Gritty & Gruesome True-Crime Tours

Learn the stories behind some of the most notorious crimes in history.

16 Gruesome True-Crime Tours

By exploring historical sites, strolling through museums and taking walking tours, travelers are able to uncover the interesting stories that have shaped cities around the world. Many times, these stories touch on wars and death — and sometimes, they involve gruesome murders at the hands of serial killers and mobsters.

Across America — and across the pond — true crime tours allow you to discover the shocking stories behind some of history's most ghastly murders. Whether learning about a wealthy socialite's appalling torture of slaves in New Orleans, or exploring Chicago's infamous gangster past, these tours provide a captivating, if lurid, education.

Not for the faint at heart, and definitely not for children, the following tours offer a glimpse into some of the most monstrous acts in human history.

Helter Skelter Tour (Los Angeles)

When Charles Manson's cult members descended upon the home of actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski in 1969, the shocking event shook America — and the world.

Manson had wanted to be a musician and was snubbed by the home's previous renter. In retaliation, he instructed his cult members to "totally destroy everyone in [it], as gruesome as you can." Tate, who was 8 months pregnant, as well as four other people at the home, were stabbed nearly 100 times.

Dearly Departed Tours provides the Helter Skelter Tour of the Tate-LaBianca murders, reviewing the lives of the killers and the victims on the day of the attack. The adults-only tour takes visitors to the home and tries to go into the mind of a madman.

Death Toll: 5

Starting Point: 5901 Santa Monica Blvd.

Length: 4 hours

Cost: $85

Original Gangster Tour (Chicago)

Chicago is notorious for its mob scene during the age of Prohibition, when multiple gangsters created chaos across the city. Al Capone, John Dillinger — the names struck fear in locals during the 1920s and '30s.

When gangster Dean O'Banion, who claimed to have killed 60 people, was murdered in 1929, it sparked the notorious Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, during which seven of Chicago's North Side Gang were murdered, leading to five years of gang fighting. City officials worked overtime to try to stop the carnage.

Uncover all of Chicago's gritty gangster past on the Original Gangster Tour by Untouchable Tours. This bus tour travels across the city to show visitors the places where blood spilled on the streets, and bootlegging crime ran rampant.

Death Toll: Hundreds, including 250 gangsters

Starting Point: 600 N. Clark Street

Length: 1.5 - 2 hours

Cost: $35

H.H. Holmes Tour (Chicago)

Before the gangsters of Chicago created fear, H.H. Holmes terrorized the city in 1893 during the World's Columbian Exposition. America's first serial killer, Herman Webster Mudgett, a.k.a Dr. Henry Howard Holmes, was said to have killed more than 200 people in the World's Fair Hotel. Holmes confessed to killing 27 people at "The Murder Hotel" and was executed for his crimes.

The Devil & the White City Tour, operated by Weird Chicago Tours, is a bus tour that takes you back to the World's Fair location, with stops at locations where Holmes took and dispatched his victims.

Death Toll: 27+

Starting Point: 600 N. Clark Street

Length: 3 hours

Cost: $40

Jack the Ripper Tour (London)

One of the world's most notorious unidentified killers was the man nicknamed Jack the Ripper. During his killing spree in East End London's seedy underbelly in 1888, he was also referred to as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron, a nod to the garment he was always wearing. So detailed was the killer in the removal of body parts, it has long been theorized that he was some kind of doctor.

There are numerous Jack the Ripper tours in London, but stick with the original, which has been leading guests on walks through Whitechapel since 1982. You'll navigate narrow alleyways and follow the same walk as Jack, learning the gruesome details of his kills while visiting the locations where his victims were found more than a century ago.

Death Toll: 5

Starting Point: Aldgate East Underground Station, outside of Exit 4

Length: 2 hours

Cost: £10

Zodiac Killer Tour (San Francisco)

Another unsolved series of murders that's long captivated the public took place in the Bay Area in Northern California. Fear was prevalent between the late '60s and early '70s as an unknown serial killer took the lives of five men and women — and attempted to kill two others. The man was named the "Zodiac Killer" due to four cryptic letters the killer sent to the press, of which only one was ever solved.

