Self Guided Haunted Walking Tour in Portsmouth APP/GPS/EMF Reader

Portsmouth’s old streets hide more than handsome colonial façades. This self-guided walk connects those buildings to ghost stories, buried African American history, secret tunnels, old theaters, and a famously haunted brewery. You follow the route on your phone rather than joining a scheduled group.

I like the freedom to pause for lunch, shopping, or a closer look and the fact that one purchase covers your whole private group. I also like the low price, $9.75 per person, for a route that combines local history with playful spooky tales. The main catch is the technology: downloading the correct WalknTours app, finding Portsmouth, and getting the audio started can take patience.

Key points before you book

• GPS-led route: Start at Ceres Bakery on Penhallow Street and finish at Portsmouth Brewery on Market Street.
• Historic variety: The walk includes an African burial ground memorial, colonial buildings, a former brothel, a grand hotel, a theater, and sites linked to underground tunnels.
• Private and flexible: Only one tour is needed for your group, and you can stop or pause whenever you wish.
• English audio: The narration is delivered through the app, with walking directions and a spooky voice, music, and sound.
• Bring a charged phone: Earbuds make the audio easier to hear, especially in a group or on busy streets.
• Allow 40 minutes to an hour: You may need longer if you stop at businesses, take photographs, or linger at the memorial.

A ghost walk with Portsmouth history underneath

The best feature here is the mix of fact and folklore. You are not simply walking past old buildings while an app recites dates. The stories connect Portsmouth’s past to unsettled spirits, secret passages, former nightlife, celebrated performers, and people who shaped the city.

The tone is light. Some stories are clearly told for fun, while others point toward real places and serious history. That balance makes the walk a good choice if you want something more entertaining than a standard history lecture but more substantial than a string of ghost jokes.

You should also know what this is not. It is not a live theatrical performance, and there is no guide beside you to answer questions or keep everyone together. The app provides the narration and directions. You provide the phone, the pace, and the attention needed to stay on route.

The walk is sold as including an app, GPS guidance, and an EMF reader. The supplied details do not explain how the EMF reader functions or how often it is used, so I would treat that as an extra feature rather than the main reason to book. The real content is the narrated walking route.

Starting at Ceres Bakery on Penhallow Street

The tour begins at Ceres Bakery, 51 Penhallow Street. You do not need to enter the bakery for assistance. That point matters because people have mistaken the business for the tour meeting place and asked staff for help starting the experience.

Before you arrive, download the WalknTours app and select the Portsmouth tour. Do not assume the booking app itself is the audio tour. One past technical problem came from opening a different city in the app, including St. Augustine, Florida, instead of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

I would set up the tour before you leave your hotel or lodging. Make sure the audio plays, confirm that Portsmouth is selected, and charge your phone fully. The route can apparently be downloaded in advance, which is useful if your internet connection is weak in town, but you still need to return to the tour and start it correctly.

The narration guides you from stop to stop using your phone’s location. It recognizes when you reach the next point, though it does not necessarily warn you with a sound if you take a wrong turn. Keep an eye on the map and listen for the directions rather than walking on autopilot.

An 1814 building with a troubled reputation

One early stop is an 1814 building that has changed hands many times. The story connects that restless business history to ghosts said to haunt the property.

This is the kind of stop that works best as a quick street-side story. You are not promised interior access, and several sites on the route may be closed or occupied by active businesses. The pleasure comes from looking at the building while the narration gives it an eerie backstory.

If you enjoy local gossip, old property stories, and a touch of humor, this part should fit the mood. If you need documented proof for every supernatural claim, keep your expectations in check. The tour presents legends as legends, mixing them with historical context rather than proving that a ghost is present.

Portsmouth’s former brothel, dating to 1815

Another building dates to 1815 and once housed one of the city’s popular brothels. That detail gives the walk a more human feel. Portsmouth’s past was not only presidents, merchants, and grand homes. Port towns also had sailors, nightlife, vice, and businesses that polite history often leaves out.

The stop is short, but it helps explain why ghost stories gather around old commercial buildings. Places tied to strong emotions, secrecy, conflict, or sudden change tend to make good settings for local legends.

