I took my crew on a U.S. Ghost Adventures ghost tour in Manteo on North Carolina's Outer Banks on September 28, 2025. It was a walking tour that totaled approximately a mile or so walking in a quiet residential area of Manteo near the Roanoke Sound. We were quite fortunate because weather reports earlier in the week threatened two tropical storms, one of which was Imelda, but they both turned north and left the Outer Banks leaving us to enjoy some great weather. This was our second ghost tour with the first being in Salisbury, NC.
The tour started at Town Common, with an address that was easy to find. Although the tour started after dark at 8:00 p.m., public restrooms were well lighted and open when we arrived. We had about 12-15 people in our group, so we could easily hear the tour guide. Some ghost tours may be quite popular in October, around certain holidays, and during high tourism seasons, so if you prefer more intimate and small settings, you might check with touring companies to see when their off season is most likely to occur. This particular touring company offered an earlier tour, which is the one we picked, and also a later tour each night.
Ann, our tour guide, arrived a few minutes early and checked in everyone that was on her list. Ann seemed particularly authentic and was obviously an experienced public speaker, and I think she had taken extra steps to ensure she had plenty of knowledge of the area. During the tour, I discovered that Ann had ties to Salisbury, which was an unexpected surprise! She did not act bored or rushed and encouraged questions throughout the walking tour. She mentioned that she had met several people who lived in or owned property that was located along the tour, so she included interesting personal bits of information that other tour guides might not have offered.
One of my daughters opted to pay extra to carry an EMF reader that was offered with the tour. This little box has green, orange, and red lights that indicate electromagnetic activity, with more lights indicating more activity. Do more lights mean that ghosts are in areas where the EMF readers light up? Perhaps. I personally feel that if you're going to participate in a ghost tour, it can be more fun and engaging to have an open mind.
Walking surfaces for the tour included sidewalks, side roads, and a pier. I do not recall any steps, but we occasionally stepped up on a curb. Everyone in our group was able to navigate those walking surfaces in the dark, but Ann carried a lantern throughout the tour and encouraged people to turn on phone lights if needed for safety.
One of the first stops was a cemetery. We learned about several people connected to the cemetery and also some interesting stories of past tours. Ann showed us a photo that needed back lighting to see, so I offered my phone light. At first my phone light was bright, but it got dimmer and dimmer and eventually almost went out. I had not made any adjustments on my phone light settings, so that was a bit strange to me. My phone light worked just fine after the tour and my phone battery had plenty of charge when we began the tour.
I particularly noticed the beautiful stained glass windows of a Methodist Church while we walked on the tour. Ann mentioned the land for that church was purchased at a very small price years ago. Some lights were on inside the church, so the windows stood out and were particularly pretty. A lot of us stopped to get photos even though the church did not have any ghost stories to go with it.
One couple in our group had a German shepherd with them, and they remarked that their dog was acting very out of character during certain parts of the tour. They both mentioned that the dog usually acted quite chill, but the dog seemed to be vigilant at times during the tour. Ann kept her eye on the dog and noticed that the dog was typically acting more animated in areas where she said she felt a higher likelihood of possible ghost activity. These were also areas where the EMF readers tended to have all lights lit up. Were the lights affecting the dog in some way? Was the dog able to sense active spirits in those locations? I don't have a definite answer for that, but our group did find it to be an interesting phenomenon.
We walked by two different bed and breakfasts while on the tour. The first B&B, the White Doe Inn, had ties to Virginia Dare, and my group learned information about her that we had not learned in the past. My family had watched the outdoor drama The Lost Colony years ago. If you are interested in our country's history, I would recommend considering coming in warmer months when the outdoor drama is being offered, but during summer months, the earlier tour would likely still be in daylight, so you might opt for the later tour in the dark for a "darker" vibe if preferred.
As I began taking photos of the back yard at the first B&B, something weird happened. When I pressed the button halfway down in order focus better, all of the lights began streaming down in the camera view. It was like they were "chasing" lights or lighted tears that were all going down to the bottom of my screen. Everything but the lights was stationary in the camera view. I was not taking a video during this time. I looked around the edge of my camera to see if the lights were somehow doing that in real life and they were just normal looking lights that were stationary. I was curious about how the photo would turn out because my camera view appeared almost completely full of lights trailing downward from each of the lights in the above photo, but the photo simply looked like normal lights as you can see above. I had never seen my camera do anything like that before nor have I seen the camera do that since the ghost tour.
The second B&B, the Roanoke Island Inn, had an interesting connection to with accompanying story about the town's mail carrier from years ago. The current owners of many of the properties we passed had obviously worked hard to restore buildings and homes while offering opportunities for people to enjoy the area. This second B&B also had ties to Andy Griffith, who had acted in The Lost Colony in his earlier acting years. The outdoor drama has been offered for over 80 years, so it is quite well known in North Carolina and many other areas as well.
We walked out on a pier that had benches, and our tour participants enjoyed sitting down for a few minutes as we learned more about Roanoke Sound and how the Outer Banks became famously known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Ann mentioned she had heard sounds resembling people calling for help from the Sound in the past. Frankly, I was glad I did not hear any spirit cries for help from the water because I'm a bit of an empath!
Another stop included a building that now features art and artists. As we were walking along the sidewalk beside that building, I noticed that my arms got goosebumps and the hair on my arms was standing up. The temperature was very comfortable and I was not cold, so I thought that was a bit odd. Three out of four in my group mentioned developing headaches and feeling a bit strange during certain parts of the tour as well. One in my group mentioned hoping to feel something but not noticing anything unusual yet still enjoying the tour. Ann mentioned this building in particular as being potentially haunted and reported a personal experience related to the building.
On a side note, after we arrived back at our hotel room, I began looking through my photos and noticed there was a white line on each photo I took during the tour - you can see this line in the photos I took that are posted in this article. This was something my camera had never done before and I was afraid my camera might have become damaged by the car ride to the Outer Banks. However, when I took photos after getting back to the hotel, the line was no longer in any other photos. I have included a photo I took of the sunrise the next morning with the same camera. My camera typically takes about 250-300 photos on one charge, so I didn't think I needed to charge it after the ghost tour since I had only taken about 40 pictures, but after we arrived at a national park the next day, my camera battery died after taking about 40 more photos for a total of 80 photos. I'm not sure what drained my camera battery so quickly or why the white line appeared in my photos during the ghost tour. I might have zoomed in on two photos, which would have been the most obvious reason for this. Were spirits borrowing energy from my devices? I'll just keep an open mind about that, and you are welcome to come to your own conclusion.
Overall, my whole crew felt the ghost tour was educational, interesting, and the tour was the favorite activity of my entire group during our stay at the Outer Banks this year. If you have smaller children, you might opt for the earlier tour if the kids are used to an earlier bedtime. Ann didn't try to "spook" the group but focused more on history and allowing the ghost tour to progress naturally. Those who are looking at complete immersion might book one of the Bed & Breakfasts on the tour. The EMF readers were interesting to watch, and people who are particularly interested in visual cues might enjoy carrying one or watching if others have one on the tour. Those with mobility issues could likely navigate this tour if they typically navigate sidewalks and piers without issue. I think only one car drove by us during the whole tour, so traffic was not an issue when we were walking through the town.
Visit the U.S. Ghost Adventures Ghost Tour official website for additional information, including an arial view of the meeting location and a short video along with reservation information and links.
You may also wish to read more of my articles. Below are a few suggestions:
- The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama in Roanoke NC
- Mt. Airy Squad Car Tour - Learn History About the Andy Griffith Show and the Town
- Downtown Salisbury Ghost Walk in Rowan County NC
