Saint Paul Caves Ghosts Tour

The adventure begins at the main archway of the caves. After passing through the doorway, the temperature drops suddenly and the sound outside fades; the guide leads the way with a paraffin lantern and, in the shivering light, narrates the tragedy of the miner who fell down the ventilation shaft in 1892 - the first of many lost souls who, they say, still manifest themselves as fleeting shadows on the sandstone walls.

The group moves on to the Grand Ballroom: dust-covered art deco chandeliers hang above a floor worn by heels and smuggler's guns. Here, according to the watchmen, jazz chords float in the silence. To the side, the gun room has bullet holes still intact; shine a torch and the shadows take on eerie shapes.

Ahead, a low-vaulted passageway leads to the underground river chamber. The guide asks for a minute of total darkness: lanterns are switched off, and the trickle of water rumbles like a distant drum. Many visitors report feeling an icy blast - with no observable draught - or seeing flashes of orange, perhaps from ghostly lanterns.

The tour culminates in the old mushroom cave, where unsolved disappearances from the Prohibition era are recounted. As you surface again, the Mississippi breeze seems warmer than ever and the sounds of the city are strangely comforting: you've just returned from underground with stories that will give anyone goosebumps.