Dark Side of Charleston Guided Night-Time Walking Tour
4.5
Dark Side of Charleston Guided Night-Time Walking Tour
By Bulldog Tours
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About
This is not a 'ghost tour.' Discover the seedy history of Charleston during an evening walking tour of the most notorious locations in the Holy City. Your guide shares lively adults-only commentary about criminals, brothels, scandals, and other debauchery hidden beneath Charleston’s polished surface. Expect to stop regularly on this walking tour, which is suitable for people with a moderate level of fitness.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 18-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 1h 30m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
Highlights
- Uncensored tour content for mature audiences only
- Hear live commentary from the guide
- Learn about Charleston's secret underbelly
- Walking tour proceeds at a leisurely pace
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Professional guide
- UNCENSORED adults only Walking Tour
- Entry/Admission - Bulldog Tours
What's not included- Gratuities
- Transportation
- Start:
- 18 Anson St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
End:- Market Street, Market St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
- Wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 23272P4- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- THIS IS NOT A GHOST TOUR
- Minimum age is 18 years, this is an uncensored tour. Profanity may be used
- Most travelers can participate
- Please arrive 15 minutes prior to tour departure time
- Operates in all weather conditions, dress appropriately
- The pace of our walking tour is leisurely
- Requires minimum of 4 participants to run
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 23272P4
From
$40.00
per adult
Select date and travelers
Similar experiences
Itinerary
- 18 Anson St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Market St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- pauladechert0 contributionsVery creepyWe enjoyed the old jail ghost tour. It was the right amount of creepy for us, without making us want to run out the door. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. Would recommend this as something interesting and unique to do in Charleston!Written March 14, 2025
- haggertyj11070 contributionsGreat ghost tour!I love the history of the Old Jail and it's prisoners. Our guide, while somewhat over the top about the creepy happenings in the jail, was very informative. This was my 2nd tour and I plan to take my 9 year old grandson this summer!Written March 13, 2025
- Maryann M0 contributionsToo long; group to largeThe guide was good, but with such a large group (19) you could not hear everything he had to say. At the Heyward- Washington house the guide said our group was too large for the house - it was the largest group she had ever had, but tried to accommodate us. At 2.5 hours of mainly walking and standing with no bathroom break, the tour proved too long and 2 of our group had to drop out early. Very sad to miss the last and best house! We recommend capping the group at 15 at most.Written March 12, 2025
- jaharriscma0 contributionsGhost TourDevlin was such a great tour guide. The way he told the stories was very interesting. Can't wait to do another tour.Written March 11, 2025
- jheldtv60 contributionsWalking tour of CharlestonExcellent tour! Good balance of history, architecture and local info. Guide was knowlegeable, friendly, and had a great sense of humor.Written March 11, 2025
- lwilson44790 contributionsAwesome Tour!!!!Sarah was an amazing story-teller and told all the creepy stories we wanted to hear about the Old City Jail. She did a great job of telling the history as well as her own experiences.Written March 11, 2025
- cdY8997QW0 contributionsGreat TourAmazing tour. We had David, who was super informative, with a fantastic presentation and personality. Charleston's historical district is beautiful, but it literally comes alive with this tour.....highly recommended.Written March 9, 2025
- jamesfehlig0 contributionsBest Tour Ever!We took The Charleston Stroll and it was awesome. I haven't done many history tours in my lifetime but that's going to change. Thank you Bulldog Tours for such an incredible experience. David our history guide was amazing. I look forward to coming back and trying a haunted tour or food tour. Highly recommended.Written March 8, 2025
- nolan1950 contributionsChilling and rich with historyThis was a fantastic tour. Our guide, Randy I believe his name was, was a great storyteller who kept the chilling tales coming all through the various rooms. Rich with history, this tour is more than just scary stories, but you get plenty of that, too! As a ghost tour guide in another city, it’s always fun to take tours wherever I go and this one was a winner. Put this tour on your Charleston itinerary for sure!Written March 7, 2025
- AMC358110 contributionsSpooky HistoryWe had a fantastic experience at the Old City Jail with Sarah! She did a great job sharing both the rich history and the spooky stories of the jail. We left feeling intrigued and wanting to learn even more about its past. Highly recommend this tour — and we’ll definitely take it again the next time we visit Charleston!Written March 7, 2025
- 283katieb0 contributionsJailhouse ghost tourSarah was a fabulous tour guide! She was very knowledgeable and made the tour interesting and spooky!! We had an amazing time on this tour!Written March 5, 2025
- Lori W0 contributionsTwo Fantastic Tours!!!I was fortunate to attend 2 Bulldog tours yesterday - my first time with Bulldog. The 2 hour History Tour with Clara was informative and she was excellent! The 1.5 hour Ghost Tour with Jerry was amazing. I took about 30 pictures as we walked thru the Circular Grave Yard. I looked at them on the drive home...I guess our group was NOT there alone after all! PS This is my 3rd ghost tour in Charleston (4th tour was in Key West) and I have never seen any figures on my pictures like this. This is a first!Written March 5, 2025
