Your new orleans vampire tour starts here — stalk gas-lit cobblestone streets where Jacques St. Germain once hunted and Marie Laveau wove her spells. Compare tours and book with free cancellation.
Updated 2026-08-07
Quick answer
New Orleans vampire tours are 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours on foot through the French Quarter, priced $22 to $37. The route is the same handful of addresses on every tour: the LaLaurie Mansion, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the Ursuline Convent and Marie Laveau's house. Tours stay on the street rather than going inside, and they start after dark, between 6 and 8 pm depending on the season.
Key takeaways
best tour The Award-Winning Night Walk Every Visitor Talks About
Voted New Orleans' #1 Haunted Tour eight years running by TripAdvisor, this French Quarter walk hits LaLaurie Mansion, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, and the city's darkest alleys — and every ticket includes a two-for-one Hurricane cocktail voucher. Under one mile of walking.
Spots fill fast on weekends and throughout October. Reserve your place now — free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
From the most-reviewed ghost and voodoo walk in the French Quarter to an innovative true crime experience with visual projection technology, these are the top-rated vampire tours leaving every night.
from $33 Walk the French Quarter with a licensed guide through sites tied to real vampire legend — LaLaurie Mansion, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Jackson Square, and the house…
from $37 A French Quarter walking tour with optional HELLVISION™ handheld projectors that recreate frightening historical scenes as your guide narrates. The route passes Marie Laveau's house and Lafitte's Blacksmith…
from $22 Voted New Orleans' #1 Haunted Tour eight years running by TripAdvisor, this French Quarter walk hits LaLaurie Mansion, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, and the city's darkest alleys — and…
| Tour | Duration | Price | Book | Best For | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original French Quarter walk | 2 hours | $33 | Check | Full ghost, voodoo & vampire storytelling — most reviewed | 4.5 ★ |
| True crime night experience | 2 hours | $37 | Check | True crime fans & HELLVISION™ projection experience | 4.7 ★ |
| Haunted tour with cocktail | 1h 45m | $22 | Check | Best value + Hurricane cocktail — TripAdvisor #1 for 8 years | 4.8 ★ |
Every vampire walking tour new orleans visitors book follows the same essential geography: the antebellum streets of the French Quarter, where 19th-century Creole townhouses draped in spanish moss, cast-iron balconies, and gothic gas lanterns create an atmosphere no Hollywood set could replicate. This is southern gothic America at its most concentrated — and every guided tour makes full use of it.
Licensed guides cover the documented cases of real vampire-like figures reported in new orleans louisiana from the 1800s onward. Jacques St. Germain, who allegedly drank blood from a woman who escaped through a second-story window in 1903. The so-called Casket Girls who arrived from France in 1728 carrying mysterious wooden boxes. Countess Delphine LaLaurie, whose crimes were so extreme that contemporaries believed the supernatural was at work and new orleans voodoo practitioners were involved.
Walking distance is under one mile across all tours. Whether you book the 2 hour tour or the shorter 1h 45min option, routes end near Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop — open since the 1770s — so guests can decompress in the right atmosphere.
The French Quarter — with its 300-year french quarter history of colonialism, slavery, and spiritual syncretism — hosts more documented ghost sightings, unexplained deaths, and supernatural folklore per square block than almost any other neighborhood in North America. A single voodoo tour new orleans visitors take through these streets is both a history lesson and a living cultural experience — the city's occult heritage isn't confined to the past.
Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen who died in 1881, remains the most visited tomb in New Orleans. Thousands leave offerings at her grave in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to this day. Madame LaLaurie's former home on Royal Street is regarded by ghost tour new orleans experts as one of the most active haunted sites in the United States. The combination of West African voodoo traditions, Catholic Creole culture, and the intensity of 19th-century life — yellow fever epidemics, fires, brutal conditions — created a city where ghost vampire voodoo became a unified mythology rather than separate beliefs.
The true crime angle of tour-2 connects figures like pirate Jean Lafitte and mass murderer Madame LaLaurie to the still-unsolved 1918 Axeman of New Orleans murders. A 2 hour tour of the French Quarter barely scratches the surface of this history, yet it leaves guests with a permanent appreciation for how deeply paranormal belief is woven into Louisiana life.
| Location | Legend | Tours That Visit |
|---|---|---|
| LaLaurie Mansion, 1140 Royal St | Site of Madame LaLaurie's crimes; multiple ghost sightings reported | All three tours |
| Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, 941 Bourbon St | Jean Lafitte's former haunt; one of the oldest bars in America | All three tours |
| Jacques St. Germain's House, 1042 Royal St | Self-described 18th-century vampire; incident reported 1903 | Tours 1 & 3 |
| Marie Laveau's House, 1020 St. Ann St | Home of the Voodoo Queen; voodoo and supernatural history | Tours 1 & 2 |
| New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, 514 Chartres St | 19th-century apothecary with documented occult connections | Tour 1 only |
Anne Rice lived in New Orleans for much of her life, and the city is inseparable from her Vampire Chronicles. Her former home — a large Greek Revival mansion at 1239 First Street in the Garden District — appears in The Witching Hour and was the real-world model for the Mayfair family's house. Rice's vampires were distinctly New Orleanean: aristocratic, guilt-ridden, and tied to a city built on beauty, excess, and death.
Interview with the Vampire, both the 1994 film and the 2022 AMC series, filmed extensively in New Orleans. The French Quarter, St. Charles Avenue, and the Garden District all appear in both versions — many of the locations your guide points out on a night tour are the same ones used by the production.
The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals used New Orleans as its primary setting for five seasons, with the French Quarter and Garden District serving as the heart of the supernatural world. The city's antebellum Creole architecture became as much a character as any of the cast.
New Orleans' above-ground tombs are unlike any burial ground in the United States. Because the city sits below sea level, 19th-century residents built elaborate above-ground tombs in French Creole and Spanish colonial styles — creating what locals call "cities of the dead." St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, founded in 1789, is the oldest Catholic cemetery in Louisiana and the most visited — home to the reputed tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen.
The supernatural traditions of new orleans extend beyond the cemetery tour experience into everyday Louisiana life. Practitioners of witchcraft, new orleans voodoo, and hoodoo operate shops throughout the French Quarter to this day. Several evening tour routes pass active voodoo and witchcraft practitioners' storefronts, and guides explain the real distinction between Hollywood monster myths and the living spiritual traditions that shaped this city.
For the best ghost tour and premiere tour experience that covers cemetery history, choose tour-1 — it passes the most cemetery-adjacent sites and gives the deepest context for why New Orleans became the supernatural capital of North America.
The best time to book any walking tour new orleans offers is October, when the city leans fully into its supernatural identity and tours add seasonal content. October — especially the week before Halloween — sells out weeks ahead. For smaller groups and easier booking, January through March is excellent: intimate tours, relaxed guides, and the French Quarter's southern gothic atmosphere is undiminished by summer crowds.
The true crime, voodoo and vampire tour (tour-2) is best suited to adults and older teenagers — it uses HELLVISION™ projection technology and covers true crime content in detail. If you want an explicitly adults-only ghost voodoo experience with edge, this is the right pick.
All three tours run rain or shine. New Orleans nights can surprise you — even in June it cools after 9 pm near the river. Wear layers, bring a compact umbrella, and arrive 10 minutes early at the meeting point.
| Season | Crowd Level | Night Temp | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| October (Halloween) | Very high | ~75°F | Peak atmosphere — book 2–3 weeks ahead |
| November–March | Low | 55–65°F | Intimate groups, easy booking, relaxed guides |
| April–June | Moderate | ~78°F | Comfortable nights, shorter queues than autumn |
| July–August | Low | ~85°F+ | Fewest crowds — heat breaks significantly after 8 pm |
The addresses the guides stop at, all within a mile of Jackson Square.
Exact stops vary by operator — check the route on the tour page before booking.
The guide stood outside Jacques St. Germain's house and made the whole story feel completely real. Not reading from a script — genuine passion for this city's dark history. Best thing we did in New Orleans.
I was skeptical about the HELLVISION™ projectors but they were genuinely unsettling. The true crime angle sets it apart from every other tour I've been on. Highly recommend if you want something different.
Bought the $22 tour expecting budget quality — got the best storyteller of the entire trip, a Hurricane cocktail voucher we actually used, and ended up at Lafitte's until midnight. Worth every cent.
Every tour is led by a guide licensed by the City of New Orleans, with deep knowledge of the French Quarter's paranormal history, Creole architecture, and documented vampire and voodoo cases.
Intimate group sizes mean your guide can linger at the most interesting spots, take real questions, and tell the full story — not rush through a script for a crowd of fifty.
Every tour here offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Book now with confidence — if your plans change, your money is protected.
Night temperatures, crowds and how far ahead you need to book.
Walks depart nightly year-round and run in light rain.
A new orleans vampire tour is a guided night walk through the French Quarter that covers the city's documented vampire folklore, haunted history, voodoo traditions, and true crime. Guides visit sites like LaLaurie Mansion, Jacques St. Germain's former house, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, and Marie Laveau's home. Tours run nightly and last 1h 45min to 2 hours.
Most tours run 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. The award-winning French Quarter Phantoms tour (tour-3) lasts 1h 45min and covers under 1 mile. The ghost, voodoo and vampire walking tour (tour-1) and the true crime tour (tour-2) each run approximately 2 hours.
All three tours visit LaLaurie Mansion (1140 Royal Street) and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop (941 Bourbon Street). Tour-1 also includes the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Jackson Square, and the house of Jacques St. Germain. Tour-2 passes Marie Laveau's house. Tour-3 includes the Hurricane cocktail voucher stop near Lafitte's.
Yes. The true crime, voodoo and vampire tour (tour-2) uses HELLVISION™ visual projectors to recreate disturbing historical scenes and covers adult content in detail — best suited to adults and older teenagers. It departs nightly and covers Marie Laveau's house and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop.
Tour-1 and tour-3 are suitable for older children (12+) who enjoy spooky stories and local history. Tour-2 covers graphic true crime content and uses frightening visual projections — adults only. All tours operate after dark, so very young children are not recommended.
Tour-1 — the original ghost, voodoo and vampire walking tour by The Witches Brew Tour Company — is the premiere tour with over 3,015 reviews. It covers the full spectrum of new orleans haunted supernatural history across 2 hours through the French Quarter, including the Pharmacy Museum, Jackson Square, and Jacques St. Germain's house.
Anne Rice set the Vampire Chronicles primarily in the French Quarter and Garden District, drawing on real locations she knew from living in the city. Her former home at 1239 First Street appears throughout the Mayfair novels. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District — filled with above-ground tombs — features in Interview with the Vampire.
Yes. Both the 1994 film and the 2022 AMC series of Interview with the Vampire filmed extensively in New Orleans. The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals used the French Quarter as its primary setting for five seasons, with the city's gothic antebellum architecture central to both productions.
Several documented cases have been interpreted as vampire activity. Jacques St. Germain's alleged victim jumped from a second-floor window in 1903, claiming he drank her blood. The Carter Brothers, arrested in 1933, were charged with draining victims. New Orleans' strong Haitian voodoo tradition also includes the lougawou — a blood-drinking creature distinct from the European vampire myth.
In October and on Friday–Saturday nights year-round, yes — spots sell out days ahead. The $22 award-winning tour runs at 6 pm and 8 pm nightly; the 8 pm slot fills fastest. January through March you can often book same-day. All three tours offer free cancellation, so booking in advance carries no risk.
Wear comfortable closed-toe walking shoes — French Quarter streets are uneven cobblestone. Bring a light layer even in summer, as it cools near the river after dark. In October, wear layers you can shed as the night warms up. A compact umbrella fits in a bag; all tours run rain or shine.
All three tours run rain or shine and do not cancel for weather alone. However, every tour offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before your start time for any other reason. Book with confidence — if your plans change, you can cancel at no cost.