Freedom Trail after dark experiences
Discover the Freedom Trail in a new light – after dark – on the official Freedom Trail Lantern Tours. Freedom Trail Foundation announces the return of the unique Lantern Tours, offering visitors and residents the opportunity to experience the sinister history and mystery of the Freedom Trail by lantern-light! The annual Lantern Tours will be offered on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 6 p.m. from September 17 until October 30, and Wednesday, October 28. Official Freedom Trail historic sites’ evening Crypt Tours at King’s Chapel and Old North Church also return this fall.
Duels, the grave of a ruthless pirate, punishments of convicted witches and more: all real and explored on the Freedom Trail Lantern Tours. Investigate the ghoulish side of Boston’s iconic red-lined-path and hear historic tales too dark and macabre for daytime. Join Freedom Trail Players, darkly garbed with lanterns, and bring true accounts of appalling crimes, spies and assassins, to life on these 90-minute walking tours.
Lantern Tours start from the Boston Common Visitor Information Center plaza and illuminate the Granary and King’s Chapel burying grounds as the final resting places of convicted pirates and others connected to Boston’s less-illustrious past. Locations such as the Boston Massacre Site and the former site of the Old Gaol (Old Jail), adjacent to the Old State House and home to many of old Boston’s most infamous criminals, are also featured along the way on the Freedom Trail.
“The Freedom Trail Lantern Tours and sites’ Crypt Tours are a great way to experience the darker side of our history,” says Suzanne Taylor, Executive Director, Freedom Trail Foundation. “These nighttime tours give visitors and residents the opportunity to learn about Boston’s true, yet lesser-known, ghoulish history as people celebrate the spooky Halloween season.”
Led by 18th-century costumed guides, Freedom Trail Foundation walking tours are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors/students, and $8 for children 12 and under. Purchase of a ticket includes a $1 donation to the Freedom Trail Foundation’s Preservation Fund, which helps support preservation projects at official Freedom Trail historic sites. Tickets may be purchased at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center (8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.) or online at TheFreedomTrail.org. Lantern Tours may also be scheduled as a private group tour year-round. For more information about the Lantern and Crypt Tours, please contact the Freedom Trail Foundation at 617-357-8300 or visit TheFreedomTrail.org.