Haunted Pensacola: Our Ghost Tour Experience

Kari Lynn

17 hours ago

3 min read

Back in Minnesota, Halloween meant bundling a winter coat over your costume. This year, Matt and I spent a warm October night walking the streets of downtown Pensacola, holding ghost-hunting gadgets and listening for spirits. Yes, really.

Pensacola is one of the oldest cities in the country, so it makes sense that it has a few ghosts hanging around. When I made my fall bucket list, a haunted history tour was at the top. Here's how it went!

The tour we picked

We booked the Pensacola Walking Ghost Tour with Ghost-Hunting Equipment from Pensacola History & Hauntings. What sold me? It's not just spooky stories. You actually get to use real ghost-hunting equipment, and it's included in the ticket.

We met our guide at their office on East Government Street, grabbed our gear, and headed out as the sun went down.

Where the tour takes you

The tour winds through historic downtown, with stops like:

Seville Quarter, often called one of Pensacola's most haunted spots
The Saenger Theatre, where some say the spirits still take the stage
Plaza Ferdinand VII, where Florida officially became part of the United States in 1821
The old red light district, plus stories of Pensacola's most notorious crimes

Our ghost-hunting moment

Okay, this was hands-down my favorite part of the night. We were standing at our first stop in Seville Quarter, and within minutes our meters started lighting up. Matt and I just looked at each other like… is this really happening?

The meters we used are EMF meters, which pick up changes in electromagnetic energy. Paranormal investigators believe spirits can cause spikes in that energy, so when the needle jumps into the red with nothing obvious around, that's your cue that something might be there.

Then came the coolest part: the SLS camera. SLS stands for Structured Light Sensor, and we used the GhostTube app on our phones, which scans the room for human-like shapes. If it senses a figure where no one is standing, it draws a little stick figure on the screen. When we pointed it at the bar inside Rosie O'Grady's at Seville Quarter, one popped up right behind the counter, and there was nobody there. I got chills!

Skeptic or believer?

Probably! I'll be honest, I went into this tour a total skeptic, and I'm still not totally sure. But I can tell you there were a few spots on that tour where I got full-on goosebumps, and I can't quite explain why. Maybe that's the magic of a good ghost tour. You don't have to believe, you just have to show up curious. 🕯️

Tips if you go

Wear comfy shoes. It's about two hours on foot.
Arrive 10 minutes early to check in and get your equipment.
Book ahead in October. Halloween season is busy.
Bring water. Even at night, Florida can be warm!
Keep an open mind. It's fun whether you believe or not.

Probably! It ended up being such a fun date night, and it's not every day you get to wander through Pensacola after dark hunting for ghosts. If you're looking for something different to do this spooky season, I'd recommend it for a date night or a family night with older kids. Little ones might find it a bit too spooky, but tweens and teens would love playing with the “ghost hunting gear”.

Whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between like me, it's a fun way to see a different side of Pensacola.