- 301diane0 contributionsCharleston history tourWe did the two hour tour with a wonderful guide. The guy was very knowledgeable and also very caring about the entire group of people that were with us. It is a great experience for visitors as well as for those of us who live locally. Lots to know about the past in Charleston!Written March 5, 2025
- omeislin0 contributionsGreat look through the historic windows of Charleston.Lovely walk downtown along historic streets and properties. History in the flesh. Our tour guide Lisa was informative, easy to follow and entertaining.Written March 5, 2025
- amyroger10 contributionsWonderful tourThe history of Charleston is amazing but hearing it with a guide and seeing the sites really make it special. We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend Bulldog Tours. Nice relaxing day!!!! Plus the owner is a Citadel grad!!!!Written March 5, 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
123 reviews
Excellent
85
Very good
17
Average
8
Poor
8
Terrible
5
Amy A
Birmingham, United States5 contributions
Sep 2024 • Couples
This was definitely the best Charleston tour I've ever done (way better than a ghost tour). We had an awesome guide and a small group, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
The only reason I deducted a star is because we initially booked our preferred day and time, and the company ended up cancelling because we were the only ones who booked. That feels pretty unprofessional, especially because their tours aren't cheap, and that's really not okay when you're catering primarily to tourists. Being local, we were able to reschedule, but it did mean we had to take this tour on a work night. Not ideal for a lot of people!
The only reason I deducted a star is because we initially booked our preferred day and time, and the company ended up cancelling because we were the only ones who booked. That feels pretty unprofessional, especially because their tours aren't cheap, and that's really not okay when you're catering primarily to tourists. Being local, we were able to reschedule, but it did mean we had to take this tour on a work night. Not ideal for a lot of people!
Written October 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We appreciate your kind words and are so glad to hear you enjoyed your Dark Side tour!
We do our best to always try to make sure our tours operate. But as a business, we do require at least 4 participants for our tours to run. We are very flexible with guests in the unfortunate instance that a tour is unable to run, alerting them as soon as possible. Whether that is a reschedule, gift card, or refund we aim to do whatever is most convenient for our guests.
Written October 7, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
SweetTooth777
Jacksonville Beach, FL93 contributions
We did the Dark Side of Charleston walking tour, and Randy was the absolute best. He was engaging, animated, and had a lot of anecdotes from his own experiences having grown up in Charleston. Really a great time. Tour was 1.5-2 hours and about no more than a mile walking. Highly recommend to anyone looking to hear some fun stories.
Written May 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so glad to hear you had a great time with Randy. We appreciate your 5-star review!
Written May 28, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Regina L
Los Angeles, CA162 contributions
Dec 2021
I was in Charleston for 2 days right before New Year's, and I enjoyed 2 tours by Bulldog Tours - The Spirits of Magnolia Cemetery Tour with Abby and Dark Side of Charleston with John/Jack (?). Since 2019, I've taken walking tours in Washington, DC; Seattle; San Diego; Asheville; and Charleston. Based on those experiences, I certainly recommend Bulldog Tours, but my favorite walking tours have been with Free Tours by Foot, whose tours take a very deep dive into history and culture. I know their tours are deeply researched by historians. I would characterize the Free Tours by Foot tours as more academic and incredibly well-researched by their historians/tour developers, while the Bulldog Tours might be a little more sensationalist and not as deep of a dive. Some people will prefer a more academic tour; others will prefer a less academic tour. I would book additional Bulldog Tours if I'm in Charleston again. To their credit, they were willing to take a tour group out despite a rainy night, whereas, Old Charleston Tours and Free Tours by Foot cancelled their tours due to bad weather. Additionally, Old Charleston Tours recommended Bulldog Tours when they cancelled on me. At $37 ($35 with a AAA discount or repeat buyer discount), Bulldog Tours' price is higher than other tour operators but they offer a much wider variety of tours, and from my experience, they won't cancel due to bad weather. Bulldog Tours also offers friendly customer service/advice over the phone, while some tours do not offer phone support.
Written February 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoPlaces20327168012
8 contributions
Apr 2024 • Couples
This had the potential to be really interesting based on other reviews and the description. While Braxton had some really great stories to tell he seemed to be trying too hard - my husband and are not strangers to "mature" topics or language, but Braxton seemed to just really go for the shock value of saying certain things which was really just a distraction because the stories are interesting and shocking on their own! Unfortunately, all of his stories were only focused on brothels and no other types of "darkness" like prohibition, etc. The concept is awesome - just needs a little work!
Written April 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wmwatt2025
Arlington, VA3 contributions
May 2023
Our group of three thirty-somethings took the "Dark Side of Charleston" tour with Bruce on a Monday night. The group was small which meant plenty of interaction with the guide and extra content. The tour itself was indeed R-rated as advertised, but was very educational. As someone who has recently moved to Charleston after visiting all my life, it was still mostly new information! Bruce as a guide was knowledgeable, funny, and entertaining. No matter the quality of a tour, your guide is really what makes or breaks the experience, and Bruce made this one for us!
