If you're shopping for someone who doesn't want more things, give them a night instead. An American Ghost Walks gift card is purchased for a specific dollar amount and works like cash on any of our tours, across all 10 destinations, so the person receiving it chooses the experience that's right for them. Public tours run from about $20 per person in Wisconsin to $59 in Hawaii, depending on the destination.
We've guided more than 100,000 guests since 2010. The most common thing first-time guests say afterward isn't that they were scared. It's that they didn't expect to learn so much. That's a hard thing to wrap, and it's why an experience tends to outlast an object.
What Do You Get Someone Who Says They Don't Want Anything?
Something with a date attached. The trouble with the person who has everything isn't that they're hard to please, it's that another object solves nothing for them. A gift card to a guided experience gives them an evening to look forward to instead of something else to find room for.
A ghost tour fits that brief because it's specific. It's not a generic voucher for a category they'll never get around to using. It's a walk through a real place, after dark, with someone who knows the history of every building on the route.
What They're Actually Getting
A guided walk after dark, roughly 90 minutes to two hours, covering about 1 to 1.5 miles and stopping at around 10 documented sites. Groups are capped at 20 guests, which keeps the evening closer to a conversation than a performance.
Every story on the route comes from a documented source: an interview with someone who had the experience, a book, a magazine, or a newspaper account. If a claim can't be sourced, it doesn't get told. Some of the strongest material comes from the guides themselves. In Madison, Lisa leads groups past the Masonic Temple and tells them about a night she spent on the fourth floor with a ghost hunting team, in an attic where chairs have been known to roll across the floor on their own. Four of them were standing together, and all four heard a whisper from a corner where nobody was. She doesn't explain it. She tells you what happened and lets you sit with it.
In St. Paul, Dangerous Linda opens Spirits of Summit Avenue in front of the Griggs Mansion, often cited as the most haunted house in Minnesota. Visitors there have described a tall man in a dark suit standing at the bedroom door, sometimes at the foot of the bed, sometimes close enough to feel.
Those are the nights you're handing someone.
Why a Gift Card Beats Booking the Tour Yourself
Because you don't have to guess at their calendar, or their city. Picking a date for someone else in December usually means picking wrong.
Because the card works like cash on any tour, the recipient chooses the destination, the route, and the night. If they're heading to Old San Juan in February or Hollywood in April, it travels with them.
The Winter Timing Question, Answered Honestly
Not every destination runs in January. Maine, Minnesota, and Lake Geneva wind down at the end of the season and pick back up as the weather turns, so a gift card is often the better call than a booking for those markets.
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, New Orleans, and Los Angeles operate year round with no seasonal closures. A gift card given in December can be used in February on a trip to San Juan, or held until spring for a Lake Geneva weekend.
For the Person Who Already Has a Trip Booked
If someone in your life is traveling to San Juan, St. Thomas, Hawaii, New Orleans, or Los Angeles this winter, a guided evening walk is an easy thing to add to an itinerary that's already built.
In Old San Juan, Leopoldo Rosso has guided the nightly 7:30 PM walk since 2019, bringing 30 years in the tourism industry and 135 countries visited to a route through streets that hold roughly 500 years of documented history. In Charlotte Amalie, the tour begins at the top of a 17th century Danish watchtower, in a city that spent centuries as a free trade port with a dark past.
Who This Gift Is Right For
Anyone who would rather do something than own something. It works for partners, parents, adult siblings, and friends, and it works for the skeptic in the family too. Most guests come for the history rather than the paranormal, and skeptics are frequently among the most engaged people on the route.
It also solves the group gift problem. Rather than five people buying five small things, five people can put a private group tour together for a birthday, an anniversary, or a family visit where nobody can agree on a plan. Private group tours are available across most of our destinations.
And there's no rule that says the gift has to be for someone else.
Give Them THE Night, Not Just One Thing
Nothing says "I love you" like a good scare. Skip the guessing game and buy a gift card at americanghostwalks.com. Pick the amount, and let them choose the experience that's right for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do American Ghost Walks gift cards work?
You purchase a gift card for a specific dollar amount, and it works like cash on any of our tours across all 10+ destinations. The recipient chooses the city, the route, and the date. Gift cards are available at americanghostwalks.com/gift-certificates.
How much should I put on a gift card?
Public tours run from about $20 per person in Wisconsin to $59 in Hawaii, so a single ticket sits in that range and a pair lands roughly between $40 and $120. Because the card works like cash, you can also put on a partial amount toward a bigger outing. Current pricing for each route is listed on its tour page.
Is a ghost tour a good gift for someone who doesn't believe in ghosts?
Often, yes. The tours are built on documented history rather than jump scares, and skeptics are frequently among the most engaged guests on the route. Nobody needs to believe anything to enjoy the storytelling.
Can I use a gift card toward a private group tour?
Private group tours are available across most of our destinations and suit birthdays, anniversaries, and family gatherings. Since gift cards work like cash on our tours, contact us with the city, date, and headcount and we'll confirm what's available.
Is a ghost tour a good fit for older parents or grandparents?
Often, with one thing to check first. Routes cover roughly 1 to 1.5 miles on foot over 90 minutes to two hours, so comfortable walking matters more than anything else. The content is historical rather than graphic, and bus tour formats in Chicago and Minneapolis are worth asking about when walking is a concern.