Ghost stories are getting a pirate-inspired twist in Old Town Alexandria. Alexandria Colonial Tours is putting a new spin on its ghost storytelling with its new River Route Pirate Tour. The experience runs on Fridays and Saturdays and tells the city’s past with tales of pirates, ghosts, and crimes committed along the Potomac River.
The tour comes after 40 years of operating the Ghost and Graveyard Tour, allowing visitors to learn about Old Town through a new lens.
“We’ve been looking for a way to expand,” says Jimmy Meritt, manager at Alexandria Colonial Tours, who developed the experience. “As I was researching and learning about all the unusual things that happened along the Potomac, I knew we had to build a tour around it.”
The walking tour follows Alexandria’s waterfront, where guides share stories about pirates, criminal activity, and reported hauntings. The moonlit walk leads guests along the river, through an abandoned train tunnel, and ends at a historic cemetery.
While some ghost tours blur the line between fantasy and reality, Meritt says historical accuracy is always a priority.
“We like to say that the history of the piracy and the deaths is 100% true and researched,” Meritt said. “When we talk about ghosts, it’s 100% true that people have reported seeing them — people can decide for themselves if ghostly apparitions are real or not.”
Returning guests won’t have to hear recycled material, as the River Route focuses entirely on new harrowing stories. Among these are tales of feuds, scoundrels, gunfights, and even connections to the notorious pirate Blackbeard.
Tickets for the River Route Ghost and Pirate tour and the Original Ghost and Graveyard tour can be found online. Visitors are encouraged to book in advance.
Feature image courtesy Jimmy Meritt
