By Tim Binnall
Ghost tour operators in cities across the country are pushing back against national chains which have set up shop in their respective communities and, they say, use underhanded business tactics and cause confusion among consumers. Explaining the situation to a Texas television station, Jeanine Plumer, who operates one such walkabout in the city of Austin, lamented that the national franchises frequently operate under names that are maddeningly similar to established local tours. Indicating that she has experienced this phenomenon first hand, her account was echoed by many of her colleagues throughout the country. "I'll get phone calls from people confusing my company with theirs," lamented Gin Keel, who operates out of Galveston, Texas.
Another local company in San Diego, told a Massachusetts newspaper covering the controversy that "we've had instances of their customers showing up at our meeting locations, mistaking us for them, and vice versa." When a national franchise launched in Baltimore with a name remarkably similar to a long-running operation in the city, the local owners actually sent a legal letter to the company wherein they asserted that "it is clear that your business plan is to ride the coattails of an established business" and, in turn, "confuse consumers into contacting you for a tour." In response, the chain's attorney insisted that they are not "engaged in any predatory behavior" and argued that their tour names are not meant to cause confusion as they are "merely generic."
Beyond the branding aspect of the simmering dispute, some local operators also allege that the national franchises are stealing content from their ghost tours. "They don't hesitate to just kind of plagiarize our stories," said David Besgrove, who runs a spooky walkabout in Forth Worth. Making a similar claim is ghost tour owner Christopher Robin of Washington D.C., who observed that "they use the same route. They'll walk their group right through my group; there's no etiquette." Perhaps the most galling claim came from John Maverick of Austin Ghost Tours, who marveled that "I have walked by a tour standing outside of a building, and a tour guide telling a story of something that personally happened to me."
In addition to the aforementioned issues with the national franchises popping up in cities around the country, some tour operators simply resent outsiders infringing upon the local flavor that they have cultivated for years. "Maybe I'm taking it a little personally because I'm a historian," mused Jason Riddle from the group Spirit of Phoenix, "but I just don’t like someone coming into my city, trying to tell my city's story, and they’re not even from here." Within the tight knight community of ghost tour companies, the situation has become the talk of the industry this Halloween season with many of the small business owners finally deciding to speak up in an attempt to raise awareness of the issue and, they hope, encourage those partaking in a spooky walkabout to 'buy local.'