Where to Take a Killer Tour…A Serial Killer Tour, That Is

First published on March 28, 2017. Updated January 30, 2025.

Here at Haunt Jaunts we have a fondness for tours. The more macabre, the better. True crime tours certainly fit that bill. That’s why, once upon a time, a tweet from iHorror about a certain tour caught my eye.

A Jeffrey Dahmer tour? https://t.co/8xI0pUCJdG #TravelTuesday #travel #tourism #WI #MacabreMonday

— Haunt Jaunts (@HauntJaunts) March 14, 2017

Wait. What? A Dahmer tour? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Interesting concept for a tour? Or too much?

When I mentioned it to a friend, she reminded me I had taken a Jack the Ripper tour when I went to London. So why not one for Dahmer?

Also, he wasn’t the only American serial killer who had one. She knew of an H. H. Holmes tour, too, and suggested if I looked hard enough, I’d probably also find one for Ted Bundy.

Challenge accepted. Let’s explore the serial killer tours that I found.

1. Austin, Texas: Murder Walk Austin

Most people believe H. H. Holmes (who we’ll get to) was America’s first serial killer. He wasn’t. Although, to be fair, he is perhaps the first one whose identity was known.

In fact, the Austin Axe Murderer, a.k.a. The Servant Girl Annihilator, terrorized Austin even before Jack the Ripper (who we’ll also get to) struck fear in London.

The Ripper first struck in 1888. Holmes didn’t claim his first victims in his Murder Castle until 1894.

The chilling “midnight assassin” preyed on Austin for about a year from 1884 to 1885. He was never caught or identified, but he hacked eight women to death before the killings stopped as suddenly as they’d started.

You’ll hear about that during this tour, which also includes a stop for drinks at the Driskill Hotel, one of Texas’s romantic, historic (and haunted) hotels.

For more info, visit Walking Tours of Austin.

2. Chicago, Illinois: H.H. Holmes Tours (a.k.a. America’s First Serial Killer)

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a phenomenal book about H. H. Holmes. (Well, that and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and how it played a part in Holmes’ atrocities.)

Kind of like its title, the book is long and involved, but it has haunted me ever since I read it. Especially how Holmes’s “Murder Castle” was destroyed to deter morbid tourists. But even to this day, it doesn’t.

There are a couple of companies who offer a “Devil in the White City Tour,” including:

1. American Ghost Walks
2. Weird Chicago Tours

They both claim to be the original tour. Which is about par for the course for Chicago. (In his book, Erik Larson did a fabulous job explaining the psyche of Chicago and its citizens. I think it might be disappointing not to have two tour companies vying to be the “original” creator of such a tour.)

Both tours do what the book does: “delve into the history, mystery, murder and mayhem” of a man dubbed America’s first serial killer. (But he wasn’t.)

Tours are offered on a limited basis by both companies. (Meaning not every night, and not even every weekend.) Plan ahead accordingly.

Note: If you’re familiar with Troy Taylor and his American Hauntings, Weird Chicago Tours is him too. He also hosts the Haunted America Conference each year. (Find it on our Paracons & Horror Fests page.) Theoretically, you could go to the con and take the Devil in the White City tour. (If a tour was offered around that time, that is.)

3. Hollywood, California & New Orleans, Louisiana: The Museum of Death

I included the Museum of Death in the Vile Vacations guest post I wrote for HorrorAddicts.net. I decided to include it here because it’s a self-guided tour of the museum’s artifacts, which include “the world’s largest collection of serial murderer artwork, photos of the Charles Manson crime scenes,” as well as videos of serial killers. (I’m presuming videos of interviews with them.)

They have two locations for your jaunting pleasure. For info on their exact locations in each city, visit their website.

4. London, England: Jack the Ripper Tour

Jack the Ripper is one of the most well-known, if not the most well-known, serial killers in history. Or, rather, unknown. There are many theories about his identity, but he took that information with him to his grave. Which left behind one of the most notorious unsolved crimes and no justice for his five victims: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.

There are all sorts of Jack the Ripper tours in London, including some very novel ones.

For instance, the Jack the Ripper Tour with ‘Ripper-Vision’ uses “…innovative hand-held projectors help to recreate the atmosphere of Victorian London using spooky images, film clips and moving images.” It sounds pretty cool, and must be. It’s recommended by over 90% of travelers on Viator, with the majority of those who rated it giving it five stars.

Two others combine food and drink: the Jack The Ripper Happy Hour Tasting Tour (sort of a serial killer tour pub crawl), and the Jack The Ripper Walking Tour in London with Fish and Chips. (Two of London’s most iconic elements combined!)

We took a daytime one that was included with our Original London Sightseeing Tour: Hop-on Hop-off. It was phenomenal.

However, honestly, there is no shortage of Jack the Ripper tours, and a great place to find a bunch of them is on Viator. Plus, that way, you can evaluate user reviews to find the best option for you, your time, and your money.

5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: The Cream City Cannibal Tour (a.k.a. Jeffrey Dahmer tour)

Two tour companies operate Jeffrey Dahmer tours, both of which they call “Cream City Cannibal Tour.”

1. Hangman Tours
2. Milwaukee’s Haunted Bar

Like the H. H. Holmes tours, the Dahmer ones are also offered on a limited basis. (Not only not every night or weekend, but sometimes only during certain months.)

6. Salt Lake City, Utah: Outer Reaches Tour

From spring through Fall, Grimm Ghost Tours offers a tour that isn’t solely about serial killer Ted Bundy but includes a portion about him.

The neat thing about the tour is you board a bus to go to the locations and are allowed to investigate too, not just hear ghost stories. Other stops on the Outer Reaches Tour include The Old Fort Douglas, The Premiere Gentile Gentlemen’s Club in the early history of Salt Lake City, The Old Haunted Library, and The Hancock Mansion.

So who knows? Maybe you’ll chance upon Ted Bundy’s ghost on this tour?

For more info, v isit Grimm Ghost Tours.

7. Seattle, Washington: Capitol Hill True Crime Tour

“Investigate cases,” both solved and unsolved, of some of Seattle’s most notorious crimes as you travel through Seattle’s Capitol Hill, Madrona, and Madison Park neighborhoods.

This is another tour that jaunts to serial killer Ted Bundy’s stomping grounds. There are also cases with names like the “Christmas Eve Massacre” and “Devil’s Dip” to explore. You’ll also get to see Kurt Cobain’s former home and where Jimi Hendrix grew up.

For more info, visit Private Eye on Seattle Ghost & True Crime Tours.

Check-In

Have you ever taken a serial killer tour? If so, which one(s)? If not, which would you be interested in taking?