This is also a reminder that the experience is mainly an exterior walking tour. You will hear the story and see the building from the street. Do not book it expecting a series of open historic interiors.

The 1749 building and Portsmouth’s underground tunnels

The 1749 stop is one of the most interesting historically. It is a pre-Revolutionary building and one of the oldest still standing in Portsmouth. Below its foundation, an underground tunnel system once connected buildings around the city.

The narration uses the tunnels as part of the tour’s mystery, but the larger value is that it gives you a different way to read Portsmouth. The city is not only what you see at street level. Old foundations, buried spaces, and forgotten connections can change how you picture daily life in an earlier port town.

One point needs careful handling. The tunnel stories are a major attraction, but the supplied details do not promise that you will enter the tunnels. Expect to hear about the system while viewing the historic building above it.

The African Burying Ground Memorial

The African Burying Ground Memorial is the most important stop on the route. The burial ground is said to be the largest of its kind in the United States, and more than 200 people from Portsmouth’s African American community are believed to have been buried there.

This stop shifts the mood. The ghost stories are playful, but the memorial asks you to pause and consider people whose lives and deaths were not always recorded or honored properly. It gives the walk a needed connection to the city’s Black history.

Admission is free, and the stop is listed at about three minutes. I would not rush it simply because the suggested time is short. You can pause the tour and take a quiet look at the memorial before continuing.

This is one of the strongest reasons to choose the route over a generic haunted stroll. You get a story about the supernatural, but you also encounter a place of remembrance with real historical weight.

The Rockingham, once a top New England hotel

The Rockingham dates to 1785 and was once one of New England’s most prestigious hotels. The building welcomed Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ulysses S. Grant, and Mark Twain.

That guest list gives the stop a clear sense of place. Portsmouth was not an isolated colonial town frozen in time. It attracted political figures, writers, and important visitors, and its hotels played a role in the city’s public life.

The supernatural angle grows naturally from the building’s long history. Hotels collect stories because so many people pass through them, and the tour uses that atmosphere to keep the walk moving. You may find this stop more rewarding if you enjoy imagining the people who once arrived, stayed, dined, and departed from the same address.

John Paul Jones House and its angry ghost

The old John Paul Jones House dates to 1758. It is linked to several ghost stories, including a claim that John Paul Jones still lingers in the room where he once slept.

Another story describes an angry spirit opening cabinets and slamming doors. That kind of physical activity makes this stop livelier than a simple tale about a shadow in a window.

The house is also a good example of the route’s blend of famous names and local folklore. John Paul Jones is a recognizable historical figure, but the audio turns the building into a place of atmosphere rather than a dry biography.

You should expect to hear the story while walking by, not to conduct a paranormal investigation inside the house. The tour invites you to imagine what might be happening behind the walls. It does not promise that a cabinet will move while you stand outside.

The theater where famous performers still linger

The theater stop brings in a different side of Portsmouth’s past. Over the past century, its halls hosted Harry Houdini, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Mark Twain. The story suggests that the performances were so good that some ghosts decided to stay.

This is a fun stop for anyone who likes old entertainment venues. Houdini adds magic, Buffalo Bill adds spectacle, and Mark Twain adds a literary connection. The building becomes more than another old façade because you can picture the crowds and performers who once filled it.

The story also shows how the tour keeps its tone accessible. It does not treat every ghost claim as a frightening event. Instead, it uses humor and famous names to make the history easy to remember.

Finishing with a drink at Portsmouth Brewery

The final stop is Portsmouth Brewery, 56 Market Street. The route ends here for a practical reason: you can finish with a drink and a meal. The brewery is described as a good spot for a burger and a drink, and it has its own flirtatious ghost story.

This is a smart ending for a self-guided walk. You do not finish in an empty square and wonder where to go next. You arrive at a place where you can sit down and discuss the stories, compare photographs, or simply warm up after walking.

Check the brewery’s current status before setting out. One tour was completed when the brewery was closed for renovations, requiring a change of plan. The supplied opening information lists Monday through Sunday from midnight to 11:30 p.m., but business hours and renovation plans can change.

If the brewery is unavailable, you can still complete the route. Just understand that the planned final stop may not provide the drink or meal described in the audio.

