By Lauren Tjaden

The difference between a tour with American Ghost Adventures and a tour through a typical haunted house is the difference between a witch and witch hazel.

A typical haunted house features spider webs, ghouls jumping out at you, and Halloween props in every corner. Screams, evil laughter, and creaking sounds often accompany your steps.

A tour with American Ghost Adventures doesn’t feature any of those things because, as the company emphatically states, they’re dealing with real spirits who are loath to appear on command.

Sometimes folks see shadow people, sometimes things move, and sometimes the situation gets strange in other ways -- but each experience in each location is always different.

One of the spine-tingling offerings is a tour of historic downtown Orlando, a hotbed of paranormal activity.  It includes exploring one of several haunted buildings, where you’ll be given an electromagnetic field detector.

You can opt for a Downtown Tour, a Pub Tour, or an Investigation, in locations that include Daytona Beach, Orlando, Winter Garden, Mount Dora and Sanford.

Depending on the tour location, prices can range from $15 to $50. Generally, Downtown Tours are two hours, Pub Tours are three hours, and Investigations last about four hours.

If you’re looking for a seriously spooky adventure, it doesn’t get any better. The company founder has been doing tours for almost a decade in Central Florida, and TripAdvisor ranks it in the top 10 for ‘things to do in Orlando’ and has awarded it the Certificate of Excellence.

Remember to bring your recording devices. You never know what your camera might catch!

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