Best Murder Mystery Nights & Haunted Ghost Tours In Austin

Jump to: Classic Haunted Walking Tours | Murder Mystery Dinner Shows | Pub Crawls & Unique Ghost Rides

Austin’s old hotels, historic theaters, and downtown bars have stories that go well beyond live music and late-night drinks.

Take a ghost tour along 6th Street, hear the strange reports surrounding the Driskill Hotel, or spend an evening trying to solve a murder mystery over dinner.

Some tours take you through the city’s unsolved crimes and haunted landmarks, while others let you investigate reported paranormal activity or stop for drinks at bars with stories of their own.

If you’re planning a Halloween outing, these Austin ghost tours and spooky experiences offer a different way to explore the city’s past after dark.

Editor’s Note: We work hard to provide you with accurate, updated information. However, all details are subject to change. Please verify information before heading out.

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Also check out these articles: Pumpkin Patches – Austin, Best Adult Halloween Parties in Austin, Corn Mazes in Austin, and Haunted Places in Austin!

Classic Austin Ghost Tours & Haunted Walking Walks

The Original Austin Ghost Tours

The Handlebar on 6th Street was once a funeral parlor, where Austin reportedly held its first cremation in the early 1900s. Because cremation was illegal at the time, authorities debated whether to allow it. And according to local ghost stories, the spirit of the first person cremated in Austin still haunts the building.

Then there’s Buffalo Billiards, where longtime paranormal investigator Monica Ballard reported that a resident spirit known as Fred physically pulled out a chair for her during a FOX News interview filmed inside the building.

These are the kinds of stories you’ll hear on one of the best Austin ghost tours still locally owned and operated in the city.

The 90-minute walk takes you through Austin’s Historic District, with plenty more strange encounters along the way.

Stops include the Moonshine Bar & Grill, where staff have reported feeling something tap their shoulders when nobody is nearby, and the Driskill Hotel, where you’ll hear the story of Colonel Driskill and a woman said to have died by suicide after being abandoned at the altar.

You won’t spend the entire evening standing around listening, either. Your guide provides EMF detectors, dowsing rods, and tarot cards for you to use at the stops, giving you a chance to try paranormal investigation techniques yourself.

When: Thursdays – Sundays, 8:30 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $28 for adults | $12 for kids 6 – 11

The Ghosts of Austin Tour (Ghost City Tours)

Image credit: Ghost City Tours

Stand outside the Texas State Capitol after dark and imagine what might still be lingering inside.

Ghost City Tours begins this 90-minute walk at the Capitol gates, where you’ll hear about Comptroller Robert Marshall Love, who was shot at his desk in the building, along with reports of phantom legislators appearing in the chambers after hours.

Then, at the Driskill Hotel, listen for stories of three reported spirits: Colonel Jesse Driskill, whose cigar smoke is said to drift through nonsmoking hallways; a full-bodied apparition spotted by guests and staff; and a ghost child seen on the upper floors.

You’ll then head to the Paramount Theatre, where reports of period-dressed apparitions and music coming from an empty stage date back to 1915.

The route also includes the Royal Sonesta Hotel, built on the site of a Civil War hospital, and the Texas Governor’s Mansion, where stories of spirits tied to the state’s political past continue to circulate.

Ghost City Tours has operated in Austin since 2012 and documents 15 haunted locations on its website, so you can read up on the stories before joining the walk.

When: Runs nightly, 8 pm (times may vary)
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $29.99 for adults | $14.99 for kids 6 – 11 | Free for kids 0 – 5

Ghost Walk Austin (TourATX)

The story of the Kreisle Building gets a lot more unsettling when you’re standing inside it instead of hearing about it from the sidewalk.

Now home to Speakeasy Tavern, the building was the site of a 1916 fire that killed firefighter Jimmy Glass and two women who died in the elevator he was trying to reach. Walking Tours of Austin has exclusive access to the building’s back rooms, elevator shaft, and other areas that aren’t open to the general public.

You’ll also hear about Misty’s story. She was a bartender who reportedly arrived early one morning to find herself locked inside a maintenance room, with the lock turned from the hallway despite nobody else being in the building.

The head of security later found a message inside, adding another unsettling detail to a story that remains unexplained.