Written May 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sounds like you had a spooky time! Thank you so much for joining us for a night of spooky, Charleston history!
Written May 9, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Nate S
2 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
Unfortunately I do not remember our tour guides name (no name tag) but he was incredible. Very funny and a great personality for the tour. He was very knowledgeable and did of good job of making the tour feel personable. It was a ton of fun.
Written July 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed learning about the darker side of Charleston's history!
Written July 14, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MikeM
Chicago, IL109 contributions
Mar 2022
If you've done all of the ghost tours, and you don't want to go out drinking, may I suggest The Dark Side of Charleston Tour? Very fun and informative, it discusses the seedier side of history, and what our ancestors were up to when they weren't posing for oil paintings. :-) The tour includes discussions of brothels, drinking, piracy, and other fun topics. Our tour guide, Jack, was excellent, and like all true pros was able to adjust his tone and tenor for his audience. He was really great at answering questions and his knowledge of and love for his city shown through. A fun and interesting tour!
Written March 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen W
1 contribution
Oct 2022 • Couples
We literally just had the BEST time with Chris on our “Dark Side” tour. He was so informative and knowledgeable. As frequent travelers we take several tours in every city we visit and this was absolutely one of the best tours we’ve been on. I don’t think we stopped smiling and laughing. The only downfall was a very unhappy tour group member. She was rude and disrespectful. She would talk back to Chris and was just awful. Chris remained so professional the entire time. Something I could not have done. Thank you again Chris for making our night and we can’t wait for out next tour!
Honorable mention was joy with the “Magnolia Cemetery” tour. We lovedddd her!
Honorable mention was joy with the “Magnolia Cemetery” tour. We lovedddd her!
Written October 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David J
Durham, NC1 contribution
Jul 2023
"You know this is not a ghost tour right" - this is the caveat you're hit with twice before you begin. YES! That's why we picked it, and so glad we did.
Dave was a wonderful guide with an obvious enjoyment of the truth, by being careful in his delivery and specificity when sharing stories. He was always quick to give the source of a claim or explain the . It seems clear he personally could get caught up spending his free time investigating documents, writings, pictures, and artifacts attempting to piece together the clearest, most verifiable view of the past.
This doesn't mean it was a dull recounting of facts, Dave happily filled our time with narrative and by giving the best assumptions based. I encourage Bulldog Tours to drop the "You know this is not a ghost tour" caveat - though I'm sure it came from complaints of folks choosing not to read before buying.
Dave was a treat and really appreciated his breadth of knowledge, and how gave an honest, non-hyperbolic, look at the history of Charleston.
Dave was a wonderful guide with an obvious enjoyment of the truth, by being careful in his delivery and specificity when sharing stories. He was always quick to give the source of a claim or explain the . It seems clear he personally could get caught up spending his free time investigating documents, writings, pictures, and artifacts attempting to piece together the clearest, most verifiable view of the past.
This doesn't mean it was a dull recounting of facts, Dave happily filled our time with narrative and by giving the best assumptions based. I encourage Bulldog Tours to drop the "You know this is not a ghost tour" caveat - though I'm sure it came from complaints of folks choosing not to read before buying.
Dave was a treat and really appreciated his breadth of knowledge, and how gave an honest, non-hyperbolic, look at the history of Charleston.
Written July 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you so much for your kind words, David! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our Dark Side of Charleston tour with Dave. We appreciate your recognition of Dave's extensive knowledge and his ability to provide an honest and engaging tour experience. We'll definitely take your feedback into consideration regarding the "not a ghost tour" caveat. We hope to see you again on another Bulldog Tours adventure!
Written July 17, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MJ Fryer
Hingham, MA5 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
This is a fabulous tour. Getting to see the 'darker side' of Charleston with a great storyteller in Jack Kelly. He kept our group entertained and we learned so much that we are curious about exploring these stories even more!
Highly recommended since it's fascinating and lasts 90 minutes which is just perfect.
Not the usual and that's what made it so wonderful!
Highly recommended since it's fascinating and lasts 90 minutes which is just perfect.
Not the usual and that's what made it so wonderful!
Written March 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed the Dark Side of Charleston! Thank you for your 5-star review.
Written March 27, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I am intrigued by the idea of a dark side tour. By the reviews, apparently the guides also use profanity as well. I don't understand why you need profanity to tell a sordid history story. I will pass on this tour as profanity usually means the user doesn't have the talent to tell an interesting story without it.
Written February 19, 2022
what tour will include the Old Jail.....everything online is very vague and cannot get a straight answer
Written November 14, 2021
A guest in our party uses a mobile scooter. Are these allowed?
Written September 21, 2018
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.