Bill was excellent as our guide through historical Williamsburg! It was cleverly done using historical facts about the scandalous goings on in the at the time when things were changing in Europe and America. We had a great time! Highly recommend!
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Souvenir button
Excludes
- Gratuities
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- You can park in the tavern parking lot located at 500 E. Frances Street. Once parked, exit the parking lot and cross Frances Street onto Blair Street. Continue walking straight for about one block until you reach the circle on the west side of the Capitol Building, which will be on your right.
Return
- The tour will end on Duke of Gloucester Street in front of the Raliegh Tavern.
Itinerary
This is the location of the Public Gaol (Jail). The story will revolve around the trial of Blackbeard's pirates, or other trials held in the Capitol Building.
The discussion point will be about the Col. George Mercer Stamp Act Incident.
The story will revolve around the sensational Col. John Chiswell case.
The story will revolve around different scandals you may have heard at the tavern.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
Such a fantastic, fun, and informative walk along Duke of Gloucester Street with Mrs. Goosling, the town gossip! She’s so entertaining, with lots of great stories! Not a better way to spend a warm fall evening in Williamsburg!!
Fantastic tour, you get totally emersed, it is like walking the streets and hearing all the best tales from the very best source in town. Wonderful.
Lovely people. Very knowledgeable and passionate about history. This is a small business that deserves to be supported! This is a one of its kind tour with info you don't receive on any other tour.
We enjoyed our evening with Mrs. Pelham! Fascinating history shared with us.
We left halfway into the tour because it was just odd and uninteresting. The owner’s husband was our guide, and we should have known it wasn’t going to be good when she was following along. In our half hour, we heard nothing even remotely interesting, and certainly does not fit the title or description. We were fooled by the five star ratings. Don’t waste your time or money.
Our experience with our tour guide Heather was very informative and lots of fun! I would highly recommend taking this tour especially if you want to become aware of the"tea" back in the day😊 Heather does a great job of making you feel like you're walking the streets of Williamsburg in 1776!
This was a fun tour. The husband and wife duo are very nice and the story is interesting. You learn about the history and take a quick stroll up the main street
This tour is historical and fun! You will not only hear factually based stories of people and events back 250 years ago, but you will learn what was going on in Williamsburg during that era from the lips of someone who actually was living there at that time….or at least from the lips of a very convincing character actress! She played the part of the hard working jailer’s wife, who not only cared for her own family (challenging teenage daughter included) but also cooked for all the prisoners in the jail! It’s unlikely that any scandals escaped the attention of the jailer and his wife! In addition to learning a lot about the unsavory behavior of scalawags and politicians alike, we came away realizing that human behavior then and now is pretty much the same! Excellent presentation and very informative as well. We enjoyed this!
This tour is historical and fun! You will not only hear factually based stories of people and events back 250 years ago, but you will learn what was going on in Williamsburg during that era from the lips of someone who actually was living there at that time….or at least from the lips of a very convincing character actress! She played the part of the hard working jailer’s wife, who not only cared for her own family (challenging teenage daughter included) but also cooked for all the prisoners in the jail! It’s unlikely that any scandals escaped their attention. In addition to learning a lot about the unsavory behavior of scalawags and politicians alike, we came away realizing that human behavior then and now is pretty much the same! Excellent presentation and very informative as well. We enjoyed this!
We greatly enjoyed the fun historical approach and the wealth of knowledge beyond the subject matter at hand. The stories were very interesting and painted a great picture of life in 1776.
Great tour! Good value….the tour guides were awesome!
An excellent journey back in history with a clever twist.
Our 1-hour Historical Character Tour (Murder, Mayhem, and Scandal) was highly entertaining! We enjoyed the historical banter and storytelling based on an interpretation of recorded historical record. Great fun!
Absolutely wonderful people running this tour. Unfortunately, I had to cancel due to work, and they were so kind and understanding about the whole situation. They even offered to reschedule the tour for free. I definitely recommend this company based on the great communication alone. Thank you Heather!
This was a great experience. The people who run this are very knowledgeable and experienced. They make the tour interesting and interactive. It was very fun and informative. Heather should win an award for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence.
We had a fantastic tour! With a very small group, It felt very personalized, the staff was friendly and knowledgeable, and their energy was amazing. They truly brought the character to life and made the experience unforgettable. Definitely will be back for another.
This tour was excellent. The guide was amazing! Lee Ann Rose did our tour and could not have done a bette job. She started early and took us through all of the scandals of the times.
This was so much fun. I have not stopped talking about it since. I played into it and took it seriously so it had that added level of interaction that made it so memorable. The actors went with everything on stride and made this a tour to remember!
We had a wonderful time on the Murder, Mayhem, and Scandal tour! Fun for all three adults in our party, and it was a perfect mix of history and humor to listen to, all with the tour guide in character.
Well organized, with clear communication up front. Passionate, knowledgable, engaged host and guide. Enjoyed every minute of the tour, despite the cold night.
