About Us
The History Of The Ghost Walk Of Old Wilmington
Haunted Wilmington began in 1978 when founder, Kim Miller Hirchak, began researching ghosts of historic Wilmington. Kim's single person operation interviewed hundreds of locals, including homeowners, tenants, employees, city officials, and others who encountered some of Wilmington's wayward spirits, recording hundreds of spectral events that are still part of today's tours. In addition, Kim and her growing staff spent countless hours reviewing old family letters, diaries, photos, and various other documents to help uncover the spirits behind each haunting. From a one person operation, Haunted Wilmington has grown significantly, and today we are recognized as one of the south’s oldest, continually operating paranormal research companies.
Though our primary area of expertise is historic, downtown Wilmington, we have studied spirits outside the old Port City. This includes all up and down the Cape Fear River, including the ghosts of Fort Fisher, The Maco Light, Moores Creek National Battlefield, and New Bern, North Carolina. Since our inception we have logged well over 10,000 hours of actual, local, research. Today we continue to interview and document, and each year we add countless ghostly encounters to our portfolio.
In 1999, based directly on our research, Haunted Wilmington began offering public tours as the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington. Our entertaining, fully costumed, professionally trained team of storytellers and actors, began introducing the general public to our many local ghosts. Our unmatched knowledge and commitment to quality entertainment has led us to be named one of the top Ghost Walks in America (USA Today), awarded Wilmington's Best Tour as voted by locals (Encore Magazine), and been consistently rated the #1 Ghost Walk in the south. Since 1999 we have entertained over half a million Wilmington guests.
From our hundreds of actively haunted locations (and many more spirits), we have picked our top 30 haunted locations, which we vary each tour, each night. At each haunted location you visit, you will hear about hauntings from hundreds of years ago, to the night before! We cover some of the most famous/infamous, and many of the lesser known spirits who dwell in the old Port City.
We can safely assure our guests that all 30 full length stories available on our tour (of which our guests visit 5-6 per night), have been personally researched by our team. Because we still actively research these ghosts, you can be sure to hear the most recent ghostly occurrences, including actual guest encounters during recent tours!
So if you’re looking for an original, authentic, non-franchised, locally owned and operated ghost tour experience, led by guides with the experience and ability to provide you and your family with the utmost in entertainment value, look no further than the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington.
The History Of The Haunted Pub Crawl
When Kim Miller Hirchak began researching the ghosts of historic Wilmington, North Carolina in 1978, she branched out beyond the old residential homes. She also spoke with various business owners, including some of Wilmington's oldest and most intriguing pubs. It as from these original interviews that she discovered an interesting pattern; pubs were filled with scores of people who often left their guards down (and their minds open), to spectral interaction.
When the Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington began conducting public tours in 1999, the next logical step was to begin offering a Haunted Pub Crawl. These were stories that, for various reasons, including content and location, could not be told on the nightly Ghost Walk tour.
With over a dozen haunted locations (of which you visit 4 actively haunted pubs per tour), your are sure to come across many unusual spirits
The History Of The Wilmywood Movie & TV Location Walk
The Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington has long been in the midst of Wilmington's film history. We have entertained some of America's great actors and filmmakers on both public and private tours. In addition, The Black Cat Shoppe has been key locations in many films & TV shows. So it was only natural to branch out to include a tour about our beloved film industry.
Many of our Ghost Walk guides have been cast and crew in about everything filmed here, so our knowledge is vast, and our tour includes many behind the scenes stories. The tour is very informational, and our guides take full advantage of both the comic and the tragic!
We continue to find that TRUE locations of recent productions, some of which you likely have just seen. And do forget to keep supporting our local film industry!