The open case is examined on the Zodiac Killer Tour, which travels from San Francisco to Vallejo, Napa Valley, Lake Berryessa and the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco to follow the chronological order of the killings.

Death Toll: 5 confirmed, 2 injured (although the killer claims 37 are dead)

Starting Point: San Francisco

Length: 5 hours

Cost: Contact host

The O.J. Tour (Los Angeles)

In 1994, Americans were glued to their televisions as famed footballer and actor O.J. Simpson was part of a police chase in a white Ford Bronco. Simpson was being pursued for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, in a crime of passion, as well as Ron Goldman, a waiter in the wrong place at the wrong time. From the chase to the trial, people could not get enough of the fallen star, and then were shocked when he was found not guilty.

The O.J. Tour, which transports visitors in an actual 1994 white Ford Bronco, ferries visitors to the Rockingham crime scene, the restaurant where Goldman worked and around Brentwood, where Brown lived before she was stabbed multiple times, including her hands in self defense.

Death Toll: 2

Starting Point: West L.A.

Length: 1 hour

Cost: $45

Vegas Mob Tour (Las Vegas)

Not to be outdone by Chicago, Las Vegas has its own tour focused on a sordid gangster history. Mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel is credited with driving the casino industry to the Las Vegas Strip, helping to create the iconic Flamingo Casino. A mob hitman in New York, Siegel made lots of enemies, eventually losing his life during a home ambush in 1947, rumored to be a hit by his Flamingo partners.

The Vegas Mob Tour was created by a former FBI agent, a mob historian and author, and an ex-mob hitman to delve deep into Sin City's shady founding. Stops along the bus tour include sites where mob murders, car bombings and million-dollar heists took place in Vegas from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Death Toll: Multiple

Starting Point: 4225 W. Teco Ave.

Length: 2.5 hours

Cost: $99.95

True Crime Tour (New York)

New York has such a long and storied history of crime, it's hard to know where to even begin when exploring it. But a good place to start is with the infamous "Son of Sam" (real name: David Berkowitz), who caused the entire city to panic during the 1970s when he killed six people and wounded seven others, always leaving a note with his calling card: "I am a monster. I am the Son of Sam."

Serial killers aren't enough? How about the Five Families, the Sicilian Mafia that inspired films like "The Godfather"? These families included Charles "Lucky" Luciano (aka "the father of modern organized crime"), Carlo Gambino and John Gotti.

The True Crime Tour aims to showcase as much of the Big Apple's grittiness as possible through the stories of these and other infamous criminals.

Death Toll: Multiple

Starting Point: S.W. corner of Avenue C and E. 9th St.

Length: 3 hours

Cost: $69.95

Boston Crime Tour (Boston)

Boston has its own share of legendary crime bosses, most scandalously James "Whitey" Bulger and his Winter Hill Gang. The Irish mobsters infiltrated the police and FBI, who allowed them to launder money, extort money from businesses and people, and murder anyone who got in their way. Bulger himself was found guilty of being involved in 11 murders.

The Boston Crime Tour tells the tale of Bulger and his gang, along with another deranged serial killer: the Boston Strangler. Between 1962 and 1964, 13 women were raped and murdered, but the cases were unsolved until Albert DeSalvo, jailed for raping women, confessed to being the strangler. Boston has more stories revealing it's not as blue-blooded as it's cracked up to be, and this tour will tell all.

Death Toll: 20+

Starting Point: Old Northern Ave. Bridge at the corner of Atlantic Ave.

Length: 2 hours

Cost: $25

French Quarter Phantoms True Crime Tour (New Orleans)

Two of New Orleans' most horrendous serial killers are so notorious, their stories have appeared in books, movies and television, including serving as characters in the recent "American Horror Story: The Coven."

