Virginia Beach Ghost Stories by Lantern, From the King Neptune Statue
A lantern-led hour south along the Virginia Beach oceanfront, from King Neptune past shipwreck and aviation memorials.
At 8:00 PM a guide in a black US Ghost Adventures t-shirt, carrying a lantern, gathers the group at the King Neptune Statue on the boardwalk at 31st Street. For the next hour the walk works south along the oceanfront, stopping at monuments while the stories run from Blackbeard to a shipwreck in 1891. The operator calls the tour more eerie than terrifying, built on history and local accounts. Nobody goes inside a building. Everything is told from the boardwalk.
One ticket type covers everyone from age 1 to 99, from USD 26 per person depending on the date. Cancel at least 24 hours before the 8:00 PM start for a full refund.
Buried Beneath the Boardwalk: Neptune Ghouls and Ghost ToursFrom USD 26 per person. Meets at the King Neptune Statue, 31st Street, at 8:00 PM. One hour, about a mile on foot. Full refund up to 24 hours before.www.viator.comSix Mapped Stops Along the Oceanfront
The listing maps six stops. After the statue come the Conch Shell Art Installation and a stretch of boardwalk where the guide tells the Blackbeard story and the part Hampton Roads played in it. The listing says the Norwegian Lady statue was built for the souls lost when the vessel Dictator wrecked in 1891, and that the Naval Aviation Monument honors three eras of naval aviation. The last mapped stop is the old Coast Guard station, now the Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum at 2401 Atlantic Ave. The operator's page also promises the story of Grace Sherwood, the Witch of Pungo, and her 1706 trial by ducking, plus phantom footsteps climbing the Coast Guard tower.
Where the Hour Ends
Plan to make your own way back to 31st Street. The booking page says the tour ends back at the King Neptune Statue, but the operator never says the walk loops back, and travelers describe finishing farther south. A travel blogger hosted by the operator wrote in June 2026 that the group finished at the Old Coast Guard Station, the last mapped stop. One April 2026 reviewer, who also wrote of leaving partway through, said the tour ends at 15th Street, by the fishing pier that the operator lists as an Extended Tour stop. That half-hour Extended Tour is a separate add-on, and a 2024 guest who booked it said it was told on the walk back to the start. This booking is the one-hour walk without it.
Talk-Heavy, So It Suits Older Kids and Adults
Reviewers mostly praise the storytelling and the local history, and most of the weaker ones are about a particular guide's delivery on a given night. Families split. One reviewer wrote in August 2026 that their cousin's 9-year-old found it "a little boring because, in her words, 'the guide talked too much.'" Another, in April 2026, said their 8-year-old "was enthralled with the stories and the history." It is an hour of listening on foot, and older kids, teens and adults who like local history get the most from it. Drinking is not allowed on the operator's ghost tours, and it asks guests to take photos but not videos. The operator welcomes dogs that don't disrupt the tour, but from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend the city allows dogs on the Boardwalk only from 6 AM to 7 PM, which rules them out for the 8:00 PM summer walks; the rest of the year, leashed dogs are allowed on the Boardwalk at any time.
Finding the Lantern at 31st Street
The listing asks you to arrive 15 minutes early, so be at the statue by 7:45 PM. One guest in August 2026 arrived during an outdoor concert at the meeting point, struggled to find the guide and missed the first story. Look for the lantern and the black US Ghost Adventures t-shirt. The operator runs tours rain or shine. If you use a wheelchair or push a stroller, contact the operator before booking. The listing marks the route as wheelchair and stroller accessible, but the operator's Virginia Beach FAQ says most of the tour is not stroller or wheelchair accessible, and its company-wide FAQ asks guests to confirm first. A 2023 reviewer who came with their mother in a wheelchair called the guide "very understanding and accommodating." The listing also asks for a moderate level of fitness.
📍 King Neptune Statue, on the boardwalk at 31st Street, 3001 Atlantic Ave, Virginia Beach, VA 23451. Bring your confirmation and a valid ID, find the lantern by 7:45 PM, and follow it south.