Haunted Houses & Ghost Tours in Memphis, TN

The history

Memphis's haunted map is drawn in its South Main and Beale Street districts, and its longest-running ghost walk describes the ground plainly. The Haunted Memphis walking tour, operated by Backbeat Tours, is described in its booking listings as a 90-minute outdoor walk through the South Main Historic District — "an eclectic, colorful area with some of the city's oldest buildings" with "a long history of sensational murders and ghostly activity" — meeting at Alfred's on Beale, 197 Beale Street. Backbeat's own homepage, collected, gives the company behind the walk: "Founded by author and historian Bill Patton, Backbeat Tours has been showcasing our great city to people from all over the world since 2006," operating from 197 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103, phone 901-527-9415, and featured, it says, in the New York Times, on CNN and the BBC, and in Southern Living and Memphis Magazine.

The buildings on the route are dated by the sources that name them. The Orpheum Theatre, at South Main and Beale, is a 2,308-seat venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, per its Wikipedia lead collected, operated by the nonprofit Orpheum Theatre Group. The Woodruff-Fontaine House, at 680 Adams Avenue, was built in 1871 along "Millionaires Row," per the museum's own About page: Amos Woodruff, a successful carriage maker, built it for his family; Noland Fontaine purchased it from the Woodruffs in 1883 and the Fontaines lived there until 1929; it was later sold to Rosa Lee to expand her art school, stood vacant until 1961, and was then restored by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and opened as a historic house museum.

The second walking operator, Memphis Ghosts (US Ghost Adventures), states the city's darker chronology on its own tour page as its framing: "1878 brought the devastating Yellow Fever epidemic that turned the Bluff City into a desolate wasteland of mass graves. Decades before, the horrific slave trade and violent 1866 riots tore through these exact streets. Tragedy struck again at the Lorraine Motel with the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." That is the operator's published framing of why it tells the stories it tells, recorded as such — the documented events it names are the route's historical spine, and its page presents the Lorraine Motel, at 450 Mulberry Street, as its meeting point rather than a scare stop: "One of the most significant landmarks in American history… Guests often describe powerful emotions and unusual experiences connected to the memories preserved at this iconic location."

The legend

This section is folklore — reported by the sources cited, and never asserted as fact here.

Memphis's most repeated figure is a child at a theatre. Backbeat's Haunted Memphis listings state it the same way in every version collected: the Orpheum is home to "Mary," who "has haunted performances since 1921" — described in the tour itinerary as "Memphis' most famous ghost, 12 year-old Mary." Memphis Ghosts tells the same figure from the street: the Orpheum "is also linked to one of Memphis's most famous ghost stories. Visitors and staff have long shared accounts of a young girl named Mary whose presence is said to linger around the historic venue." Neither operator, in the material collected, gives Mary a surname, a death record or a documented biography, and none is invented here — she is presented exactly as both operators present her, as the theatre's reported resident.

The same Backbeat route carries two more reported houses. The John Alexander Austin House is "a Victorian era mansion haunted by star-crossed lovers," per the listing. And the walk's one interior stop, Wednesday through Sunday only, is Ernestine & Hazel's: "the notorious Ernestine & Hazel's, a former brothel long recognized as one of the most haunted buildings in Memphis… home to several ghosts as well as a haunted jukebox." The listing adds the Green Beetle, "Memphis' oldest tavern & home to two long-fighting spirits," in its highlights version. All of it is the operator's route copy, attributed as such.

At the Woodruff-Fontaine House, the haunting narrative does not come from the museum — its own collected pages publish history and mission, no ghost lore (see its attraction story). It comes from a televised investigation and the local tour scene. Syfy's recap of the Ghost Hunters investigation at the house reports the claims the team examined: that Molly Woodruff lost two children and her husband in the home, that three Fontaine sons later perished in the building, and that "it is believed that one son, Elliot, is haunting the premises," with claims of "shadows and apparitions that resemble Elliot, ghosts pushing people and even walking through a woman." Elena: that the Ghost Hunters crew said the house was one of the most haunted places they had filmed, and that visitors should "say hello to Elliott and Mollie" — "You are a guest in their home, after all."