Madame LaLaurie, a wealthy socialite, used her mansion during the early 1800s to torture slaves — uncovered only after a fire at the LaLaurie mansion, where seven slaves who had been chained, starved and tortured were found. Before this gruesome discovery in 1934, NOLA also housed a mysterious murderer known as the Axeman. This mythical serial killer used, yes, an ax to slay his victims, and was thought to be a jazz musician.

Join Ghost City for the Killers and Thrillers Tour, an adult-only nighttime tour of the French Quarter, where the murders took place. The tour also visits the home of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, and shares stories of New Orleans' haunted past.

Death Toll: Multiple

Starting Point: Pirates' Alley, near Absinthe Bar

Length: 90 minutes

Cost: $29.99

Bonnie & Clyde Tour (Dallas)

The glamorized American couple who robbed banks, gas stations and drug stores first met in Dallas during the Great Depression. Though often depicted as modern-day Robin Hoods, valiantly targeting rich financial institutions, the duo and their gang were actually quite ruthless. They killed civilians during their robberies, as well as policemen who tried to stand in their way. The couple was eventually killed during a police ambush in Louisiana.

DFW Historical Tours takes visitors on a tour of the couple's Dallas locations — they robbed and killed in multiple states — including their graves, places they worked, former homes, and sites of their robberies and murders.

Death Toll: 9 policemen and additional civilians

Starting Point: Downtown Dallas

Length: 3 hours

Cost: Tours are personalized and price differs

The Guy Fawkes Tour (London)

Before Jack the Ripper made London famous, there was Guy Fawkes. In the early 1600s, the English Fawkes decided to fight for the Spanish and became part of the "Gunpowder Plot." Along with 12 other men, Fawkes conspired to kill King James I, who was visiting the House of Lords to install his daughter as the Catholic head of state. Fawkes was caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder — enough to blow the building to smithereens — and was arrested. All 13 men were caught and executed for the treasonous act.

The Gunpowder, Treason & Plot tour explores the detailed planning behind the plot, how the Parliament building was spared, and what happened to the treacherous men.

Death Toll: 13

Starting Point: Westminster Tube, exit 4

Length: 2 hours

Cost: £10

John Wilkes Booth Escape Route Tour (Maryland)

After John Wilkes Booth flagrantly assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, he jumped from the balcony at Ford's Theatre and began a 12-day run for his life. He traveled to the Surratt Tavern, Dr. Samuel Mudd's Home, St. Mary's Church and Graveyard, the Pine Thicket, Rich Hill, Thomas Jones Home and the Garrett Farm before he was shot and killed by a Union soldier.

DC Military Tours leads this popular all-day tour that gets a waiting list of 200 people for a 50-person bus ride. Stopping at every location where Booth stopped, you'll learn the history of his journey, beginning with his reasons for and decision to kill the president. Tours are only offered on select dates in the spring and fall.

Death Toll: 2

Starting Point: Surratt House Museum, 9118 Brandywine Road

Length: 8.5 hours

Cost: $85

Jeffrey Dahmer Tour (Milwaukee)

Known as the Cream City Cannibal, Jeffrey Dahmer took the lives of 17 boys between 1978 and 1991. Milwaukee's Hangman Tours tells the tale of one of the most brutal serial killers in America in its "Cream City Cannibal Tour" that is strictly for adults.

NBC named this the "Tour of Terror" for being so lurid. Those with the stomach for it will follow in Dahmer's footsteps to where he abducted seven of his victims. The tour goes into great detail and is definitely not for the squeamish.

Death Toll: 17

Starting Point: 422 S. 2nd St.

Length: 75 minutes

Cost: $25

Black Dahlia Tour (Los Angeles)

One of America's coldest cases involves the murder of Elizabeth Short, who was bisected and left in a Los Angeles park in 1947. Posthumously called the "Black Dahlia" for her black hair and rumored nickname in Long Beach, Short's murder inspired films such as "L.A. Confidential."

Join the Tragical History Tour's Dearly Departed Tour to examine the life of the 22-year-old, learning about where she was last seen alive and where her body was discovered.

Death Toll: 1

Starting Point: 5901 Santa Monica Blvd.

Length: 3 hours

Cost: $85