Spellbinding Stories Tour

This tour is pay-what-you-want ! If you enjoy the tour, please compensate your guide appropriately! CASH ONLY please! Usually, the guide receives $15 to $20 per adult, but you are free to give more or less than that, depending on how you feel about your tour. As you can imagine, the tour guide has to work hard to earn your appreciation!

Tours have always been pay-what-you-want, but advance registration is now REQUIRED. I need to monitor the number of people on the tour, and I also need to be able to communicate with you if the tour needs to be cancelled due to the weather or low signups.

This tour requires a minimum number of signups in order to run! If the minimum number is not reached, the tour will be cancelled. You will receive either a tour confirmation email with some last minute details or a cancellation email through Eventbrite no later than 24 hours prior to the scheduled time of the tour. Please check your email the day before the tour and please read any email that you receive about the tour through Eventbrite!

Join us for an entertaining historical tour unlike any other! We'll explore iconic landmarks while weaving through the vibrant tapestry of Raleigh and North Carolina's past. On this tour, you will hear several spellbinding stories, including a chilling ghost story and a true crime story that ends in redemption for the accused! You'll even find out how our capital city's exact location may have been determined by an alcoholic beverage!

PLEASE NOTE: We will start at the corner of N. Blount St. and E. Lane St. The starting point is on the north side of the Governor's Mansion. The closest mappable address is 213 E. Lane St., which is directly across the street from the starting point. The Governor's Mansion takes up an entire city block, so please make sure that you are on the Lane St. side of the mansion. Please do NOT attempt to enter the grounds of the Governor's Mansion at any time. This is a walking tour -- it is NOT a tour of the Governor's Mansion! Also, please do not call the Governor's Mansion or buzz any of the intercoms at the Mansion gates. The tour route is short, less than 1 mile long, and the end point of the tour is approximately 2.5 blocks away from the starting point. In addition, we will NOT be entering any of the buildings listed in this tour description.

There is plenty of free street parking on the weekends in the block surrounding the Governor's Mansion. There is also a surface parking lot that is on the corner of Blount and Jones Sts., diagonally opposite of the Governor's Mansion. This is a large lot that is convenient to the end point of the tour as well. This parking lot has 2 entrances, one off of Jones Street and one off of Edenton Street. Parking in this lot is free on Saturdays and is also free on weekdays after 6:30 p.m.

The Spellbinding Stories Tours are approximately 1 hour and 20-25 minutes long depending on the size and speed of the group. I have budgeted 90 minutes for the tour to be on the safe side. There will not be any restroom breaks or stops for food/drinks.

Finally, please exercise good judgment when deciding to bring children on the tour. While the majority of the tour should be fine for children, sensitive children could possibly be frightened by the ghost story or upset by the discussion of M**der and guns in the true crime story. I hope this helps when you are deciding whether to bring children on the tour.

Host or Publisher Raleigh Walking Tours, LLC