The walk continues into the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, where you’ll hear more accounts of strange activity, before heading to the Paramount Theatre. There, your guide can show you the spot on the second-floor ironwork where the so-called ghost “Emily photograph” was taken.

The image shows a woman in a blue dress, but her identity and the circumstances behind the photograph remain unknown.

The tour covers 1.5 miles in 90 minutes and runs Monday through Saturday.

When: Runs Monday- Saturday, 7 pm and 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $25 for adults | $12 for kids 10 and under

Murder Walk Austin (TourATX)

Austin’s Servant Girl Annihilator case remains one of the city’s darkest unsolved mysteries. In 1885, eight women were murdered in a series of attacks that targeted domestic workers, with the killer striking in homes and alleyways using an axe.

Newspapers called the unidentified attacker the Servant Girl Annihilator and the Midnight Assassin. Some historians have even argued that the case predates Jack the Ripper’s murders by three years.

On Murder Walk Austin, you’ll follow the evidence, examine the suspects, and hear the theories surrounding a killer whose identity has never been officially established.

You’ll be taken through West 6th Street, Guy Town (Austin’s former red-light district), and the Warehouse District. Along the way, your guide will point out locations connected to the documented murders and explain how the evidence fits together.

You’ll also stop at the Driskill Hotel for a drink midway through the walk. Built in 1885, the same year the killings began, the hotel has a connection to the era that your guide will explore.

When: Runs Monday- Saturday, 7:30 pm and 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $41 for adults | 13+

Austin Ghosts by US Ghost Adventures — “Hauntings, Apparitions & Ashes”

Image credit: US Ghost Adventures

The Walter Tips Building has survived more than a century of Austin’s changing skyline, including a close call with demolition in 1975.

Built in 1876 as the home of hardware merchant and state senator Walter Tips, the building was physically moved to South Congress Avenue to save it. But according to reports from people who have spent time inside, the strange activity associated with the property seems to have followed it to its new location.

Ghostly figures have reportedly appeared there for decades, and Tips himself disappeared under circumstances that remain unresolved.

The Walter Tips Building is one of eight reportedly haunted sites on this US Ghost Adventures tour, which covers about a mile of downtown Austin in an hour.

You’ll also pass the foundation site of Texas’ first two State Capitol buildings, which the company highlights for one of the tour’s most disturbing stories, along with the Driskill Hotel, Buffalo Billiards, and The Handlebar.

When: Runs nightly, 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $26 for adults | $17 for kids 7 – 17 | Free for kids 6 and under

Murder by Gaslight Walking Ghost Tour (Ghost City Tours)

Austin’s moonlight towers have been part of the city’s skyline since 1894. These 165-foot iron structures were built to illuminate entire city blocks before electric streetlights became widespread, and 17 of the towers still survive in Austin today.

On Ghost City Tours’ adults-only Murder by Gaslight walk, you’ll explore the darker history surrounding these landmarks, along with stories of brutal crimes, suicides, and early serial killings from the city’s frontier years.

The tour begins near the area that once served as Austin’s red-light district. One of the first stops is the Driskill Hotel, where the stories include a friendly reported presence, a full-bodied apparition, and the cigar-smoking specter of Colonel Jesse Driskill.

You’ll spend the next 90 minutes hearing about the violence and vice that shaped old Austin, with historical details that go beyond the ghost stories featured on the company’s all-ages Ghosts of Austin tour.

Just take note, Murder by Gaslight is intended for guests aged 16 and older.

When: Runs nightly, 9 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $34.99

Nitty Gritty City Tours — “Hauntings in the Heart of Austin”

The Texas Governor’s Mansion has stood in Austin since 1854, and its long history gives your guide plenty to work with. Nitty Gritty City Tours teases one of the building’s most notable figures as a legendary Austin character whose presence is said to linger.

You’ll uncover the identity of this presence and their story during the walk, alongside accounts that connect the city’s hauntings to its political and civil rights history.

The route also visits the Paramount Theatre, where familiar reports of ghostly activity share space with a story about a movie-loving man whose connection to Austin’s civil rights history.

You’ll continue along Congress Avenue and through the 6th Street district, with stops at the Texas State Capitol and other historic landmarks where reports of after-hours activity have become part of local lore.