I really enjoyed this nighttime tour! LeeAnn portrayed Mrs. Goosely who was apparently the town gossip. She knew all the shady goings-on in Williamsburg in the 18th century. These were REAL fact-based stories. I've taken plenty of tours in Williamsburg and heard about things I've never heard before! It was a lot of fun! I would recommend it for adults, though due to adult topics.
Excellent storytelling combined with good history lessons not found everywhere. This tour is one of the best I’ve taken part in.
It was an excellent tour, very interesting and informative. Mr. Michael Pfeifer as Mr. William Lane is quite knowledgeable, we also saw him the night before as John Adams and he was wonderful!
Leeann and Bill Rose are two of the hardest working and creative people I know. I knew that this tour would be fun and I was right. Knowing the amount of research and dedication that goes into each and every tour makes me appreciate the event even more. Thank you for continuing to be part of a beautiful town that comes to life every day.
We were captivated from the beginning to the end of this tour. Great impersonation and stories. Want to try other tours.
Anna and her husband were amazing. We got into character with them and had a great time. Would highly recommend this tour!
Fun evening tour/talk with a real(?) character. Our guide was a bailiff of the court and told us of real felony cases from 1776 (and prior). Interesting to learn of the similarities and differences in law and justice from then and now. If you love history, this tour is worth it!
Great story line based on historical events and delivered well. Enjoyed the setting and the knowledge of our guide. Would highly recommend.
Absolutely Fantastic!!!! Great stories about scandals, mayhem and murder from the time period!!! Take this tour, you won’t regret it!!! The tour guide was dressed and spoke with a time period accent!!! Very engaging!!! Was also a dog friendly tour!!! Thank you!!!
post Labor Day slow period, but that did not stop the owner from providing an excellent tour to just my husband and myself. She was dressed in period costume and stayed in character for a solid hour providing interesting gossip, facts and scandal. We thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend.
We enjoyed traveling back in time with Heather and learned so much. She made it interesting and humorous at the same time. We come from a part of the country known as the Wild West. I would call this tour the Wild West version of Williamsburg! Some interesting stuff went on in the 1700’s. Definitely make this a part of your visit to Williamsburg. Thanks for a great night!
It was just our group and the guide made it seem erf known him forever and we would know exactly what he was talking about even though was long long time ago
Shades of Our Past is successful in transporting you from the hectic world of today into a time when life was hectic in a different way. Murder Mayhem and Scandal is a fun evening experience for adults of all ages. A must experience in Williamsburg! Thank you Lee Ann and Bill Rose! The crew of Camp Can-o-Beer Reunion Tour 2025!
Fantastic, captivating experience! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We didn't expect the gentleman to be in character, but we were hooked once he began speaking. We felt like we were in the late 1700's. We would absolutely do this again. Highly recommend!!!
Such a great experience "meeting" an actual 1700's individual. Impressive attention to detail and interesting information. The guide really inhabited the characture and brought him to life. We had a great time! A lot better than your average walking tour!
We loved this tour! Was full of cool info and statics about things. Loved how interactive it was. Was a drizzling evening and they still got us out of the rain but did an amazing job with the tour! Highly recommend
The character tour was spot on, the stories were amazing and True! Group participation made it memorable.I would do it again!
We had amazing time. Mrs.Vob was our guide and we had a amazing time! The staff are amazing and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone! I look forward to taking it again when I next return to the area.
Very entertaining. I enjoyed listening to the stories and scandals. Tour guides played their role well! A must do while visiting Williamsburg.
We thoroughly enjoyed this experience! The stories were extremely authentic and the actors were fantastic. I’m a theatre teacher and I was impressed with how well he stayed in character! While we only walked around the Capitol building, the hour was full of unique stories and tidbits of history. We watched other groups go by with large groups so we were very grateful for the small group and individual attention. These folks have a genuine passion for telling historical stories in an entertaining and accurate way! Highly recommended!
The guide and charachter were great for the tour. Great knowledge of the happenings of the town and very friendly too. I would recommend for family trips.
Our tour was quite small which allowed everyone to really participate. The guide, in character until the last few minutes, was entertaining and knowledgeable. We really enjoyed the experience!
There was just the small group of us, but it was very engaging and Heather Pfeiffer, the tour guide, did an amazing job in her role.
Interesting and entertaining walk in old town. Fun evening and learned a great deal of history. Recommend!
Fun in character tour that last about an hour and was entertaining. It is nice that the tour is in Historic Williamsburg.
We had a great time! The tour guide was very knowledgable about the time period she was portraying and kept in character the whole time. She was fun and engaging with the whole group and the stroll through town was beautiful. I highly recommend this tour.
It was great listening to the “gossip” of the day from Mrs. Vobe. Stories were interesting and enjoyed interpretation.
We had a great time. The guides were super informative and kind. The guide stayed in character the whole time and the walk was very casual, not to strenuous after we had spent the day walking in Williamsburg. It
Heather was very knowledgeable about the dark history of Williamsburg! If you are a history buff you will enjoy this tour!
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
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