How the app works in real use

The app is the tour guide, map, audio player, and route marker. The narration is in English and includes walking directions. One person can play the tour for the whole group, but street noise can make shared listening difficult.

For the smoothest experience, I would give each person their own phone and earbuds if your group has several people. If you want to share one phone, keep the group close and use a clear speaker setting. One person reported that a spouse could hear the narration, but other groups found the audio hard to follow when several people depended on one device.

Bluetooth earbuds should work if your phone connects to them properly. Test them before starting. A phone that plays music or other audio may still have trouble with the tour app, so do not wait until you are standing at the starting point to troubleshoot.

The tour can be paused, which is one of its best features. Stop for lunch, browse a shop, spend longer at the memorial, or wait for a friend. You can then pick up where you left off instead of rushing through Portsmouth to match a guide’s schedule.

Price, timing, and who gets good value

At $9.75 per person, this is inexpensive compared with a live group tour. The price makes sense for couples, families, or friends who want a short activity and do not need a guide in person. Since one tour is needed per group, the cost is especially attractive when several people listen together.

The value depends on your comfort with self-guided apps. You are paying for the route, narration, stories, GPS directions, and flexibility. You are not paying for a live guide, guaranteed entry to buildings, or a paranormal experience.

Plan on 40 minutes to an hour. The basic route may fit into the shorter end of that range, while pauses, photographs, food, shopping, and wrong turns will extend it. The experience is offered any time, so you can walk during the day or after dark. The spooky tone may feel stronger at night, but the route works in daylight too.

Parking can be difficult in Portsmouth, so public transportation may be useful. The tour is near public transportation, and most people can participate. Service animals are allowed.

Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the start time. Cancellations inside that window are not refunded, and changes made within 24 hours are not accepted.

Who should book this Portsmouth ghost walk?

I would choose this tour if you like history with a playful edge, prefer to avoid a large group, or want an activity that fits around your own schedule. It works well for couples and friends, and families can enjoy it if children are interested in buildings, ghost stories, and walking.

It may not suit you if you dislike phone-based tours, want a live person to answer questions, or need every direction to be completely foolproof. Children who expect jump scares or constant action may find the experience slow, especially during the day. Much of the activity involves walking past buildings while listening to stories.

The English-only format also matters. No Spanish version is provided. If you have hearing or vision needs, check that the app and audio work for you before beginning. One person with visual impairment could follow the group when the audio failed, but that is not a reliable substitute for accessible narration.

My recommendation

I like this as a low-cost way to get your bearings in Portsmouth while hearing stories you would probably miss on a standard sightseeing walk. The African Burying Ground Memorial and underground tunnel history add substance, while the former brothel, John Paul Jones House, theater, and brewery keep the tone lively.

Book it if you are happy to manage the technology yourself. Download the correct WalknTours app, select Portsmouth, test the audio, bring earbuds, and arrive with a full battery. If the app works, you get a flexible private walk with a useful mix of history and ghost tales for a modest price.

Skip it if you want a live storyteller, guaranteed access to historic interiors, or a polished group performance. For independent explorers who enjoy setting their own pace, this is a practical and entertaining Portsmouth introduction.

FAQ

How long does the Portsmouth haunted walking tour take?

The tour takes approximately 40 minutes to one hour. Pausing for food, shopping, photographs, or extra time at a stop can make it longer.

Where does the tour start?

The tour starts at Ceres Bakery, 51 Penhallow Street, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Where does the tour end?

The final stop is Portsmouth Brewery at 56 Market Street. It is intended as a place to finish with a drink and food.

Is the tour guided by a live person?

No. It is a self-guided experience delivered through a mobile app with audio narration, GPS directions, and route guidance.

Is the tour available in languages besides English?

No. The tour is offered in English only.

Can one booking be used by a whole group?

Yes. Only one tour is needed per group because this is a private self-guided activity.

Can I pause the tour?

Yes. You can pause the app to spend more time at a stop, eat, shop, or take a break, then continue later.

What is the cancellation policy?

You can cancel up to 24 hours before the experience start time for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours before the start time are not refunded or accepted.