The walk covers 1.2 miles and lasts up to two hours, giving you time to take in the architecture and hear the stories behind the buildings.

When: Runs Fridays and Saturdays, 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $20 per person

Murder Mystery Austin Shows & Interactive Dinner Theater

The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show

A stranger at your dinner table starts asking oddly specific questions, someone across the room keeps acting suspiciously, and suddenly you’re wondering if the person refilling your water glass is part of the crime. That’s the fun of The Dinner Detective, where the actors dress like ordinary guests instead of wearing obvious costumes.

You won’t know who’s performing and who’s simply enjoying dinner, so every conversation could be a clue until the killer is finally revealed.

During the evening, a crime unfolds in front of the room before two Detectives take charge of the investigation. You’ll compare notes with your table, question suspicious characters, and submit your final guess on an answer form.

The guest who comes closest to identifying the killer wins the Top Sleuth prize.

You can also purchase add-on packages that secretly cast someone in your group as a red herring, put them in the interrogation chair for a live questioning scene, or make them a Rookie Detective who helps with the investigation.

Your ticket includes a full plated dinner, waitstaff gratuity, and the performance, with the bar open throughout the evening.

Dress business casual. It’s a dinner date with a competitive streak, and you’ll have plenty to talk about on the way home.

When: Every other Saturday, 6 pm – 9 pm
Where: Hotel Indigo, 810 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701
How Much: $69.99 per person

Unique Historic Ghost Tours, Pub Crawls & Hearse Rides

Haunted ATX: Hearse Ghost Tour

Image credit: Haunted ATX

Climb into a converted Cadillac hearse limousine and explore Austin’s haunted history from the back of a vehicle built to carry the dead.

Haunted ATX has operated since 2013, offering what it describes as Austin’s only mobile ghost tour. Instead of covering the city on foot, you’ll ride between haunted locations and get out to explore the sites up close.

One stop is the Bertram Building on Guadalupe Street, built in 1854 and now home to the Clay Pit restaurant, where a child from the original Bertram family is among the spirits said to linger.

You’ll also visit the Littlefield House on the UT campus, associated with a particularly unsettling story about George Littlefield and his wife, Alice. According to the tale, George locked Alice in the attic whenever he left town because he feared his Civil War enemies would take her.

After his death, she was said to be inconsolable. Today, visitors report seeing a figure at the attic window, while staff have described hearing the upstairs piano play without anyone at the keys.

Your ticket includes a 2-for-1 entrée coupon for Clay Pit, which you can redeem anytime. Alcohol is BYOB, so bring a compact cooler, as space inside the hearse is limited. Water, soda, and ice are provided.

Prefer more room and air conditioning? Haunted ATX also offers a public van tour along the same haunted route.

When: Tuesday- Sunday, 7 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $99 per person

Austin Booze and Boos Tour

Image credit: Nightly Spirits

Austin’s infamous Servant Girl Annihilator case follows you through the night on this haunted pub crawl. Your costumed guide weaves the story through downtown’s historic streets and drinking establishments, connecting the city’s darker past with the places where you can stop for a drink today.

The 2.5-hour route takes you through Sixth Street’s most haunted bars and historic buildings, with your guide filling in the ghost stories that most people walking past never hear.

Nightly Spirits doesn’t lock the route in advance. The guide adjusts based on availability, but the stories stay consistent: gruesome murders, accidental deaths, and spirits that reportedly never left. Up to three bar stops are included, with time at each one to buy a drink.

Drinks aren’t included in the ticket, but you’ll have time to purchase them at each bar along the route. Bring a valid ID, as the tour is strictly for guests aged 21 and older.

When: Runs nightly, 5 pm and 9 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $29.95 per person

Ghost City Tours Austin Haunted Pub Crawl

Ghost City Tours starts its Austin Haunted Pub Crawl outside the Fairmont on Red River Street, then takes you through downtown locations known for their reported paranormal activity.

Drink specials are arranged at each stop for tour guests, so you can grab a round while your guide shares the stories behind the buildings.

The Driskill Hotel opens the evening with reports of three distinct spirits, including Colonel Jesse Driskill and a full-bodied apparition reportedly seen by guests and staff.

