From there, the tour will continue to the streets where the tour guide will retell stories of cannibalism and proposals to eat babies.
The next location, the 40 Steps, will take travelers to ‘Hell’. This was a medieval shortcut around St Audeon’s Church that was so named because it only took medieval citizens 40 steps to reach a pocket of brothels, taverns and laneways people referred to as ‘Hell’.
Next, the tour will take curious travelers to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral where they will uncover the history of Jonathan Swift, most famously known as the author of Gulliver’s Travels before taking a stroll to Christ Church Cathedral to uncover stories about the hidden history behind the extraordinary church.
Continuing on, the tour will bring walkers to St Audoen’s Church where the tour guide will uncover the history of grave robbings and attacks from The Black Pig, a medieval pig that started by attacking the guards of the jail before quickly moving on to the streets of Dublin where it began attacking any woman that walked the streets after dark. The penultimate stop on this tour will be St Michan’s Church where guests will hear the brutal history of Billy in the Bowl.
To end the guided walking tour, travelers will be led to Smithfield Square where they will hear an incredible story of a local murderer.
With enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guides, why not book this haunted walking tour and learn more about Dublin’s creepy and haunted past!
Cost: €16.00
Length: 2 hours (approx.)
Meeting Point: Barnardo Square, Dublin 8 (the small square next to Dublin City Hall on Dame Street, Dublin 2)
Star time: 5.30pm
Extra: While this tour does not include tickets to enter the various locations, tickets for these attractions can be purchased independently if guests wish to do so.
Dublin: Mythology and Folklore Walking Tour
If you’ve ever been curious about the history of Ireland’s myths, legends, stories and characters, this is the perfect walking tour for you! Listen to the stories of the characters that shaped Ireland, such as the banshee and púca, told by expert tour guides as you explore the streets of Dublin. As a tour that has a maximum of 25 guests, rest assured that this will be an intimate and calm tour where you can ask your tour guide any questions about Dublin’s mythology that pop into your head.
Beginning at Temple Bar, this tour will give walkers an insight into the art of Irish storytelling and the mythology and folklore that surrounds Dublin. From Temple Bar, the tour will move to Grattan Bridge, stopping by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Custom House Quay where sites north and south of the waterway will be discovered, accompanied by the stories told by the tour guide.
After stopping on the famous Grattan Bridge, the tour continues to St Michan’s Church where the tour guide will tell stories about the role the church played in shaping the city’s secret tales. Not only that, but listeners will learn about some of the bodies in the crypt before exploring the grounds of the old Newgate Prison and Green Street Courthouse that played an important role in the country’s history.
The next stop on the tour is the GPO Museum on O’Connell Street where listeners will learn about the pivotal role that Irish mythology played in the shaping of the country’s history.
The final stop of the tour is the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square where onlookers can view Oisin Kelly’s famous ‘Children of Lir’ statue. The famous Irish legend tells readers and listeners that love and bravery can give anyone the motivation to keep trying, no matter how hard things might get.
If you’re interested in learning about Ireland’s history and past, but don’t fancy listening to the gruesome details included in some of the other tours on this list, this folklore and mythology tour may be the perfect option to learn about Ireland, its history, and what contributed to make it the country it is today.
Cost: €22.00
Length: 2 hours (approx.)
Meeting Point: 3 Crown Alley, Temple Bar, Dublin, D02 CX67, outside The Old Storehouse pub
Star time: 5.00pm
Provided by: Original Dublin
Extra: There is a maximum of 25 people per group, so make sure to book your tickets early to assure your spot!
So, if you’re looking for a fun way to explore the streets of Dublin and its haunted and mythical past, put on your walking shoes and check out these fun and exciting walking tours around one of the most haunted cities!
