Spirits With The Spirits, Haunted Pub Crawl

Flagstaff’s haunted past is best explored on foot, with a drink in hand and a story that gets darker as the evening goes on. I like the way this crawl links the Weatherford Hotel and Orpheum Theatre with the town’s less polished tales, including murder, suicide, robbery, and the tragedy of Marie Walkup. I also like the three pub stops, since you are not just walking past old buildings, you are pausing inside them.

The main catch is simple: this is a walking tour built around alcohol, not a formal history lecture or a theatrical scare show. You need to be 21 or older, bring a passport or ID card, and be comfortable spending about two and a half hours on your feet. The $50 price is fair if you value the guide and the included storytelling, but less so if you mainly want drinks or a quick ghost story.

Key points to know before you book

• The route begins beside Flagstaff’s 1926 train depot, on the south side facing the tracks, and returns there at the end.
• The Weatherford Hotel’s Zane Gray Bar is a major stop, connecting Flagstaff’s literary and hotel history with the evening’s ghost stories.
• Three historic downtown pubs are included, with time to enjoy a drink and hear stories inside or on a patio.
• The stories range from amusing to grim, covering robberies, murders, suicides, eccentric locals, and the tragic Marie Walkup case.
• Guide Steve has earned special praise for his storytelling and Flagstaff history, though the assigned guide may vary.
• The tour is English-language, wheelchair accessible, and limited to adults aged 21 and older.

Starting beside the 1926 train depot

Your meeting point is on the south side of Flagstaff’s train station, on the track side. Look for a guide dressed in southwestern gothic clothing. That outfit should make the meeting easier, especially if several evening activities are gathering near the station.

The depot is a fitting place to begin. Flagstaff grew from a railroad settlement, and the station remains tied to the town’s older identity. Starting here gives the tour a clear sense of place before you head into the historic downtown district. You are not meeting at a generic bar or parking lot. You begin beside a building connected to Flagstaff’s past and one of the local sites associated with supernatural activity.

The meeting instructions are brief, so plan to arrive with enough time to find the track-side entrance. The tour ends back at this same point, which makes the evening easier to manage if you have dinner, a hotel, or another plan nearby. You will not need to arrange a separate ride from the final pub.

A walking tour through Flagstaff’s older streets

The heart of the activity is a guided walk through downtown Flagstaff. You will pass historic buildings, hear about the people who built and used them, and stop at pubs along the way. The route is not just a string of haunted claims. It connects old businesses, hotels, homes, theaters, and the railroad to the people and scandals that shaped the town.

I like this format because the stories have somewhere to land. When a guide talks about a former hotel, theater, or private home, you can look at the building while hearing what happened there. That makes the history easier to remember than a list of dates delivered indoors.

The tone appears to mix humor with darker material. Flagstaff’s early characters include eccentric local figures and people involved in crime, tragedy, or scandal. You should expect some amusing anecdotes alongside stories of murder and suicide. This is not an evening of light ghost jokes from start to finish.

The streets also matter. Walking between stops gives the guide time to explain how the buildings fit together and how the downtown district developed. It also means the tour has a social, bar-to-bar rhythm rather than the feel of a museum visit. You may enjoy the pacing, but anyone looking for a seated program should know that much of the activity takes place outdoors.

The Weatherford Hotel and Zane Gray Bar

The Weatherford Hotel is one of the evening’s main landmarks. It sits next to the Orpheum Theatre, and both buildings were created from the plans of John Weatherford. That pairing gives the guide two strong settings for discussing Flagstaff’s old commercial and entertainment life.

You will stop for a drink at the historic Zane Gray Bar inside the Weatherford. This is one of the more appealing parts of the crawl because the bar offers a direct link between the building’s past and the evening’s social side. You can sit, order a drink, and listen instead of trying to follow a story while walking.

The hotel’s name also brings another layer to the setting. Zane Gray is associated with the American West, so the bar fits the southwestern mood of the tour. The available details do not specify a particular drink, so you should choose from what the bar offers rather than expect a special cocktail included in the ticket.

The Weatherford stop is valuable even if you are not deeply interested in ghosts. Historic hotels often gather several kinds of stories in one place: travelers, workers, entertainers, local residents, and the occasional tragic event. Here, the building functions as both a pub stop and a piece of Flagstaff history.

The Orpheum Theatre and downtown ghost stories

The Orpheum Theatre sits beside the Weatherford Hotel and is another building associated with John Weatherford. You will walk past it as part of the downtown route. Even without entering, the theater helps show how Flagstaff’s old center was shaped by entertainment as well as lodging and trade.

The tour’s focus is not limited to famous buildings. It also brings in the people tied to them. You will hear about colorful figures from the town’s earlier years, including Dr. Raymond, described as a beloved but eccentric physician. His home and offices were on Leroux Street, giving the route another place where local character matters as much as architecture.

These details are useful because haunted history works best when it stays connected to real people and real addresses. A ghost story can fade quickly when it has no setting. A story attached to a theater, hotel, or doctor’s office gives you something concrete to picture as you walk.

Do not expect every stop to be a full ghost investigation. The available details describe a guided historical pub crawl with supernatural stories, not equipment, séances, or formal paranormal tests. The reward is atmosphere and storytelling, not proof of the afterlife.

Drinks at three historic downtown pubs

The crawl includes stops at three different historic downtown pubs. At each, you can enjoy a drink while the guide continues with stories from Flagstaff’s past. One stop includes the Zane Gray Bar, while another part of the route may allow you to sit outdoors on a patio and listen.

I like the pub structure because it breaks up the walk. A drink gives you time to rest, talk with the group, and absorb the previous story before moving on. The patio stop can also make the evening feel less staged. You are sitting in a real public place, hearing seedy local tales in the same downtown area where the events are set.

