Potter's Field to Franklin's Grave: Philadelphia's Ghosts at Your Pace
Your phone tells the ghost stories as you walk Old City, past Independence Hall, City Tavern and Elfreth's Alley.
This is a ghost walk you take on your own. The WalknTours app narrates each stop as you reach it, and the listing is plain that there is no human guide, food or drink. The booking notes come from the founder, Greg, who calls WalknTours a tiny company and answers questions by text.
The walk begins in the center of Washington Square, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution, and ends at Benjamin Franklin's grave. The listing allows 70 to 90 minutes, and the operator's page for this tour puts the route at about a mile. The listing times three stops: ten minutes in Washington Square, five in Elfreth's Alley and five at Franklin's grave. The other named sites are pass-bys.
Booking gets you an experience code in the booking notes, which lay out the rest: download the WalknTours app on iPhone or Android, register an account, choose Philadelphia, open Philadelphia's Famous Ghosts Walking Tour and enter the code. The notes also say not to buy the tour again inside the app, and that each traveler on a multi-ticket booking needs an account with a separate email, all using the same code.
Set it up before you reach Washington Square. The operator's page says the tour works offline once downloaded, with the stories playing automatically as you walk.
As of October 21, 2026, the listing charges USD 7.75 per person, sells tickets for ages 12 and up and takes up to 15 travelers per booking. Cancel at least 24 hours before your booked date for a full refund.
Philadelphia Haunted Ghost Smartphone Guided Audio Walking TourA phone-narrated ghost walk from Washington Square to Benjamin Franklin's grave in Philadelphia. No live guide.www.viator.comA Burial Ground Turned Park, Then Independence Hall
The first story is about the ground under your feet. Independence National Historical Park says William Penn patented this square in 1706 as a potter's field, a public graveyard for the poor. During the Revolution it served as a military cemetery for American and British soldiers, and more than 1,300 victims of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic filled the rest of it before the city closed it to burials in 1794. John Adams walked these grounds in April 1777 and wrote that upwards of two thousand soldiers had been buried there. The tomb at the center was designed by architect G. Edwin Brumbaugh in the 1950s.
The operator's page adds a lantern-bearing spirit it calls Leah. Billy Penn's October 2026 roundup of haunted places tells the local legend: Leah was a Quaker woman who guarded the graves from robbers seeking corpses for medical study, and supposedly not even death stopped her. One block on, Independence Hall is a pass-by, and the operator's page says Franklin, Washington and even Benedict Arnold are said to linger in its Assembly Room.
The First Bank, the Powel House and City Tavern
From Independence Hall the app leads you through Old City's streets, and the listing marks the next three sites as pass-bys. At the First Bank of the United States, it asks who founded the first bank and who haunts it. The operator's page answers the second question with Alexander Hamilton, whose restless spirit it says is believed to roam the halls.
The listing describes the Powel House as a home many of the founding fathers once visited, with ghosts that still stay. City Tavern was the founders' watering hole, it says. The operator's page gives the tavern two ghosts, a bride and a devoted waiter who never left his post. Don't count on a drink there, though. The park service lists City Tavern as closed to the public, a historic site rather than an operating tavern, and the building is a reconstruction of the original torn down in 1854. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in June 2026 that the restaurant inside has been dark since October 2020.
Down Elfreth's Alley to Franklin's Grave
Elfreth's Alley is the second timed stop, five minutes to walk it and hear its tales. The Elfreth's Alley Association dates the street to 1703 and calls it one of the oldest continuously inhabited residential streets in the United States, with most of its homes still private residences. The operator's page says it turns darker after sunset, with reports of whispers and shadowy figures.
The Betsy Ross House follows as a pass-by, and the operator ties it to a sorrowful spirit. The walk ends at Franklin's grave in Christ Church Burial Ground, at 5th and Arch Streets, where the listing says you hear how he still plays tricks on visitors and give it a try. Christ Church places the family plot in the northwest corner of the grounds and says a metal fence made it much easier for admirers to toss a penny onto it, in honor of his line "A penny saved is a penny earned." The same page says years of thrown pennies pitted the marble marker, and the restored plot was unveiled in April 2017, so leave the coin in your pocket.
Any Hour Works, and the App Waits for You
The listing says the tour runs 24 hours a day, all year, all of it outside, and that it never expires. Washington Square is open around the clock with free entry, per the park service, and the Elfreth's Alley Association calls the alley a public street open for a stroll anytime of day. Christ Church Burial Ground, where the walk ends, keeps shorter hours: 11 AM to 5 PM daily, until 4 PM in December, and closed in January and February and on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The operator's FAQ says you can pause and pick up where you left off, and that stopping to explore the sites makes the walk run longer. If you wander off the route, the same FAQ says an arrow on the tour screen points to the next stop and the audio resumes automatically when you get there.
Two reviews are attached to the listing, both five stars and both from 2024. A traveler in November 2024 liked being able to stop and start the tour at their own pace, and one in September called it an awesome alternative to an in-person guide.
The operator describes the tour as more atmospheric and story-driven than jump-scare scary. The listing marks it suitable for all physical fitness levels, allows service animals and notes public transportation nearby.
📍 Start at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution, in the center of Washington Square on Walnut Street between 6th and 7th Streets. The walk ends at Franklin's grave at 5th and Arch Streets. The map pin marks Independence Hall, the pass-by one block from the square.
Download the tour before you go, then press play at the tomb and let the old potter's field tell the first story.