San Diego After Dark: US Ghost Adventures Gaslamp Ghost Tour – Review
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
When I was young, there was one sure-fire way to get me excited about local history: ghost stories! From years of watching paranormal TV shows to several ghost tours on family trips growing up, I've grown a love for learning about history through the eerie lens of the supernatural. If there’s a haunted walking tour available in a destination I’m visiting, there’s a pretty good chance I’m signing up.
During a weekend trip to San Diego with my husband, we decided to do just that and explore the city from a slightly spookier perspective. Instead of hopping between bars in the Gaslamp Quarter, we joined a nighttime walking tour with US Ghost Adventures to learn about the haunted history hiding behind the neighborhood’s historic facades on their Sinister Shadows of San Diego Gaslamp Ghost Tour.
This Gaslamp ghost tour review covers everything you need to know about the experience, including where it starts, the stops along the route, and whether it’s worth adding to your San Diego itinerary.
I was invited on this tour as a hosted guest of US Ghost Adventures. This review reflects my genuine experience and honest opinions.
My In-Depth Review of the San Diego Ghost Tour with US Ghost Adventures
Location
Our tour met outside the historic Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego. The theater sits right on the edge of the lively Gaslamp Quarter, one of the most iconic neighborhoods in the city.
If you’ve never spent time in the Gaslamp Quarter, it’s a fascinating mix of restored Victorian-era buildings and modern nightlife. At 8 pm on the first weekend in March, the streets were already buzzing with energy. Restaurants were full, music drifted out of nearby bars, and the glow of neon signs lit up the historic streets. I was immediately struck by how active and safe the downtown area felt.
Despite the crowds, finding our guide was easy. Like many ghost tours, our host carried a lantern, making it simple to spot our group among the evening crowds. My husband and I arrived about 15 minutes early and checked in with our guide, Tino. As luck would have it, we ended up with a private ghost tour through the Gaslamp District. While I love a group tour, I also loved the opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with our guide to ask questions tailored to my interests.
San Diego Ghost Tour Stops with US Ghost Adventures
Our hour-long walking tour wound through the historic Gaslamp Quarter, stopping outside several buildings known for their eerie pasts. We saw so many haunted locations, I honestly lost count! But a few of the highlights of the ghost tour included:
Horton Grand Hotel
Davis-Horton House
Yuma Building
Balboa Theater
Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop
One of the most memorable stops occurred early in our tour at Horton Grand Hotel. This location has a long history of mysterious events, including a chilling story about a man who his brother-in-law shot after being accused of cheating in a card game. Unlike many ghost tours where you only stand outside the buildings, we were actually able to step inside the hotel lobby and outside the haunted room, which made the experience feel much more immersive. I'm not sure all tours get this opportunity, but our small group size and Tino's guidance through the building really made this stop a highlight.
Another fascinating stop was the Davis-Horton House, one of the oldest remaining structures in downtown San Diego. Our guide shared a story about a woman who reportedly experienced a paranormal encounter during a visit and later developed symptoms resembling yellow fever (a long-eradicated disease). The eerie twist? A former resident of the home had died from yellow fever years earlier!
However, the story that stuck with me the most involved a mysterious death in one of the Gaslamp’s historic buildings. In the story, a man was believed to have killed his family, but when authorities discovered his body, his head was missing and was never recovered. The case remains a mystery, with theories ranging from suicide to murder… and even the possibility of something more supernatural. Today, the building houses apartments, which somehow made the story even creepier as we watched residents trickle in after their nights out, potentially unaware of the gruesome history within their building.
Ghost Host
Our guide, Tino, was a fantastic storyteller. Interestingly, he described himself as a bit of a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal, which actually made the tour feel more grounded and historical rather than overly theatrical.
His delivery was engaging and detailed, and there were several moments where the way he told a story genuinely gave us goosebumps. You could tell he had a strong grasp of the history behind each stop and clearly enjoyed sharing the darker side of San Diego’s past.
Tino also provided us with EMF detectors, the same type of device often used on paranormal investigation shows to detect electromagnetic fluctuations. While we didn’t experience any major spikes during the tour, it was still fun to carry around a ghost-hunting tool and see if anything unusual would happen.
Is the US Ghost Adventures San Diego Tour Worth It?
I’d absolutely recommend this tour for anyone looking for a unique evening activity in San Diego. It’s perfect for couples, small groups of friends, or travelers who enjoy history with a spooky twist. As a visitor to San Diego, the history discussed helped contextualize the city and its importance in an interesting way.
The Gaslamp Quarter is already one of the most intriguing parts of the city, but hearing the hidden stories behind its historic buildings adds a whole new layer to the experience. I also appreciated that the tour leaned heavily into storytelling and history rather than relying purely on jump scares or gimmicks (I am a bit of a scardy cat after all). And honestly, getting to step inside the Horton Grand Hotel made the tour feel more immersive than many other ghost walks I’ve taken.
How to Book the US Ghost Adventures San Diego Ghost Tour
US Ghost Adventures operates haunted tours in more than 100 cities across the United States. If you’re planning a trip to San Diego and want to experience the darker side of the city’s history, you can book the tour online through their website:
In addition to standard ghost tours, the company also offers haunted pub crawls and other non-haunted experiences depending on the city. The company also owns the Lizzie Borden house (Yes, "Lizzie Borden took an axe..." you know the rest!). You can find information about that experience, as well as the San Diego tour on its website: https://lizzie-borden.com/ghost-tours/san-diego/
Wrapping It Up
Exploring the Gaslamp Quarter after dark with US Ghost Adventures ended up being one of the most memorable parts of our San Diego weekend. Between the historic buildings, mysterious stories, and lively nightlife atmosphere, the tour offered a completely different way to experience the city and honestly inspired me to learn more about it.
If you’re visiting San Diego and looking for something a little unusual to do at night, this ghost tour is definitely worth considering. Who knows, you might even leave with a few goosebumps of your own.
Thanks again to US Ghost Adventures for hosting us on this tour in exchange for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.
If you're interested in other haunted experiences or things to do in Southern California, check out some of my blog posts linked below.
Until next time, keep on exploring!
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