How to Create a Top Ghost Tour Experience

For today’s dose of real (business) experiences, we bring you the interview with Ting Rappa. She founded American Ghost Adventures, a Florida-based ghost-hunting tour company with a mission not to frighten but to educate and bridge the gap between the living and the spirit world. Tripadvisor and guests voted AGA one of the top five ghost tours in the US and one of the top 10 in the world! Even the company’s website has a cool Ghostbusters-like vibe (though she doesn’t do the “busting”)!

In this interview, you’ll find out what Ting cites as her inspiration, her challenges in the business, and what she has to say about her particular tours and tour guides. 

But before we open our senses to this interview and the (para)normal things about this industry, we must share a critical piece of advice from Ting — to support local! There are national companies, “The Walmart of Ghost Tours,” as Ting calls them, trying to put out a hundred small businesses, so it’s important, now more than ever, to support your local ghost hunters and your local spooks (or friendly spirits).

You can also check AGA on Facebook. Now, let’s start hunting!

Inspiration Behind the Adventure

SBS – What inspired you to start American Ghost Adventures? 

Ting – The paranormal stuff has always been in my life, and I was able to tell stories and hopefully help some other people. So why not do it and make money at the same time? It was a unique opportunity in Orlando to do something different from everybody else (especially the theme parks).

Honestly, before starting my business, if you and I were to talk and you said “ghost” to me, I would say, “We’re not talking about that.” That’s how scared I was of ghosts. However, they’ve always been in my life, whether I knew it or not — even in my family name.

When I was in fourth grade, we went on a school field trip to St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. There was a little shop that did family heritage and looked at the coats of arms and similar stuff for people. I was the only Asian child in my classroom. Everybody had the generic names, the Smiths, the Browns, etc., so they could look up their names very, very easily. It was my turn, and I looked at the gentleman and told him I had a different last name, Asian, and I didn’t think they could find it. When he looked it up, I remember him saying that the House of Spirits was the meaning of my last name.

That was so weird to me at the time, but it came into play years later. I’ve done everything to avoid the paranormal, but it’s always been pulling me back in, no matter what I did. 

Selecting Spooky Spots

SBS – How do you select the locations for your ghost tours? 

Ting – Just like everything else, they pick us. We’ll walk into certain places sometimes, and all the stars align, the moon comes out, and the happy music starts playing. That’s the most interesting thing for me.

We are more about quality than quantity. There are ghost tours that talk about the ghost. We talk to the ghost.

Sometimes, even when walking to the location, the crosswalk signs will change, and I will know where to go. I leave it up to the ghost to decide which way we’re going. We’re following all the signs and energy and having the best time ever. 

Tour Group Dynamics

SBS – How many people do you have on your tours? Is it always the same number?

Ting – It really depends. We’re one of the few companies that do tours for as few as two people. I’ve even done customized one-person tours because some people wanted private tours. It just depends on how much they’re willing to pay because we have a minimum amount that we have to meet so that we can pay expenses. If they’re able to meet that amount, we’re able to do it. If you can think of it, we’re going to create it. I think that’s why we’ve lasted so long. 

Overcoming Initial Hurdles

SBS – What were the first challenges you faced when you started your business, and how did you overcome them? 

Ting – It was difficult for people to believe that I could do it, that we’d be okay to come into a location, and that we wouldn’t scare guests away. When people heard the word “ghost,” they would think we’d scare their guests away. No, we wouldn’t. We’d actually bring more business to them. People wanted those tours. They could look on the internet and see that the ghosts inhabited that place, but it was a bit more challenging to convince the owners to let us see if it was really haunted or not.

Authenticity and Safety

SBS – How do you ensure the authenticity and safety of the ghost hunting experiences? 

Ting – Well, by intuition. It’s like anything else you do. You walk into a place and know you belong or don’t belong. If you go to a party, you know if you’re welcome or not. Is everybody whispering and staring at you, or are they greeting you with open arms? If the ghosts aren’t welcoming, they won’t give us permission to enter. If they don’t want us there, it won’t be a very nice feeling. It’s going to be intense. We’ll feel anxious. Our equipment or lights won’t work, doors would shut, etc.

We can see that people are curious, and we want to show them that spirits can be friendly. Just because they’re ghosts nowadays doesn’t mean that they don’t have feelings — they were people at one point in time. Some of them are so bored that they want to talk to us. Others don’t want our company, and they’ll let us know that they don’t want us there. We must read the room. 

Marketing the Mystical

SBS – What marketing strategies do you use to attract new tourists?

Ting – The most important thing is to be willing to be flexible. If people want a tour in a particular place that seems difficult, don’t say no just yet. Take an hour or two to think about how to make it happen. Don’t be closed-minded.

As I said, we’ve been in business for 20 years, and that’s because we can bend, move, and brainstorm.

SBS – What about when you started? How did you advertise then, and how did you get your first customers?

Ting – The first customers were hard to get because we were in a generation where ghosts were taboo. People didn’t want us in their buildings. They thought we were witches, Satan worshippers, and the devil because we talked to the ghosts.

I’ve been called so many names, but you have to explain things to people that, just because Hollywood shows you these scary movies, that’s not what this is all about.

On our tours, we purposely try not to scare people. I think our mistake at the beginning was that everything had to be dark, creepy, and scary, like a regular haunted house. However, we realized that’s not what people want all the time. Some people (like myself) who were terrified of the paranormal were curious and wanted to be educated on why the ghosts were here and what they were doing.

