Astoria Underground

One of the creepiest places in Astoria is once again open for guided tours and plans to give guests some extra shivers this Halloween.

Astoria Underground Tours allows visitors the chance to explore the city from a different perspective, underneath the streets.

Owner Jeff Daly restored a portion of the city’s tunnel system that was used to transport goods several years ago. Daly is quick to tell visitors that according to legend, people were sometimes kidnapped in the tunnels and forced to work aboard sailing ships.

Daly and tour guide Chad Gallup gave tours to an estimated 1,000 people each year the tunnels were open before the pandemic. They rebooted the business to adjust to the new normal with self-guided tours, but are now regularly able to take small groups through live tours once again.

As Halloween approaches, they’ve got a few extra tricks and treats up their sleeve.

“We’ve gone through this COVID period where lives have changed,” said Daly. “We need to bring back Halloween again because we all miss the events, the spooks and the kids miss the candy.”

Halloween-themed tours will run through the weekend and feature dramatic props, lighting and a few pulse-pounding surprises. Daly says the attraction is not intended to be a full haunted house but will put an emphasis on the darker tales and times in the city.

If you go

Astoria Underground Tours

1125 Marine Dr., Astoria

415-713-4141

$20 for adults, $10 for children, $15 for military

Book a tour at oldastoria.com/underground.php

“The stories are scary in their own way. We have some pieces of history that go on into the past and make people cringe,” said Daly. “Hanging, deaths, there are all kinds of stories that are perfect for a Halloween presentation.”

“Astoria did burn down twice, in very mysterious ways,” added Gallup. “The first time it was burned they just bulldozed it, it burned down again and they bulldozed on top of that. So who knows what could be underground?”

According to Daly, the tunnels are popular with paranormal groups. They frequently allow the teams to conduct investigations in the restored space.

“Eleventh Street seems to be a hotspot, this is where it seems all of their detectors go off,” Gallup said.

“They find things down here, they find movement,” Daly said. “I kind of poo-poo it at times, but two years ago I was down here setting up a Halloween event, and I left the place in the middle of the night. There were sounds, there were mood changes and there were atmosphere changes. It scared the heck out of me. I left.”

Masks are required to visit the Astoria Underground, and group sizes are limited due to the pandemic.