Next, you’ll hear about the former Millett Opera House, built in 1878, where stories describe applause and music coming from a venue whose performances ended more than a century ago.

The route also covers Austin City Hall, where reports include ghostly figures in the council chambers and unexplained sounds after dark, before finishing at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. Built on the site of a Civil War hospital, the property is associated with accounts of phantom nurses and soldiers.

Leashed pets are welcome, too, so you can check the tour’s pet policy details if you’d like to bring your four-legged companion.

When: Runs nightly, 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $34.99 per person

US Ghost Adventures “Spirits & Spirits” Haunted Pub Crawl

On this pub crawl, the spirits come in two varieties: the ones haunting Austin’s old buildings and the ones you can order at the bar.

One of the most unusual stops is Casino El Camino, a bar housed in a building that once served as a boarding house. According to local ghost stories, a spirit named Mary still haunts the property. Your guide will tell you her story while you can order her signature drink, a Bloody Mary.

The tour also passes the Museum of the Weird, where you’ll hear about Austin’s above-ground burial history and the museum’s Minnesota Iceman exhibit, before continuing to Maggie Mae’s and San Jac Saloon.

Along the way, your guide introduces you to reported spirits, including the Lady in White and a ghost associated with Austin’s old brothel era.

The tour runs for two hours and is strictly 21 and over. Drinks are available to purchase at each stop but aren’t included in the ticket.

When: Runs nightly, 6 pm and 8 pm
Where: Various locations in Austin
How Much: $29 per person

Pioneer Farms Paranormal Investigation (Austin Ghost Tours)

At the Pioneer Farms Paranormal Investigation, you’ll explore 90 acres of historic Texas buildings and dark, unpaved grounds after hours, with paranormal investigators Monica Ballard or Sidney Weaver guiding the experience.

Held on the first Saturday of each month at Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms, this is a hands-on investigation for people who want to explore reported paranormal activity rather than simply hear about it.

The property includes several sites with their own histories, including the Kruger Farm, settled by early German emigrants; the banks of Walnut Creek, where the Tonkawa people camped for centuries; the log-built Jourdan Farm cabin; the 1859 Bell Farm home; and the 1876 Dessau Church. The Chisholm Trail also runs through the grounds.

Once you leave Sprinkle Corner, artificial light is limited, so bring a flashlight and be prepared to explore the property in the dark. You can use your own recording device or camera as you investigate.

The team behind the tour also produces the Haunted Texas and Beyond podcast, which has released two full episodes featuring disembodied voices reportedly captured during previous investigations at Pioneer Farms.

When: First Saturday of every month
Where: Pioneer Farms, 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr, Austin, TX 78754
How Much: $45 per person

Know Before You Go: Exploring Haunted Austin

Most Austin ghost tours and murder mystery experiences take place around downtown and Historic 6th Street, making them convenient for an evening out if you’re coming from elsewhere in the city or nearby suburbs.

If you’re driving in from Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, or Westlake, check parking options near your meeting point before you leave.

Some downtown garages are just a short walk from tour starting locations, but weekend evenings can get busy, so give yourself extra time to park and find your guide.

Common Questions About Austin Ghost Tours & Murder Mystery Shows

Are Austin ghost tours suitable for kids and families?

Many walking ghost tours welcome families and children, but age recommendations vary depending on the tour and its stories.

Haunted pub crawls are generally restricted to guests 21 and older, while murder mystery dinner shows may be better suited to teens and adults because of their crime-related themes. Check the age policy for your specific event before booking.

When is the best time of year to book a ghost tour in Austin?

Austin ghost tours run throughout the year, but fall is a popular time to explore the city’s haunted history. September through November brings cooler evenings, and October is especially busy with Halloween outings.

If you have a particular tour or date in mind, book ahead rather than waiting until the last minute.

What should I wear or bring on a haunted walking tour?

Choose comfortable walking shoes, since tours may cover several downtown blocks and pass over uneven sidewalks or brick surfaces. Bring water, especially if you’re touring on a warm evening, and check the forecast before heading out.

A small flashlight or your phone can come in handy, and carrying a little cash is useful if you’d like to tip your guide.

Looking for more fun in the city? See the upcoming Weekend Events in Austin.