HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
San Diego Ghosts: A Gaslamp Quarter Ghost Walk and a Boos-and-Booze Pub Crawl
Balboa Theatre, Horton Plaza Park, 868 Fourth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
About $32 per person for the roughly 1-hour walking tour, per third-party booking listings (Viator); the operator's own site directs guests to book online for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved Gaslamp Quarter sidewalks in downtown San Diego, meeting outside the Balboa Theatre in Horton Plaza Park.
Equipment
Photos OK
Gaslamp Quarter Historic District · Horton Plaza Park
US Ghost Adventures runs its San Diego program under the brand San Diego Ghosts, meeting nightly outside the Balboa Theatre in Horton Plaza Park, 868 Fourth Ave. The roughly 1-hour walking tour covers the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego's Victorian-era commercial core.
The operator's marketing frames San Diego's history from Spanish mission settlement through 19th-century yellow fever outbreaks and the Gaslamp Quarter's Victorian commercial buildings as backdrop for the reported hauntings covered on the tour route.
Sources
The operator's narrative describes Room 309 at the Horton Grand Hotel as haunted by the spirit of a 19th-century gambler that long-standing local legend, repeated across multiple San Diego ghost-tour operators, names Roger Whitaker, reportedly shot by creditors while hiding in the room's armoire. At Prohibition, a Gaslamp Quarter cocktail lounge in an 1860s building the operator says served as the city morgue for over a century and later housed the Museum of Death, staff reportedly decline to discuss the building's past with guests. The route narrative also references the William Heath Davis House, described by the operator as haunted by the apparition of a WWII-era soldier.
All of this is the tour operator's own marketing and narrative material, not documented history verified independently for this listing; it is included here as a description of what the tour covers, not as an endorsement of any specific claim.
A roughly 1-hour walking tour meeting outside the Balboa Theatre in Horton Plaza Park, 868 Fourth Ave. Covers the Gaslamp Quarter, including the Horton Grand Hotel and the Prohibition cocktail lounge. Held nightly, rain or shine.
A pub crawl through the Gaslamp Quarter's historic bars, up to two hours, paired with ghost stories.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Featured stop; operator's marketing ties reported hauntings to Room 309 and a 19th-century gambler local legend names Roger Whitaker.
Featured stop; operator's marketing references the building's history as a city morgue and, later, the Museum of Death.
Named in the operator's route narrative as San Diego's oldest surviving structure downtown, also known as the Davis-Horton House; no independent corpus match found.
Nightly meeting point outside the theatre in Horton Plaza Park.
Featured stop; the operator's marketing bills it as the most haunted house in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
10 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charleston, SC
Nightly Spirits is a multi-city ghost-tour and haunted-pub-crawl operator running public and private programs in about 20 U.S. cities, including a Historic Downtown Charleston route with a kid-friendly pirate-themed option. The company has been recognized as a top-rated U.S. ghost tour by USA Today in multiple years.
Denver, CO
Nightly Spirits is a multi-city ghost-tour and haunted-pub-crawl operator running a Denver program centered on LoDo, meeting at Celtic on Market and covering Denver Union Station and the Oxford Hotel; a second South Broadway route is currently private-booking-only.
Alexandria, VA
Nightly Spirits is a multi-city ghost-tour and haunted-pub-crawl operator running public and private programs in about 20 U.S. cities, including a Colonial-era Old Town Alexandria route since at least 2020. The company has been recognized as a top-rated U.S. ghost tour by USA Today in multiple years.