Chicago Night Gangster & Ghost Tours
Hours, prices and access verified by the Chicago Night Tours team — last checked 2026-09-27.
Chicago Night gangster and ghost tours trade the skyline for the city's dark history, told after dark. You can ride the 7:30pm crime bus to the places where it happened, or hear the stories on a river cruise with a bar on board.
The crime bus and the storytelling cruise
★★★★☆ 4.1 (224 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes)
River onlyAfter-dark sailingA live storytellerMichigan & Wacker dock
Dark history told as stories, from a river disaster and the Great Fire to a nineteenth-century killer, over 90 minutes with a live storyteller. Rated 4.1, and it never leaves the river for the lake.
From $46 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★★ 4.8 (519 reviews · 2 to 2.5 hours)
By bus, stops on footLeaves at 7:30pmA live guide163 E. Pearson St
A bus of up to 39 leaves 163 E. Pearson St at 7:30pm for two to two and a half hours. You step off at five stops, a mini mob museum among them, with a live guide, film footage and a quiz.
From $55 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
★★★★☆ 4.3 (168 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes)
River onlyAfter-dark sailingA live storytellerMichigan & Wacker dock
The same storytelling cruise sold as gangsters and twilight tales, rated 4.3: river only, from the stairs at Michigan and Wacker, with a bar on board and priority boarding if you want the first pick of seats.
From $46 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The Night Crimes bus leaves at 7:30pm
Two to two and a half hours from 163 E. Pearson St for $55 a person, with a live guide and five stops off the bus. Check in 15 minutes early.
See this tour
What a gangster or ghost tour of Chicago is
It is an evening built around the city's dark history rather than its architecture. You
hear about the Prohibition gangs, the Great Chicago Fire and the worst disaster on the river,
told by someone whose job is the story, not the skyline.
There are two ways to do it. The Night Crimes bus drives you to the places where the crimes
happened and lets you off at each. First Lady's Creepy Cruise tells its stories on the river,
from an open deck, with a bar below.
The bus costs $55 a person and the cruise $46. Both last well over an hour,
and both run in the evening.
Why choose a gangster or ghost tour
Stories, not skyline
A standard night cruise names the towers. These tours name the people: Capone, Dillinger,
Nitti and O'Banion on the bus, and the victims of the Eastland and the Great Fire on the cruise. If you have
seen the skyline already, this is a different evening in the same city.
You stand where it happened
The bus stops at the former St. Valentine's Day Massacre site and at the Biograph Theater,
where you get about ten minutes off the bus. There is also a mini mob museum at the first
stop, with about 15 minutes inside.
The river's own dark history
The Creepy Cruise tells the river's stories from the water: the Eastland disaster, the Great
Chicago Fire and the killer H. H. Holmes. It passes the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower and
Marina City, and it stays on the river rather than going out to the lake.
Crime bus vs Creepy Cruise
The two are different evenings, and most people only need one. Here they are side by
side.
| Night Crimes bus | Creepy Cruise |
|---|
| How you travel | A bus of up to 39, with stops on foot | A boat on the river |
| The stories | Prohibition gangsters, named | Disaster, fire and a killer |
| Starts | 163 E. Pearson St, at 7:30pm | The stairs at Michigan and Wacker |
| Nights | Select weekdays | Fridays, Saturdays, some Thursdays and Sundays |
| Length | 2 to 2.5 hours | 90 minutes |
| Age | Recommended for 10 and up | No age limit given |
| Bar and restroom | Neither; no restroom break | Both on board |
| Fare | $55 a person | $46 a person |
Check availability from $55
Choose the bus for gangsters and the places themselves. Choose the cruise for a drink, a
seat and the river after dark. If you want the skyline too, look at our night boat tours
instead.
What you get, and what you don't
- On the bus: a live guide in English, historic film footage, the mini mob
museum, a souvenir brochure and a crime quiz.
- On the cruise: a live storyteller, a restroom and a bar on board, and a
choice of general or priority boarding.
- Not included: tips. The bus suggests about $5 a person, in cash or by
Venmo; drinks on the cruise are sold at the bar.
- Not on the bus: food or drink, a restroom break, translations or
headsets.
- Not on the cruise: the lake. It never goes through the lock.
Ghost stories on the river after dark
First Lady's Creepy Cruise: 90 minutes with a live storyteller for $46 a person, from the stairs at Michigan and Wacker, with a bar on board.
Check availability
Planning a gangster or ghost tour
- Budget: $46 for the cruise, $55 for the bus, plus tips
and any drinks.
- When: the bus runs at 7:30pm on select weekdays. The cruise runs on
Fridays, Saturdays and select Thursdays and Sundays, from March to November; First Lady's 2026
season ends on 22 November.
- Where: the bus kerb is outside 163 E. Pearson St, at Michigan Ave;
the cruise boards on the Chicago Riverwalk at Michigan and Wacker. Both are on our
meeting-points map.
- Dark or not: on 15 June the sun sets at 8:27pm, so the bus spends
its first hour in daylight. From October it runs after dark; see the dark times by month.
- Cancel: both refund in full up to 24 hours ahead.
What happens at boarding and at the kerb is in what to expect on the night. To fit a tour into a longer
evening, our one-evening plan sets out the order.
Who should choose something else
- If you are bringing children under 10. The bus is recommended for ages 10
and up. The cruise suits younger ones, or take one of our night boat tours.
- If you use a wheelchair. The bus has steps up and no lift, and some stops
have stairs. Call First Lady about the cruise before you book.
- If you want the lake and the whole skyline. The Creepy Cruise stays on
the river. The By Night cruise goes through the lock onto the lake.
- If you want mobsters above everything. The cruise mixes disaster, fire and
crime. The bus is the more focused choice.
- If you do not speak English. The bus and the cruise are in English only, and the bus
has no headsets.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take the crime bus or the storytelling cruise?
Take the bus if gangsters are the draw: it stops where the stories happened and names the mobsters. Take the cruise if you want a bar, a seat on the water and a mix of disasters, fire and crime.
What is the Creepy Cruise about?
It is First Lady's storytelling cruise about the city's dark history, from the Eastland disaster and the Great Chicago Fire to H. H. Holmes, told live on an open deck. It stays on the river and does not go through the lock.
What days does the Creepy Cruise run?
Fridays, Saturdays and select Thursdays and Sundays, from March to November. It lasts 90 minutes and costs $46 a person.
What does the Night Crimes bus stop at?
It makes five stops off the bus of 5 to 15 minutes, including a mini mob museum, the former St. Valentine's Day Massacre site and the Biograph Theater. Other sights are pointed out from the bus.
Is the crime bus in the dark?
Not in early summer. On 15 June the sun sets at 8:27pm, so the first hour of a 7:30pm tour is daylight. By 15 October sunset is 6:09pm, and the whole tour runs after dark.
What happens if I am late for the crime bus?
The bus leaves at 7:30pm on time, and latecomers cannot join it. Check in outside 163 E. Pearson St 15 minutes early, and allow for evening traffic on Michigan Avenue.
Can I eat or drink on the crime bus?
No. There is no eating or drinking on the bus and no restroom break during the tour, so eat beforehand. The cruise has a bar on board if you would rather have a drink with the stories.
Is the Night Crimes bus wheelchair accessible?
No. There are steps up into the bus and no lift, some stops have stairs, and you may walk up to a city block.
Want the skyline as well as the stories? Every way to see the city after dark is compared on Chicago Night Tours.