Original “ghost tour” company sold to local operator

Ghost Tours of St Augustine Inc, the very first company of its type in North Florida to offer haunted historical tours, has announced to local Historic City News business reporters that Adam Shockey, President and CEO of Tour Saint Augustine Inc., has acquired their company.

The company begins operating under the new ownership in November. While classic nightly tours will remain, the company will expand into new paranormal investigation, marketing projects, and media events.

“The original ghost tour company had its beginnings in the early 1990’s and is truly part of our town’s unique history,” Shockey told Historic City News. “Local businesswoman, Sandra Craig, hired local writers and historians to develop an unusual tour based on paranormal events and strange occurrences in St Augustine. The evening explorations, down narrow brick streets, were led by period-costumed guides searching out the supernatural via lanterns.”

Craig decided that visiting school groups needed an educational, yet fun, evening activity. The tours became a tremendous hit for the school groups and were soon expanded to include the public. The business quickly grew into an industry all its own; representing a multi-million dollar local economic impact and attracting hundreds of thousands of guests to town. Ghost Tours of St. Augustine has shined a spotlight on the St Augustine area and is frequently featured on various media including The Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel, among others.

“The ghost tours, and Craig’s company, specifically, played a key role in the development of St Augustine tourism over the years,” Shockey explained to Historic City News business reporters. “I want our companies to have the authenticity and historic significance that goes with it; which is why I am so excited about this acquisition and proud that we’ll now carry the torch forward.”

This is the second business purchase from the Craig family for Shockey in the past two years. Instead of just re-creating what has previously been done, he has expanded his company through acquisitions — beginning with Tour Saint Augustine, which he purchased from the Craig family in 2011.