Take Johannesburg's Most Spine-Chilling Ghost Tour At Your Own Risk

Calling all thrill-seekers! If you’re after an out-of-the-ordinary activity, Johannesburg’s Mystery Ghost Bus tour is for you. Expect an evening filled with spooky tales and spine-chilling demonstrations, rounded off with a midnight visit to a cemetery.

Where will the Mystery Ghost Bus Tour take you?

The evening kicks off at the historic, and notoriously haunted, Sunnyside Park Hotel in Parktown, where guests are given a chilling introduction by illusionist and parapsychologist Mark Rose-Christie, who also happens to be the owner of Mystery Ghost Bus. From there, the bus tour continues to every imaginable eerie spot in the city, so brace yourself for an unforgettable and fright-filled evening.

On the lookout for serial killer Daisy de Melker

From jail cells to castles

The tour then continues to Constitution Hill, home of the former Women’s Prison and Old Fort. Both buildings have a long history of abuse, disease, and multiple atrocities toward prisoners. Today, the complex is a living museum, but the eerie atmosphere persists, and stories of its tragic history as well as modern hauntings grip visitors.

From there, you’ll travel to the Kensington Sanatorium, built in 1897, the Poltergeist House of Roberts Avenue, and Jeppe Boys High School, where a headless women is often seen in Payne Hall holding her head in her hands. Legend has it that she committed suicide after the death of her husband during World War I.
Guests step off the bus at the towering Kensington Castle to enjoy a dramatic tale told by a ghost and heard over a radio. The Castle, built in 1911, is one of Johannesburg’s most iconic buildings, and has been abandoned multiple times for unknown reasons, adding to the mystery and speculation surrounding it.

The grand finale

The final stop is the Braamfontein cemetery, which was established in 1888 and is the final resting place of many famous and infamous South Africans, including Enoch Sontonga, the composer of the country’s national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. The four members of the scandalous Foster Gang are also buried here. A long manhunt by South African police followed the gang’s many disgraceful acts of robbery and murder, and they committed mass suicide in 1914 after police bombarded their hideaway, and their bodies now rest in the historic cemetery.

The whole evening is completed just after midnight with a dramatic finale that is sure to send chills down your spine.

Public tours cost R389 (US$33) per person and private tours can be booked for a minimum of 30 people. Remember cash for food as well as comfortable walking shoes and, of course, a camera – you never know what you might get a snap of.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.