Downtown Saratoga Springs Historic District · Canfield Casino, Gilded Age gambling history · Saratoga Springs' historic hotel and hospitality district
Joe Haedrich, author of Haunted Saratoga: The Stories Behind Saratoga's Most Infamous Spirits, has led Haunted Saratoga Ghost Tours for close to 15 years. Haedrich's research base traces to the late Dave Pitkin, a Saratoga Springs High School teacher and regional paranormal-history author, whose research Haedrich inherited and built on after Pitkin's death. The tour has been covered by regional public radio station WAMC, Spectrum News, CBS6 Albany, and Saratoga Living magazine, and is listed as a recurring program by the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Tours meet at Saratoga Tea & Honey, 348 Broadway, and run 90 minutes at a leisurely pace covering under a mile of downtown Saratoga Springs, including the Canfield Casino, the Arcade Building, the Adelphi Hotel, and Hattie's restaurant. A separate, unaffiliated national chain operator, US Ghost Adventures, also runs a Saratoga Springs program (Saratoga Scares, `new-york/us-ghost-adventures-saratoga`) meeting at The Devil's Chair in Congress Park and covering some of the same downtown buildings; the two are distinct companies and should not be confused. US Ghost Adventures' own file already flags Haunted Saratoga Ghost Tours as its better-reviewed local counterpart.
Sources
- https://www.hauntedsaratoga.com/
- https://www.wamc.org/news/2023-10-31/haunted-saratoga-ghost-tours-explore-the-spooky-side-of-the-spa-city
- https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/human-interest/2022/07/22/faces-of-saratoga--exploring-the-city-s-ghost-stories-in-haunted-places
- https://saratogaliving.com/do-you-believe-in-ghosts/
ApparitionsUnexplained SoundsFolklore / Legend
The operator's tour narrative describes the Canfield Casino as reportedly haunted by gambler John Morrissey, known as "Old Smoke," and Hattie's restaurant as the site of reported appearances by its former owner. The tour also references Angeline, described in local coverage as "the Witch of Saratoga," as part of the city's broader haunted folklore, alongside stops at the Arcade Building and the Adelphi Hotel.
All of this is the tour operator's own marketing and narrative material, drawing on Haedrich's published research, not documented history independently verified for this listing; it is included here as a description of what the tour covers, not as an endorsement of any specific claim.
Media Appearances
- WAMC (regional public radio)
- Spectrum News
- CBS6 Albany
- Saratoga Living magazine
- Featured on Ghost Hunters (TV series), per operator materials
