Boroughs of the Dead

History-first ghost tours across New York City

Boroughs of the Dead runs its own ghost and dark-history walking tours in New York City, with tours in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and on Roosevelt Island. The about page says the company "was founded in 2013" and is "a woman-owned, locally and independently operated business." Its tours are "in-depth, meticulously researched creations written and led by published authors and working artists," exploring "medical and women's history, the spectral, the occult, and other urban hauntings." Prices are in US dollars.

The name, the site explains, is a tribute to Queens, nicknamed the "Borough of the Dead" for its "surfeit of cemeteries" (the page adds that Harry Houdini is buried there), and the founder also wrote a book of short stories called Boroughs of the Dead in 2013. The site notes that Roosevelt Island belongs to the borough of Manhattan: "We run a tour there, too." As for the word "macabre" in its tagline, the site says the team simply "liked the way it sounded," adding that "Edgar Allan Poe would approve."

What sets the company apart, by its own account, is tone. "Though we deal with ghosts, haunting, and death, our tours aren't scary or sensationalized." There is "no active ghost-hunting aspect to any of these tours," and "we don't wear costumes or give tours in character." The site is polite about the competition: "While there are plenty of good tours featuring capes and lanterns, that's just not our particular preference." The stated goal is "to communicate deeply unsettling stories that will stay with you long after the tour is done," with the promise that "we never exploit pain or tragedy for entertainment." The site says it has been called one of "the world's top ten ghost tours" by the Today Show, and describes itself as "NYC's top-rated ghost tour company" on TripAdvisor; those are its own claims.

The tours

The tour list is seasonal, with each tour tagged by borough and the months it runs. Among those listed:

• The Ultimate Greenwich Village Ghost Tour (Manhattan, September to October), a 2-hour walk through the company's favorite Greenwich Village ghost stories.
• Edgar Allan Poe in Greenwich Village (Manhattan, October), "a 2-hour literary and historical" walk, "guaranteed to enthrall fans of Poe's literary grotesques."
• Ghostly Women of Greenwich Village (Manhattan, September), a 90-minute walk on the neighborhood's "most iconic female ghosts."
• West Village Ghosts: Weird Tales From Out of the Past and East Village Ghosts (Manhattan).
• Witches of Wall Street, Ghosts of Old New York: Haunted Histories of Lower Manhattan and Death and the City: Mortality and Mourning in Old New York (Manhattan).
• Gotham by Gaslight, billed as "a Victorian True Crime Tour" (Manhattan).
• Island of Lost Souls: Madness & Medicine on Roosevelt Island (October), on "the intersections between the history of institutional spaces and the urban folklore that surrounds them."
• Spiritualists of Green-Wood Cemetery, on "the strange and spiritual secrets of New York's foremost Victorian-era cemetery," and Haunted Brooklyn Heights (Brooklyn).
• Haunting Histories and Legends of Astoria (Queens), "unsettling tales of this neighborhood's grim and ghostly past."

The private tour form also lists Ghosts of Christmas Past and Witches of Old New York.

Guides and group sizes

The about page says: "We exclusively employ licensed guides," and invites visitors to check the licenses online. It says guides are "real people with real names, visible online," and that, "prioritizing quality over quantity," tours run "once or twice a week (more in October)." On numbers, it gives two figures: groups "average about 15 people, with slightly higher numbers in October," and the company aims for "ten to twenty people per guide."

The company also says locals make up 80% to 85% of its clientele, "smart, curious locals who want to know more about their own city," and that a third of its customers have taken more than one tour. Testimonials on the homepage, selected by the company, praise guides who "deftly manage the macabre situations these tours reference with sensitivity, honesty, and interest," and mention "further reading" recommendations. One reviewer, Lou A., calls it "a cut above the average ghost tour," with "creepy things, but not cheesy or campy," and another describes a guide who was "incredibly knowledgeable but never didactic."

Private tours, schools and talks

Private tours are available for "birthday and holiday events, families, out of town guests, school groups, community groups, book clubs, office parties, team building activities, and more." The private tour page says "prices vary according to season and group size," and "private tours currently start at $500 for up to ten people." Larger groups, or dates not on the calendar, go through a booking request form.

The terms for private tours are spelled out: "Private tour bookings require advance payment," the quoted price "does not include service fees or gratuities for your guide," and "cancellations must be made a minimum of two weeks prior to the tour date," with full cancellation, lateness and rescheduling policies sent with the quote.

For schools, the company says it can "customize and tailor all of our walking tours to fit your curriculum and educational goals," and links to student pricing. It also offers in-person and virtual lectures for schools, libraries and community groups. Gift certificates are sold through the site, and public tours are booked through a schedule page.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The tour list does not show public ticket prices, meeting points, or the cancellation rule for public tickets, so those have to be checked at booking. Durations are given for some tours but not all. There is no statement on age limits or on how much walking a tour involves.

The strengths are clear: licensed, named guides, a sober and researched approach to dark history, small groups by the company's own figures, and a wide seasonal program that reaches beyond Manhattan to Brooklyn, Queens and Roosevelt Island. Boroughs of the Dead suits New Yorkers and visitors who want real history with their ghost stories, book clubs and school groups, and anyone who would rather skip the capes and jump scares.