Your ticket costs $50 per person, and the value depends on how you use these stops. The price pays for the guided route, the local history, and the convenience of visiting three historic pubs in one evening. It does not mean you should assume all drinks are included. The supplied details only say you can enjoy a drink at the pubs, so budget separately for what you order.

This matters for comparison. If you want a cheap bar crawl with minimal commentary, $50 may feel high. If you want a guided evening that combines Flagstaff history, haunted sites, and several carefully chosen stops, the price is easier to justify. The tour also saves you from choosing the bars and planning a route yourself.

Because the activity is for people 21 and older, the mood is clearly adult. It is not a family ghost walk with soft stories. The alcohol component and tales of violence make it better suited to adults who enjoy a little local grit with their history.

Dr. Raymond, Marie Walkup, and the darker side of town

Some of the most memorable material is likely to come from the human tragedies woven into the route. Dr. Raymond’s story adds an eccentric, personal note. The story of Marie Walkup and her murdered children is far more disturbing, and it reflects the difficult realities behind a town’s old buildings.

You should know about this tonal shift before booking. The evening may begin with colorful characters and playful ghost lore, but it also includes murder, suicide, and the loss of children. If you prefer your haunted tours to stay light, this may be more serious than expected.

For me, the value of these stories is that they show the past as more than a collection of charming old buildings. Flagstaff’s preserved downtown can look tidy and picturesque, but the people who lived there faced crime, grief, uncertainty, and hard choices. The tour uses those stories to give the streets emotional weight.

The guide’s role matters greatly here. Steve received especially strong praise for bringing old and more recent ghost stories to life, and for making Flagstaff’s history easy to follow. Another guide may lead your departure, but the experience clearly depends on a host who can shift from humor to darker material without making either side feel forced.

What the two-and-a-half-hour timing feels like

The tour lasts about two and a half hours. That is long enough to include three pub stops and several historic sites, but short enough to fit into an evening without taking over your whole night.

You should expect a steady mix of walking, standing, sitting, and listening. The route is through downtown Flagstaff, and the meeting and ending point are both at the train station. The exact starting time changes by date, so check availability when you choose your booking.

The length also gives the guide room to tell complete stories. A rushed one-hour walk might mention the Weatherford, the Orpheum, and the depot without explaining why they matter. Two and a half hours allows time for context, pub breaks, and the more personal stories connected to Leroux Street and other downtown locations.

Still, wear sensible shoes and dress for an evening outdoors. The tour includes walking and an outdoor patio stop, though the provided information does not give specific weather guidance. You should be ready for changing conditions rather than treating this as an entirely indoor bar program.

The route is listed as wheelchair accessible. If accessibility is important for your plans, the official accessibility information supports booking, while the exact walking surface and stop-by-stop details are not provided. You can ask for more route information before departure if you need it.

Who will enjoy this Flagstaff evening

I would choose this tour if you like local history delivered through stories rather than formal lectures. It suits adults who enjoy old hotels, historic downtowns, ghost tales, and a drink at the end of a walking segment.

It is also a good fit if you want an organized evening in Flagstaff. You get a guide, a defined route, three pub stops, and a return to the original meeting point. That is simpler than trying to build your own haunted walk around the Weatherford, Orpheum Theatre, train depot, and other sites.

You may want to skip it if you do not drink, dislike stories about murder and suicide, or want a polished stage performance with actors and special effects. The appeal is the guide’s voice, the real buildings, and the odd mix of history and ghost lore.

The tour can work well early in a Flagstaff visit because it gives you a useful orientation to downtown. You will learn names, buildings, and local stories that can make later walks more meaningful. It also gives you a reason to step inside historic pubs you might otherwise pass without noticing.

Booking details that affect the value

The listed price is $50 per person. Drinks are not stated as included, so treat the pub purchases as an additional cost. The ticket covers the guided haunted crawl, the guide, and the history you gain along the route.

You can cancel up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund. A reserve-now, pay-later option is also available, which helps if your Flagstaff schedule is still changing. The tour is conducted in English, and you need a passport or ID card.

The operator is Freaky Foot Tours. The tour has a 4.5 rating from four reviews, with especially strong comments about guide Steve’s storytelling and his command of Flagstaff history. The small number of reviews means I would treat that rating as encouraging rather than final proof, but the repeated praise points to the guide as the main reason to book.

Should you book Spirits With The Spirits?

Book this crawl if you want real downtown settings, three historic pubs, and local stories with a darker edge. The Weatherford Hotel, Zane Gray Bar, Orpheum Theatre, train depot, and Leroux Street give the evening a strong sense of place. The route is more satisfying than a generic ghost walk because the buildings and people are tied to Flagstaff itself.

The $50 cost makes the most sense when you value a well-led evening and plan to buy drinks along the way. I would pass if you want a low-cost bar outing, a family activity, or a purely factual history tour. For adults who enjoy a little shiver with their local history, this is a practical and entertaining way to meet Flagstaff after dark.

FAQ

Where does the haunted pub crawl begin?

Meet the guide on the south side of the Flagstaff train station, on the track side. Look for someone dressed in southwestern gothic attire.

Where does the tour end?

The activity ends back at the same meeting point beside the train station.

How long does the tour last?

The guided crawl lasts about two and a half hours. Starting times vary, so check availability for your date.

How many pubs does the tour visit?

The route includes drinks at three different historic downtown pubs, including the Weatherford Hotel’s Zane Gray Bar.

Is the tour suitable for people under 21?

No. The activity is not suitable for anyone under 21.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the activity is listed as wheelchair accessible.

What should I bring?

Bring a passport or ID card. You should also be prepared for a walking route through downtown Flagstaff and pub stops where you can order drinks.