Ghosts of Williamsburg tour
 

How good is the ghosts tour? Would it be enjoyed by a sixteen & thirteen year old?

I've never done that particular ghost tour, but I've done others in several parts of the US and Europe. All of the ones I've ever done would be quite enjoyable for teens. I hope someone can help with this particular tour.

We were in Williamsburg in February. My husband and daughters (11 and 8) did the ghost tour. They absolutely loved it! Talked about it all night and had to re-visit each haunted site the next day. My husband also found the section on the website that details each haunting. Have a great time.

My company brings thousands of middle school students to Williamsburg each year and many of our groups do a Ghost Tour - they love them. We use Williamsburg Group Tour Services and they're really great. Have fun!

The ghost tour is well done. If your kids are going to enjoy any of the tours (unless they are really into colonial history), it would likely be the ghost tour.

We live in Williamsburg. We did this tour our first year here around Halloween. We loved it! I think we will take our 10-year old this year.

Amy
[email protected]
www.sofiabean.com

We did the Williamsburg Ghost Tour several years ago and enjoyed it very much. Our son was about 12 at the time. He thought it was fun.

I am distressed to learn some parents and educators encourage children to believe in ghosts.

Williamsburg is a place to learn about American history and historic preservation, both of which are extremely fascinating.

Why not educate children rather than fill their minds with nonsense?

My children did learn about history and historic preservation at Williamsburg. In fact, my kids got to see where their ancestors lived in colonial times. One of their ancestors had been the mayor of Williamsburg in the colonial era. Others built many of the structures in the original Williamsburg such as the windmill. They also learned about history at Jamestown on that trip. It is my kids' great, great...great grandfather who is buried in the front of the church remains in Jamestown (not the re-enactment settlement, the "real Jamestown"). My kids also completed their Junior Park Ranger badges at Jamestown. They learned plenty of history on our trip.

On one night of our 5 day trip, for entertainment (because learning history can be fun and entertaining), we went on the Williamsburg "ghost tour". I can tell that Happy Trails hasn't done the tour because it is NOT really about ghosts (which my children are smart to know haven't been proven to exist). For the uninformed such as Happy Trails, the tour consists of actors/actresses telling colonial era stories in some of the Williamsburg buildings by candlelight.

The tour is based on L. B. Taylor's book "Ghosts of Williamburgh." Taylor has written several books about the ghosts of Virginia; he uses "ghost" in its dictionary sense: "The spirit of a dead person, especially one believed to appear in bodily likeness to living persons or to haunt former habitats."

I would prefer to entertain teenagers by taking them to an amusement park, the seashore, a movie house, or a ball park. If you would rather entertain them on a ghost tour, that's your business; however, it doesn't make me uninformed.

Actually Happy Trails, you may not be entirely uninformed, but if you haven't been ON the tour, you are not completely INformed either.

First, the L.B. Taylor tour you're talking about is not the one referenced in the prior post. There is a CW "ghost" program that allows you to go into historic buildings. There is also a "Ghosts of Williamsburg" tour based on Taylor's books that is not affiliated with CW.

Having been on both though, I can tell you that neither is without historical and educational substance. The stories simply wouldn't make sense if they didn't explain the customs and lifestyles of the time. Additionally, the Taylor tour in particular (and probably the other as well), included lots of little historical tidbits like the 18th century origins of words and phrases that we use today.

Also, I'm wondering where the line is between a "story" and a literary work of fiction. It seems to me that if we say that only the truth can be educational, we are traversing a slippery slope.

One note for the original poster, if you haven't yet gone on your trip: I'm a huge Colonial Williamsburg fan, and I think they do a very good job on most things, but I actually enjoyed the L.B. Taylor tour a little bit more than the CW one.