HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Historian-Led Haunted History Walks Through Downtown Fort Myers and the Franklin Shops District
2200 First Street, Fort Myers, FL 33901
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Haunted History Tour (Franklin Shops) $25 plus tax; River District History Tour $25 plus tax; Stories of the Stones Cemetery Tour $22 plus tax. Pricing per the operator's own site.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Outdoor walking tours through downtown Fort Myers' Franklin Shops and River District commercial blocks, and a separate cemetery tour on grass and paved paths.
Equipment
Photos OK
Downtown Fort Myers Commercial District (National Register of Historic Places) · Burroughs Home & Gardens / Murphy-Burroughs House (1901) · Fort Myers River District
True Tours was founded in 2010 by Gina Taylor, the former director of the Southwest Florida Museum of History, with a stated goal of presenting local history and paranormal claims through a lens of historical accuracy rather than sensationalism. Lee County historian Joanne Iwinski Miller has also been associated with the company's research, and the operator's marketing describes its guides as prioritizing documented facts over invented stories.
The flagship Haunted History Tour walks downtown Fort Myers' Franklin Shops district, part of the Downtown Fort Myers Commercial District on the National Register of Historic Places, and includes the Burroughs Home & Gardens (Murphy-Burroughs House), a 1901 Georgian Revival mansion. Paranormal author and guide Christopher Balzano of Tripping on Legends is now a featured tour leader. A separate daytime River District History Tour and a Stories of the Stones Cemetery Tour round out the company's offerings.
The company and its Haunted History Tour were profiled by WGCU, Southwest Florida's PBS/NPR affiliate, in a piece that describes Taylor's stated commitment to historical accuracy, and by Florida Weekly. It also carries an established base of TripAdvisor reviews.
Sources
The company's founder, Gina Taylor, has described an example of unexplained activity at the Burroughs Home involving a bathtub that reportedly filled with water on three separate Mondays when no staff were present, an account she has offered publicly in local press coverage as illustrative of the kind of documented-but-unexplained incident the tour discusses. Historian Joanne Iwinski Miller, associated with the company, has emphasized that the tours prioritize "facts" over "fabricated stories."
This reflects the operator's public description of its tour content, corroborated by local press coverage of the business, not an independent haunting investigation by HauntBound; it is included here to describe what the tour covers, not as an endorsement of any specific paranormal claim.
Media Appearances
A 90-minute walking tour through downtown Fort Myers' historic Franklin Shops district, pairing documented local history with reported unexplained incidents at real buildings, including the Burroughs Home. Tickets $25 plus tax, all ages. Runs Wednesday and Saturday nights.
A 90-minute daytime walking tour of downtown Fort Myers' River District, covering the area's founding and commercial history. Tickets $25 plus tax, all ages.
A 60-minute guided walk through a historic Fort Myers cemetery, covering the burials and local history behind the grave markers. Tickets $22 plus tax.
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Featured stop on the Haunted History Tour; the operator's founder cites reported unexplained water incidents there as a notable example.
The historic commercial district (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) that the Haunted History Tour walks through.
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