Nashville Ghost Stories Between Drinks, Starting Outside Skull's Rainbow Room
A two-hour walk between downtown Nashville bars, with ghost stories on the street and drinks you pay for inside.
The group meets on the sidewalk outside Skull's Rainbow Room at 222 Printers Alley, the narrow alley between Third and Fourth Avenues downtown. From there a guide walks you for about two hours, telling Nashville's ghost stories on the street and stopping at bars along the way. The operator's own Nashville page puts the route at about a mile.
Every drink is on your own tab, and so is the guide's tip. The crawl is adults only, 21 and over.
The listing names three things as included: chilling stories, researched history and a local guide. It leaves out gratuity and the drinks themselves. Prices on the booking calendar shift from night to night.
A full refund needs a cancellation at least 24 hours before the start. Inside that window the listing refunds nothing.
Nashville Ghosts: Adults-Only Boos and Booze Haunted Pub CrawlNashville Ghosts by US Ghost Adventures · About two hours · Meets outside Skull's Rainbow Room, 222 Printers Alley · Ages 21+www.viator.comSkull's First, Then the Stops the Listing Names
The operator's Nashville page sets the first story at the meeting point. It describes Skull's Rainbow Room as a former den for gambling and bootlegging, and tells of a former manager, Ike, and an owner known as Skull, both of whom met grim ends.
Skull's says it opened in 1948, in the basement of the 1895 Southern Turf building. Its owner, David "Skull" Schulman, was found gravely wounded on the club's floor on January 21, 1998, at 80, and later died; two drifters were charged with robbing and murdering him in 2001, the Nashville Scene reported. The club reopened in June 2015. A 1996 Nashville Scene history of the building tells of Ike Johnson, the Southern Turf's bartender, who shot himself in his apartment above the saloon in February 1916. The operator doesn't give its Ike a surname.
The listing then names drink stops at a bar where at least two men died and at a building where many stars got their start, with walk-bys of Printers Alley, the Ryman Auditorium and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Its one named drink stop on Broadway is Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. The bar's own history says its late owner, Tootsie Bess, slipped five- and ten-dollar bills into the pockets of luckless writers and pickers.
The Listing's Last Bar Closed in 2021
The listing still says the tour winds up at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, and it describes the final drink stop as a former baggage claim for the Union railroad terminal. Flying Saucer's Nashville taproom in that baggage building closed on December 15, 2021, after 23 years. That space now houses The Finch, an American grill.
The tour itself has kept running, with traveler reviews as recent as October 2026. The operator's FAQ says its pub crawls visit four bars, written as 3+, over up to two hours. A group of eight in November 2025 described the meeting point's ghost stories and two more bars. Plan the rest of your night without counting on finishing near Union Station.
The Tab, the Tip and the Food
Drinks are bought at each bar at that bar's prices. One 2024 reviewer was caught off guard by drink prices and another advised planning to spend a little extra, so set a budget before you go. An October 2026 reviewer mentioned drink deals on the night. The listing allows about twenty minutes at each drink stop. One traveler in January 2025 complained of getting fifteen minutes to order, drink and pay, while reviews from September and October 2026 say there was enough time at each bar.
No food is included. The operator says there may be chances to order food at some stops and suggests bringing water and a snack. The guide's tip is not in the price either, and the operator says tipping is appreciated.
Age, Access and a Phone Within Reach
The listing's only ticket band is adult, ages 21 to 99, and the operator's FAQ also puts its pub crawls at 21 and up. Carry the ID you would show at any bar. One booking takes up to fifteen travelers, and several reviewers from 2024 to 2026 describe very small groups, sometimes just their own party.
The listing ticks wheelchair and stroller boxes on this adults-only crawl, while the operator's FAQ says not every tour is wheelchair accessible and asks guests to contact it to confirm. If you use a wheelchair, check the bars with the operator before you book. The listing allows service animals, and the operator notes some bars on its crawls may not let pets inside.
The operator says it will contact guests if a tour is cancelled. Two travelers described same-day cancellations, so keep your phone on that afternoon. An October 2026 reviewer mentioned EMF readers on the tour, and the operator's FAQ lists EMF detectors as a rental.
📍 Meet outside Skull's Rainbow Room, 222 Printers Alley. The booking calendar for this listing offers 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM starts, and the operator's own site lists 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM, so go by the time on your confirmation. As of October 20, 2026, both Halloween night departures on the booking calendar were sold out, and the operator runs its tours rain or shine.
Broadway is a short walk south of the alley, with the honky-tonks still going when the stories end.