Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry

Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry

is under new ownership and is now

Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry

by "O' Be JoyFull!"

The Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry by "O' Be JoyFull" begin at The "O' Be JoyFull" Center, located at 175 High Street, Harpers Ferry, WV. 

Ghost Tours are conducted Monday through Thursday nights at 8:00 PM, by reservation* only, which must be called in to 304/725-8019, or 732/801-0381, by 6:30 PM on the day that you'd like to take the tour. 

Friday & Saturday night ghost tours do not require reservations* and will also leave from The "O' Be JoyFull" Center, 175 High Street, Harpers Ferry, WV, at 8:00 PM.   

(All tours leave The "O' Be JoyFull" Center promptly at 8 PM so please make sure to arrive for your tour by 7:45!)

Sunday night tours...

We are normally closed on Sunday nights and do not offer tours, however if you have a group of 10 or more people, we will gladly conduct a Sunday night tour for your group.  Please call us for arranging a Sunday night tour.

Note:  We will be conducting 8 PM Sunday night tours on the following dates...

Sunday, July 5th, 2009.

Sunday, July 19th, 2009.

Sunday, September 5th, 2009.

* - However, reservations can be beneficial... 

The first 16 paid customers and/or the first 16 reservations are guaranteed a seat in The "O' Be JoyFull" Center's 19th Century Civil War Parlor, for an indoor tour in the case of inclement weather, for the telling of the very same Harpers Ferry Ghost Stories. 

For more information on this please view the Rain-out Policy page.

 Cost... 

The cost for the approximate 1 hour Ghost Tour is $8.00 per person, $5.00 per child 8 to 12 years of age, and there is no charge for children under 8 years of age.

We accept cash and checks only.  We apologize for not having the ability to take credit cards.

There are group discounts available for groups of 10 or more.  Call for more information and pricing.

Rick Garland, of "O' Be JoyFull" Historical Tours & Entertainment, the new owner/manager of Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry, is a Historian, Licensed Tour Guide, Vocalist, Pianist and Historical Story Teller, who conducts historical tours of both Harpers Ferry, WV and Gettysburg, PA, as well as a number of historical songs & stories concert shows. 

 Rick's website for "O' Be JoyFull" Historical Tours & Historical Songs & Stories Concert Shows is  www.obejoyfull.com.

Letter from Ann Kelican, previous owner of Harpers Ferry Ghost Tour: 

March 9, 2009

Dear Friends and Loyal Ghost Tour Patrons:

It is with a heavy yet joyful heart that I write this letter to you.  After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to hang up my cloak and lantern and set aside my spooky story-telling voice in pursuit of a closer relationship with my Savior.  I know to many of you that probably sounds a little insane, but I will ask you to take a moment to read on so you may have a better understanding of why.

I have made no attempts to keep my faith a secret.  For those of you who have been so faithful to attend year after year, you are aware that I have been sharing that faith with anyone who would listen over the past few years.  I have also had the incredible opportunity of speaking with many of you after the tour, listening to your stories of faith and struggle.  You have shared words of wisdom and encouragement, explanations and justifications, as well as scripture verses and I have walked away from each of those conversations, holding your words (and His) in my heart. 

In the story I shared after the tour, I told of the internal struggle I faced after accepting Christ as my Savior.  It was a conflict I suddenly felt between sharing stories about ghosts and not truly understanding where those ghosts stood in relationship to my God.  I reconciled with myself after my grandmother became extremely ill that if I offered the tours with the inclusion of my own personal faith story at the end, that it would be okay with Him.  But it isn't.  I see that so clearly now. 

I prayed with my husband about this decision and though God's answer did not come immediately, when it did come it was absolutely unmistakable.  For the Christians who are reading this, I know you will understand when I say that all of the pieces came together so perfectly that I knew I had His answer.  As I lay in bed unable to sleep, each part of His answer played out in my mind - all of the reasons why I should give up the Ghost Tour.  I will do my best to explain those reasons to you now:

I guess first I should mention the money because, as greedy as it sounds, in truth that is why people start a business.  The Ghost Tour was a partnership between my Grandmother and I and I told myself that it not only provided for our family, but it was also providing for my grandmother as well.  With Social Security being her only other income, I did not know how she would make it without the profit from the tours.  God's answer to that came through two realizations - first, he reminded me that the best financial times for my family were during the three years that I was not helping with the tours (during the time before my grandmother became ill); and second, he reminded me that since my grandmother had recently received a small inheritance she no longer needed income from the tour.

The second piece was another reminder.  Though I was offering my story at the end, I still felt that gentle tug on my heart that told me I should not be doing the tours.  I shared that struggle with a few people during those after-tour-chats.  One gentleman very kindly said to me, "If you're still struggling, then you have your answer."  Those words were so profound that it was as if God Himself was speaking through that kind gentleman (in fact, I am certain that He was).  God resurrected those words in my heart as He played out the answer to my prayer.

Third, there are many Paranormal Investigators taking the tour now and hanging out afterward to do investigations.  I would be lying, if I told you that I am not extremely interested in what they do.  In fact, I have on several occasions stayed after the tour to see what they find.  I have captured the quiet whispers on recording devices that cannot be explained and seen the most bizarre things appear in digital photographs.  But each time I have tagged along, I have felt (again) that gentle tug on my heart that says, "My daughter, you do not belong here."  Those who do the investigations always have a justification for why it is okay but His gentle voice is speaking to me too deeply to ignore.  I feel that it's time I start listening.

The fourth reason ties into the third, and that is my children's interest in the paranormal.  I was raised hearing the ghost stories and until I accepted Christ, never questioned whether it was right or wrong.  However, the ending message of faith was not why my 7-year-old son begged to tag along.  I never thought he was listening because he was always fidgety, but during our rides home he would ask me questions about the stories and their "characters".  At times, he would express his fears and I would reassure him that Jesus loves us and wants us to trust in Him and not be afraid.  Despite that, he was developing an interest in ghosts that I was convinced was harmless.  That was until a ghost tugged on his shoulders one night, frightening him terribly, all because I allowed us to be placed in a position where it could happen.  That spoke volumes to me:  I am trying to raise my children to know, love, and trust Christ above all other things and yet there I was introducing him to something that was completely contradicting those teachings.  I realized that I had compromised his faith by introducing him to something that I myself was questioning.  If for no other reason, this one alone would be enough for me to have made this choice.

And lastly, I want to simply share something that God placed on my heart as I sat down to write this.  God is Light.  Ghosts exist in the darkness.

I cannot expect everyone who reads this to agree with me or to even understand my decision, but I just wanted to take the opportunity to offer an explanation.  God's gentle voice has been speaking to me so loudly and yet I was too stubborn to listen.  I guess that is proof that even as a Christian, I am not perfect.  I pray for His forgiveness for waiting so long and I pray for each of you who reads this that it may in someway touch your heart and encourage you.

If you do not yet have a relationship with Christ, please understand that you do not have to be perfect to receive His forgiveness.  You simply need to ask for it.  Once you have done that, ask Him into your life - make Him your Lord and Savior and let Him do the rest. 

Sincerely,

Ann Kelican