HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Downtown, German Village, and Green Lawn Cemetery Ghost Walks Plus Paranormal Investigations at Thurber House, Ringside Cafe, and the Cultural Arts Center
19 N Pearl Street, Columbus, OH 43215
Research updated August 2026
Age
12+ for the Creepy Columbus, German Village, and Civil War Ghosts of Green Lawn Cemetery tours; 18+ (car required) for Night at Green Lawn Cemetery; 21+ for Booze & Boos and the Ringside Cafe investigation, which visit bars serving alcohol
Cost
$$
Creepy Columbus Downtown Walking Tour and German Village Walking Tour from $30pp; Civil War Ghosts of Green Lawn Cemetery from $35pp; Booze & Boos and Night at Green Lawn Cemetery from $40pp; Thurber House and Cultural Arts Center investigations from $35pp; Ringside Cafe investigation from $40pp. Pricing per the operator's own site.
Access
Limited Access
Outdoor walking tours on downtown Columbus and German Village sidewalks; the Green Lawn Cemetery tours cover cemetery grounds after dark; paranormal investigations are indoors at partner venues.
Equipment
Photos OK
Green Lawn Cemetery (founded 1848, ~360 acres) · Ringside Cafe (1897, one of Columbus's oldest bars) · Cultural Arts Center / former Ohio Penitentiary arsenal grounds
Columbus Ghost Tours has operated in Columbus for more than a decade. Its tours are written and researched by E.R. "Bucky" Cutright, author of Haunted Cemeteries of Ohio, who leads the company's cemetery and paranormal-investigation programming; local coverage describes him as the only guide permitted to conduct tours inside Green Lawn Cemetery. The company markets itself as Columbus's original, locally owned ghost-tour operator, distinct from national franchise chains that have since entered the local market.
The operator's route touches several documented Columbus landmarks: Green Lawn Cemetery, a roughly 360-acre rural cemetery founded in 1848 and the resting place of numerous notable Ohioans; the Ringside Cafe, a downtown Columbus bar and restaurant building dating to 1897 and among the city's oldest continuously operating taverns; Thurber House, the restored 1873 Victorian residence and literary museum where humorist James Thurber lived as a young man; the Cultural Arts Center, a Civil War-era former state arsenal building on the grounds of the original Ohio Penitentiary site, later converted to community arts space; and the Central Ohio Fire Museum, housed in the 1908 Engine House No. 16.
The company has been covered by Columbus-market local news (NBC4/WCMH) and local lifestyle outlets including Step Out Columbus and Columbus on the Cheap, and is listed by the city's tourism and arts organizations, alongside a substantial base of Tripadvisor reviews.
Sources
The operator's downtown, German Village, and cemetery walking tours are billed as covering "grim history and ghostly tales" gathered from local sources and cemetery lore, without a published stop-by-stop itinerary — the operator keeps most routes intentionally undisclosed until the week of the tour. Its Green Lawn Cemetery programs describe guests surrounded by roughly 160,000 graves after dark, hearing graveside stories tied to specific interments.
The paranormal-investigation series at Thurber House, the Ringside Cafe, the Cultural Arts Center, and the Central Ohio Fire Museum pairs a guided tour of each building with hands-on time using investigation equipment the operator provides in limited supply, with waivers signed on site. The operator frames these as opportunities to "search for evidence" of reported activity at each venue, rather than as confirmed hauntings.
All of this is the tour operator's own marketing material, not documented history independently verified for this listing; it is included here as a description of what the tours cover, not as an endorsement of any specific claim.
Media Appearances
A roughly 90-minute storytelling walk through downtown Columbus, pairing local history with reported hauntings. Tickets from $30 per person, ages 12+. Meets at the Ringside Cafe; exact starting details are emailed to ticket holders the week of the tour.
A walking tour of German Village's brick-lined 19th-century streets, covering over 200 years of reported hauntings collected from people who have lived and worked in the neighborhood. Tickets from $30 per person, ages 12+.
A roughly 2.5-hour, mile-and-a-half pub-crawl-style walking tour of downtown Columbus taverns, blending drinking-history stops with reported haunting stories. Tickets from $40 per person, 21+; non-alcoholic options are available.
An after-hours walking tour inside Green Lawn Cemetery, with the group and guide E.R. "Bucky" Cutright locked in among the cemetery's roughly 160,000 interments at dusk for graveside storytelling. Tickets from $40 per person, 18+, and a personal vehicle is required to reach the cemetery. A portion of proceeds supports cemetery preservation. Cutright is reported to be the only guide permitted to conduct tours on Green Lawn Cemetery grounds.
A graveside walking tour through Green Lawn Cemetery focused on Civil War-era burials and reported hauntings tied to the cemetery's history across the city. Tickets from $35 per person, ages 12+.
A guided tour of the historic Thurber House followed by hands-on time with paranormal investigation equipment, run 7:30-9:30 PM. Tickets from $35 per person; operator does not publish a specific minimum age for this investigation-format product.
A late-night ghost tour and hands-on paranormal investigation inside the historic Ringside Cafe (built 1897), running 11 PM-1 AM with the bar open for the duration. Tickets from $40 per person, 21+ (the tour visits a bar serving alcohol). Limited investigation equipment is provided; a waiver is signed on site.
A guided tour and hands-on paranormal investigation inside the Cultural Arts Center, a Civil War-era former arsenal building on the site of the first Ohio Penitentiary, running roughly 6-8 PM. Tickets from $35 per person; limited equipment provided and a waiver is signed on site. Operator does not publish a specific minimum age for this investigation-format product. More dates were listed as coming in 2026.
A guided tour of the 1908 Engine House No. 16, home of the Central Ohio Fire Museum, followed by hands-on investigation time with provided equipment. Tickets through columbusghosttours.com; all ages; participants sign a waiver.
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Site of the Night at Green Lawn Cemetery and Civil War Ghosts of Green Lawn Cemetery walking tours.
Venue for the Thurber House Ghost Tour and Paranormal Investigation.
Venue for the Central Ohio Fire Museum Ghost Tour and Paranormal Investigation, booked through columbusghosttours.com.
1897 downtown Columbus bar; meeting point for the Creepy Columbus Downtown Walking Tour and venue for the Ringside Cafe Ghost Tour and Paranormal Investigation.
Civil War-era former arsenal building on the site of the first Ohio Penitentiary; venue for the Cultural Arts Center Ghost Tour and Paranormal Investigation.
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