Over time, we decided we wanted ordinary people with extraordinary tastes instead of everything being gory and scary. We went with a different demographic altogether.

Over the years, all my logos have always been smiling ghosts, friendly spirits, and more of the Casper kind of thing. If you look at Halloween decorations these days, they’re not all scary anymore. They have smiling ghosts and friendly-looking spirits now.

Guide Training

SBS – How do you train your tour guides to provide unique and engaging experiences? 

Ting – They have to have the right personality first. We always do interviews, and some people will come and tell us they’re psychic and clairvoyant. Yes, that’s great, but can they control it? They have to understand that the tour is not about them; it’s about the experience. I always ask them, “Who’s the star of the show?” If they say them, they’re the wrong person. For my tours, the star of the show is the ghosts. They come first, then the guests, then the tour guide.

Tour guides are there to relay messages from the other side to the living. They have to be that interpreter and a good bridge between the living and the dead so they don’t scare anybody. They must be able to tell the story and the history correctly. That’s what I’m looking for.

You also need to be open-minded. Don’t tell people you can do something because we don’t know that yet. A lion doesn’t have to tell you it’s a lion; it shows you it’s a lion. If you have psychic abilities and sensitivity to this stuff, it’ll come out on its own.

Partnerships and Collaborations

SBS – In these 20 years, did you have some meaningful and beneficial partnerships and collaborations?

Ting – Absolutely — all the businesses and buildings, like the history centers and the building owners, who are willing to give me the chance and access.

Your partners have to believe in you. We have to be licensed and insured, and they also have to be able to see my personality and know that I’m not going here to harm their business. It’s mutually beneficial if I can bring guests to their establishment who would not have gone there in the first place. 

Before the internet, it was all word of mouth. If you really think about it, if you come to Orlando, you’d go to Disney, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios before coming to downtown Orlando. We did have a place called Church Street Station, but that was already dying, and the attraction wasn’t there anymore, so people weren’t coming.

When I opened a business that shows a unique attraction and asked people to let me into their buildings to show them they were haunted, I convinced them that other interested people would come and spend money there (and visit again and tell others if they have a positive experience). It’s almost like we’re real estate agents, where we open doors for people to show them these different places and things they may not have been aware of.

Listening to Guests

SBS – What role does customer feedback play in shaping your tours? Do you listen to what people need and adapt your tours accordingly?

Ting – Absolutely. Our instruments and our guests play a huge role in our tours. It’s like owning a restaurant where people tell you they need more salt, but you won’t salt your food. People tell us they want more experiences and more interaction with a ghost. Of course, we always tell them we cannot guarantee that because the ghost doesn’t work for us. I ask them to come with an open mind.

The guests also said they wanted to go to more buildings, so we tried to find more access. We expanded our business into different cities around us. There are different neighborhoods, buildings, and types of ghosts because different buildings attract different spirits.

Also, our guests, we’ve learned over the years, bring their own ghosts sometimes. It has been huge for us to tell them who is with them. We have been known to connect loved ones to our guests. I don’t advertise it for the most part, but because most of us are sensitive to the paranormal world, we can tell someone, “Your grandfather’s with you right now,” or “What does this mean that there’s a fishing pole and fish boats? Did you and your grandfather used to go fishing all the time?” That guest would ask me how I knew that, and I would say, “That’s because the ghost is showing me right now. This is their message to you.”

Seasonal Strategies

SBS – How do you manage seasonal fluctuations in the business?

Ting – Living in Florida, we can run the tours all year round. We’re one of the lucky tour groups that can do that. You have to be smart. I’m going to tell you, most business is going to be common sense. Everything you need is always in front of you.

My rules to my guides are very, very simple. If it’s cold outside, keep the guests warm. If it’s hot outside, keep your guests cool. If it’s rainy outside, keep your guests dry. It’s a much better experience and customer service, and it shows that you’re thoughtful. When you do business and want to be successful, you must be thoughtful. You have to be able to, again, read the room.

Use common sense — would it be enjoyable to tell a story standing while the rain is hitting you on the head, and you have to blink your eyes a million times while you’re soaking wet down to your underwear? No, it’s not going to be enjoyable. The same goes for when it’s hot, and you’re sweating so much that you’re wiping your forehead all the time, smelling, and barely breathing. Is it enjoyable to listen to a story when you’re in that situation? Or would it be better if you were standing inside a building, under the air conditioning, and telling a story? You have to be aware of your environment and adapt from there. If people are shifting or standing on their feet, they may be tired. Find them a seat to sit so that they can enjoy themselves. 

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

SBS – What advice would you give someone who wants to start a similar business?

Ting – Be open-minded. Do your own research. Don’t steal somebody else’s stuff. Be unique. Don’t make enemies and create hatred. The lack of creativity is one of the biggest problems in our industry. Some tour guides aren’t creative, and they want to do the exact same route I do and tell the same stories. If you’re going to start a business and want it to be your business, do your own stuff or look at another neighborhood. Big cities have different neighborhoods, so you don’t have to be on top of the other competition. It’s okay to model after competitors, but put a spin on it.

Sometimes, I hear people tell stories and realize that I wrote them. That was my experience, and you need to tell your own story to make it much more unique. Have integrity. There’s room for everybody. Don’t ride on somebody else’s coattails.