Murder n' Mayhem -

Marcie Lemieux

Murder n’ Mayhem Ghost Tour: A Spooky Stroll Along San Diego’s Waterfront

I highly recommend checking out this unique tour.

For just $19, you get a one-hour guided experience rich in history and eerie tales. Our group was small—just the two of us—and our guide, Leila, was fantastic, blending local history with ghost stories that brought San Diego’s past to life.

The tour began at Seaport Village, where the old police station stood until 2009. We explored the remnants of the old jail and learned that the watchtower is now a San Diego historical landmark.

As we walked along the waterfront, we heard haunting tales, including a tragic Navy ship boiler room explosion that claimed 66 lives. Legend has it that if you’re attuned to the paranormal, you might still hear their screams. We also learned about a nearby site where a ship’s passengers, many stricken with scurvy, died and were buried hastily in what is now considered San Diego’s largest unmarked grave—right beneath your feet.

The Star of India, a historic ship docked along the waterfront, has its own chilling story of a worker who met a gruesome end after being pulled through a tiny anchor hole. Another ship, once used for rescue missions, added a bittersweet touch to the tour’s tales.

While the ghost stories were somber and sometimes unsettling, the tour was deeply educational and fascinating. If you’re a fan of history, the paranormal, or both, this experience is well worth it!

Lilly Smith

My parents and I all love true crime and were in San Diego on vacation when we came across this tour. We had Laila as our guide and enjoyed it!
If you love a good true crime podcast or anything alone those lines you should check this out.

Matthew Carling

Leila was funny, whitty, intriguing and informative. This was a great tour for the entire family. The kids loved it and had questions about some of the history afterwards. This was a funny want to finish off our evening
Thanks, Leila! ?

Claire Cox

My husband and I enjoyed the experience with Lelia! The story telling and history was fantastic! Fun tour!

Sasha Fedorova

I went on San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter Historic True Crime tour with Detective Drew on a Thursday night by myself. We had a small group of 6 including myself. The detective (we were allowed to call him Double D haha) was out of this world fantastic. He was dressed sharp, he was hilarious and very well spoken and his knowledge is unmatched. I go on my fair share of walking tours and trust me when I say that guides like Drew don’t come along too often. It’s one thing to memorize the script or be the expert on the subject, it’s completely different when the person completely captivates the audience, makes you gasp and long for more. He is an expert on all things San Diego, not just the true crime stories of the tour but on the entire history of the area. He took us around a few blocks stopping at the points where specific events took place. He shared different view points, all the gory details (only with consent of everybody in the group!), he was serious, he made jokes, HE ACTED THINGS OUT and he was so engaged that nobody could stay indifferent. He shoot me a text message a few minutes before the tour started to make sure I had his info and could find him, we met right on time and he went e over the allocated time limit to make sure we got the full experience. Al the stories were perfectly timed and structured as a complete piece of spoken art, included stories from late 19th century up until 2021! When I asked for food recommendations in the area, he told me about two places - Tacos El Gordo where I had the next Mexican of my life (and I’m from LA) and Henry’s Pub where I had an amazing drink and listened to live music. The best walking tour experience I’ve ever had, I can’t wait to be back in SD next week to take another tour with Detective Drew and Murder n’ Mayhem!

Tam Sel

Very fun and informative tour. Layla was very knowledgeable and made the tour very fun. If you’re very short on time, this tour is a good way to explore the city and crimes that happened.

Thornwolf Art

We did the Embarcadero waterfront ghost tour with a friend of ours who was visiting from out of town and it was definitely a highlight of the visit. Leila is an absolute treasure and it was so wonderful to get to spend time with her chatting about ghosts and local happenings as well as benefitting from her own personal knowledge of the area. As a local, I am extremely proud of my city and love to show it off to out-of-towners, and it's clear that Leila shares that same passion and knows how to tailor the experience to her audience. She is informative, entertaining, and engaging. We absolutely would highly recommend this tour if you're looking for a fun way to spend an evening and learn things about San Diego you never knew before!

Jennifer Ovalle

Leila was super fun, engaging, funny, and a great story teller. She is very passionate about sharing the spooky history. I learned so much about the paranormal happenings in the Embarcado that I was not even aware about even though I’m a local. It was a great date night idea!