Haunted today

Hountix lists 3 places in Memphis, TN. Seasonal attractions keep their own open dates, so check each business's own site before you go.

• Backbeat Tours — ghost tour, 197 Beale St, Memphis, TN 38103
• Memphis Ghosts — ghost tour, Lorraine Motel, 450 Mulberry St St, Memphis, TN 38103
• Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum — haunted house, 680 Adams Ave, Memphis, TN 38105

Attraction stories

Backbeat Tours — Haunted Memphis

Backbeat Tours' own homepage, collected, sells Memphis first and ghosts second — which is what makes its ghost walk credible as history. The homepage's five banners run "BACKBEAT IS MUSIC" ("We're the only tour company in town that puts Memphis' musical heritage in the hands of real musicians"), "BACKBEAT IS HISTORY" ("We wrote the book on Memphis history"), and only then "BACKBEAT HAS CHILLS": "Ever seen a ghost? We can't promise you will, but freaky things have happened on our Ghost Tours. Find out for yourself!" The company was founded by author and historian Bill Patton in 2006, per the same page, operates from 197 Beale Street, and lists its Memphis Ghost Tours alongside its Mojo, Discovery, Beale Street and True Crime tours. Its FAQ, also collected, gives the practical frame: advance purchase required for tours, walking tours cancelled only for serious rain events, and a ticket podium guests should reach at least 10 minutes before departure.

That listing is also where this operator's lore lives, because Backbeat's own homepage does not narrate it. The listing's route — Orpheum and Mary since 1921, the John Alexander Austin House and its star-crossed lovers, a gangster's hideout, the former Morris Cemetery site, and the interior of Ernestine & Hazel's with its reported ghosts and haunted jukebox — is quoted in the city story above at exactly the strength the listing gives it. The collector found no separate ghost-story page text beyond the homepage, about and FAQ pages in the material collected, and that is recorded here rather than filled in. Confirm the current night, meeting point and whether the Ernestine & Hazel's interior stop runs on your date (the listing limits it to Wednesday–Sunday) on Backbeat's site or at 901-527-9415 before booking.

*Website: http://www.backbeattours.com/*

Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum

The Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum's own pages, collected, are a museum's pages — and they publish no ghost lore at all. Its homepage gives the essentials: the museum is operated by the Memphis Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities, at 680 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN 38105, museum office 901-526-1469, with a mission "to educate the public about Victorian life in Memphis through the preservation of the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum and properties." Its About page gives the documented house: built in 1871 along "Millionaires Row," a French Victorian mansion built by carriage maker Amos Woodruff for his family; purchased by Noland Fontaine in 1883, whose family lived there until 1929; sold to Rosa Lee to expand her art school, which later moved to Overton Park and became the Memphis College of Art; vacant until 1961, when the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities restored it and opened it as a historic house museum. The homepage also notes, in the season collected, that wedding and event season may close the museum on some days — check the Visit Us tab before going.

So this attraction story follows the spec's rule plainly: the business itself publishes no lore in the material collected, and says so here instead of inventing atmosphere. The haunting attached to the house in the wider record is entirely external, and it is specific. Syfy's published recap of the Ghost Hunters team's investigation reports the house's sorrowful family history as the team was told it — Molly Woodruff's losses, the Fontaine sons' deaths in the building — and the belief that Elliott Fontaine haunts the premises, with reported shadows and apparitions resembling him; the recap says the investigation backed many of the claims, including a scratching incident and a voice in an EVP session, and that the investigators judged the reported ghosts "interested in being noticed and recognised," not malicious. Backbeat Tours' ghost-writing about the house adds that, according to its quoted Ms. Elena, the Ghost Hunters crew called it one of the most haunted places they had filmed, and names the reported residents as Elliott and Mollie. All of that is other people's telling about the museum, attributed as such — the museum, in its own voice, offers the Victorian house itself.

