The Everdark Express at GhoSt Augustine

I recently took my 11-year-old daughter on her first ghost tour in the super haunted city of St. Augustine, Florida. After reading as many St. Augustine ghost tour reviews as I could find, we settled on the GhoSt Augustine tour company and we were delighted by the experience.

Let me preface by saying this is not your ordinary ghost tour. It’s also not a paranormal investigation, but rather a hybrid of the two. This is also not the tour you go on if you’re looking for a history lesson about St. Augustine’s most famous landmarks. However, if you want to do something spooky, see parts of St. Augustine you might not know about, and get shuttled to each location in a comfortable van, this tour is your cup of tea.

GhoSt Augustine information:

• Website: ghostaugustine.com
• Tours offered: walking tours, shuttled tours, haunted pub crawls, and paranormal investigations
• Price: $15–$79 depending on the experience. Private tours also available

Everdark Express Stop No. 1

Our tour began promptly at 8:45pm. So yes, nighttime. The guide began by taking us to a “lost” African American cemetery, which is actually two cemeteries that have merged into one: The Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries.

Upon arrival, our guide gave each of us a K2 meter to use. One by one, we wandered through the broken headstones and overgrown grass. The location itself did not frighten me—I spend quite a lot of evenings in haunted cemeteries. I did, however, love hearing about the history of the cemetery and how some of the tombstones were made using the barest of materials.

The history you usually don’t hear about

So yes, while I began this St. Augustine ghost tour review by saying this is not a tour for history, well, it kind of is actually. Some headstone makers had poured cement into a mold to create the marker. Other graves bore broken tar letters on their surfaces. Often, an inexpensive grave would bear an upgrade—a marble inlay that a loving relative had added years after burial. To me, this is fascinating. And our guide seemed to think so, too. He led us from one grave to the next, pointing out his favorites and telling us how people made each tombstone with whatever they had on hand.

At one point, my SLS app picked up a figure in the distance, and some other people on the tour reported flashing meters, but in general the cemetery seemed at peace. I felt a warmth and comfort that I don’t sense in other haunted cemeteries. If it weren’t for all the mosquitoes (don’t be like me—wear repellent!) it would actually be a nice place to picnic.

Everdark Express Stop No. 2

Next, our guide took us to a haunted house. You’d think this would be some creepy old Victorian home or something similar. But no, this house looked like someone built it in the 1940s. Very plain, and very Florida.

Despite its appearance, this house holds plenty of ghosts according to our guide. Once inside, we divided ourselves us into smaller groups between the home’s three most haunted rooms.

I chose to be in the front room. Not because of the ghosts there, but because it looked like a place where you’d hold a séance (and you know how much I love séances)!

In total darkness, we sat and spoke to the spirits in the room. My daughter was such a trooper! She asked some pretty cool questions and the meters lit up from time to time. Our room, otherwise, remained rather uneventful. But, a woman in another room reported afterward that something had touched her hair. Was I jealous? Of course.

Final stop in this St. Augustine ghost tour review

Lastly, we went to the park next to the St. Augustine lighthouse.

If you’re not familiar with the St. Augustine Lighthouse, check out the article we wrote on this place after interviewing Dr. Kristy Sumner, a paranormal investigator who has spent time in this very haunted location.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse runs its own nightly paranormal investigation, so we couldn’t go inside. But that’s okay—there’s plenty of activity surrounding the grounds at night.

Our guide took us to a public playground next to the lighthouse. Here, the ghosts of three children who perished during the lighthouse’s construction like to play. While there, my daughter placed her K2 meter on the swing and began asking questions. I watched her with pride. Then, I felt a small, invisible hand wrap itself around my wrist and play with the beads on my bracelets. The sensation wasn’t scary; in fact, it was somewhat comforting. No breeze stirred the air, and a glance at my hand ensured no bugs caused the sensation. I smiled, thinking of the small child that likely was fiddling with my jewelry.

Final thoughts

All told, this was a great tour! Yes, it was a little different. It wasn’t quite an investigation, but we did get to interact with the ghosts and use ghost hunting equipment (you can also bring your own if you want). It wasn’t presented as a history tour, but we learned much history of an off-the-beaten-path nature. If you want a spooky St. Augustine experience that’s different from the rest, but you’re not ready to plunge into a 2-hour single location investigation, this is the goldilocks tour for you.

Listen to our interview with Florida paranormal investigator Kristy Sumner: