Greenwich Village After Dark: A New York Night of Ghost Walks

The haunted walk and the ghost walk, side by side

The haunted walk, from Washington Square, is the smaller group and the higher rated: 5.0 from 100 reviews, 96 of them five stars. The 8pm ghost walk is longer, covers more of the West Village, and runs rain or shine. Both are compared with every other walk on our page of Manhattan night tours.

Washington Square: the ground under the park

Each walk spends time in Washington Square, and the stories start underground. In April 1797 the city bought the fields here for a new potter's field, a public burial ground, and it stayed one until the 1820s, when the land was levelled into a military parade ground and then the park.

The Hangman's Elm at the north-west corner is the other story you will hear. Guidebooks have long called it the city's hanging tree. The research says otherwise: the tree stood on the far side of the old Minetta Creek, in what was then the back garden of a private house. A good guide tells you both, and lets you decide.

The haunted walk: a dozen stops and the fire

The haunted walk meets just outside the park at MacDougal Street and West 4th Street, and walks more than a dozen sites in 1 hour 40 minutes. It is not recommended for anyone who finds more than 90 minutes of walking hard. Its first stops are ten minutes in the park, then ten at the memorial to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

That fire, on Saturday 25 March 1911, killed 146 garment workers, 123 of them women and girls, and it was the deadliest industrial disaster in the city's history. The building still stands, now called the Brown Building, on the university campus near the park, and the memorial there lists every name and age. The walk then turns north toward West 10th Street and ends back at the arch, on Washington Square North.

The 8pm ghost walk: Waverly Place to Bedford Street

The ghost walk meets in front of the Waverly Restaurant at 385 6th Avenue. The guide is there 15 minutes early, holding a white and blue checked flag, and the walk starts at 8pm promptly: if you are late, the company does its best but does not promise you will catch up, and there is no refund. Under-18s need an adult of 21 or over.

From there it takes five minutes at the Jefferson Market Library, ten in Washington Square and fifteen on the university campus. Then it goes west, past the apartment building from Friends and the garden of St. Luke in the Fields, to the Cherry Lane Theatre and 86 Bedford Street. It ends at 7th Avenue and Christopher Street.

Which walk suits you

• You want a small group: the haunted walk, up to 13, where you can hear the guide at every stop.
• You want a fixed time to plan dinner around: the ghost walk, 8pm to about 10pm, ending near Christopher Street.
• You are travelling with teenagers: the ghost walk takes under-18s with an adult of 21 or over.
• Someone uses a wheelchair or a stroller: each walk is listed as accessible, so tell the operator when you book.
• You would rather not walk for long: the haunted walk says it is not for anyone who finds 90 minutes on foot hard, and the ghost walk is longer.

Either way you are on your feet for most of two hours, on city pavements, with short stops while the guide tells each story. Wear shoes you can stand in, and bring a layer: you will be standing still outside for much of the evening.

When the dark comes to an 8pm walk

An 8pm start is dark all winter. In mid-June the sun sets at about 8:29pm and full dark comes at about 9:02pm, so the first hour of a summer walk is in daylight and dusk and the second is dark. The best months for a walk that is dark from the start are October to March. Weather and dark times has the evening temperatures too, and our post on when it gets dark has the sunset for every month.

Before you go

• Getting there: West 4th Street–Washington Square station, on the A, D, E and F at all times, is at West 4th Street and 6th Avenue, close to both starts.
• On the night: the ghost walk removes anyone who arrives drunk, with no refund.
• Booking: each refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead, so you can hold a date and check the forecast later.
• Weather: the ghost walk goes ahead rain or shine; either may be cancelled for bad weather, and you then get a new date or a refund.
• Afterwards: more free evenings are on things to do at night, and the landmarks lit up are on the city lit up.

The walk for the rest of the Village's history is the gangsters and ghosts walk, two hours through Five Points, Chinatown, Little Italy and the Village, shared or private by option. Where every walk starts is on the meeting-point map.

Walks in the Village after dark

Greenwich Village Haunted Tour

One hour 40 minutes on foot from the south-west corner of Washington Square Park, more than a dozen stops in the Village, ending at the arch. Up to 13 walkers.

From $35 per person

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New York City Ghost Tour of Greenwich Village

Two hours on foot in Greenwich Village, from 6th Avenue at Waverly Place, starting promptly at 8pm: latecomers may not catch up. Up to 25 walkers, rain or shine.

From $39 per person

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New York City: Gangsters and Ghosts 2-Hour Walking Tour

Two hours on foot through Five Points, Chinatown, Little Italy and the Village, as a shared or a private walk; the meeting point depends on the option you book.

From $34 per person

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