Practically, that makes the Woodruff-Fontaine the inverse of the two night walks: you visit it in museum hours, on Adams Avenue in Victorian Village, and you bring the ghost stories with you from the tours that tell them. Confirm current opening days, closures for weddings and events, and admission on the museum's site before going.

*Website: http://www.woodruff-fontaine.org/*

Sources

• Backbeat Tours — official website, homepage as collected (founded by author and historian Bill Patton, showcasing Memphis since 2006; "BACKBEAT HAS CHILLS — Ever seen a ghost? We can't promise you will, but freaky things have happened on our Ghost Tours"; 197 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103, 901-527-9415; featured in the New York Times, CNN, BBC, Southern Living and Memphis Magazine per the site) and FAQ as collected (advance purchase required; walking tours cancelled only for serious rain; arrive at the ticket podium at least 10 minutes early): http://www.backbeattours.com/
• Backbeat Tours — Groups page, via this batch's seed research (Memphis Ghost Tour 1.5–2 hrs, walking or bus, "ghosts, lost souls, and phantoms"; Dark Side of Memphis Tour 1 hr, "death, disease, crime, and corruption"): https://www.backbeattours.com/groups/
• Haunted Memphis Walking Ghost Tour — booking listing for the Backbeat route (90 minutes, about 2 miles, South Main Historic District; meets at Alfred's on Beale, 197 Beale Street; Orpheum Theatre home of Mary, who has haunted performances since 1921, "Memphis' most famous ghost, 12 year-old Mary"; John Alexander Austin House haunted by star-crossed lovers; interior entry to Ernestine & Hazel's, a former brothel, Wednesday–Sunday only, reported home to several ghosts and a haunted jukebox; Green Beetle, Memphis' oldest tavern, in the highlights version; former Morris Cemetery site on the route): https://activities.marriott.com/north-america/usa/tennessee/memphis/activities/haunted_memphis_walking_ghost_tour-X85YKE
• Memphis Ghosts (US Ghost Adventures) — official tour page as collected ("Mobsters, Mayhem, & Murder of Memphis Ghost Tour," 1 hour, 1 mile, 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., $26, all ages, meet at the Lorraine Motel, tours daily rain or shine year-round; Orpheum and Mary; Lorraine Motel and April 1968; Pontotoc Hotel reports; 1878 Yellow Fever epidemic, 1866 riots and 1968 assassination framing; guides' archival-research claim; 450 Mulberry St, Memphis, TN 38103, (901) 708-5951 — the page as collected also contains two pasted sections about Jefferson, Texas, which were not used): https://usghostadventures.com/memphis-ghost-tour/
• Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum — official website, homepage and About page as collected (operated by the Memphis Chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities; 680 Adams Avenue, Memphis, TN 38105, 901-526-1469; mission to educate the public about Victorian life in Memphis; built in 1871 along "Millionaires Row," French Victorian mansion built by Amos Woodruff, purchased by Noland Fontaine in 1883, Fontaine family until 1929, Rosa Lee art school, vacant until 1961, restored by APTA and opened as a house museum; no ghost lore published on the pages collected): http://www.woodruff-fontaine.org/
• Orpheum Theatre (Memphis) — Wikipedia lead collected for this draft (2,308-seat venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, at South Main and Beale, operated with the Halloran Centre by the nonprofit Orpheum Theatre Group — Wikipedia is a lead, used only for the venue's register status and operator, not for any haunting claim): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_Theatre_ (Memphis)
• Syfy — Ghost Hunters Episode Recap: "Don't Forget About Us" (Woodruff-Fontaine House investigation: Molly Woodruff lost two children and her husband in the home; three Fontaine sons perished in the building; Elliott believed to be haunting the premises; claims of shadows and apparitions resembling Elliott; investigators reported a scratching incident, an EVP voice and a forceful touch, and judged the reported ghosts interested in being noticed, not malicious): https://www.syfy.com/ghost-hunters/season-9/blogs/episode-recap-dont-forget-about-us?amp