What it's like on a "Grim Philly" tour
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
You can take 'em through December.
Grim Philly Tours
Dozens of tours shuffle around Old City each weekend, but only one company will tell its patrons about the time that John Adams walked in on Ben Franklin in the tub with two prostitutes. Or the time that Dr. Benjamin Rush tried to fix the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 by cutting up patients and having them bleed out all over the street. Or the Christ Church minister that bought merch from Blackbeard.
On this particular Saturday, tour guide Jon Crider is telling our group about a handful of serial killers that have operated in town, including one who almost got away, until she was caught by none other than a reporter for PhillyMag.
Grim Philly Twilight Tours — you might remember Anthony Bourdain taking one for his Travel Channel show — is the only tour company in the city that markets itself as “adults only.” For good reason — its tour offerings include “Vampires, Sex, & Ghosts” and “Bootleggers Ball: Historic & Haunted Pub Crawl.” Today, Crider leads the fact-packed “Serial Killers, Blood & Beer,” a three hour walk that stops at Christ Church and its burial ground, Betsy Ross’s house, and Elfreth’s Alley, and ends over beers at a local bar.
"Our tours are sort of the anti-tours, with the crazy darker elements of murder and sex, and other fun things like drinks,” says Grim Philly’s founder Joe Wojie. Because the Constitution is cool and everything, but there’s a lot more to Philly’s history than what you hear about in school.
The stories that I’m hearing today sound exaggerated, even made-up, but Grim Philly prides itself on historical accuracy. All of the company’s 15 guides have history degrees, and many are college professors who boast masters and doctorates. Crider, for example, teaches U.S. History at The College of New Jersey while he pursues a doctorate at Temple.
These credentials aside, Crider points out that historically, Philadelphians are so weird that no one would need to make this stuff up.
Grim Philly seems especially suited for locals who feel like they should see some of those obligatory historical sights, but also want to avoid the typical tourist scene. “It’s 90% locals who come out to Grim Philly,” says Wojie. “It’s a sort of cult thing growing in popularity, where people can get to know each other.”
This past season, Grim Philly also introduced river cruises along the Delaware, and is launching another in the Schuylkill in 2015.
But be warned: taking a Grim Philly tour could significantly affect how you perceive Old City’s quaint landmarks. So next time you’re walking through Washington Square, walking your dog or sipping your latte, remember: there’s much more to historic Philadelphia than all that charm. And there are 5,000 yellow fever victims buried beneath you.
"Vampires, Sex & Ghosts" tour, $19.99, Departs at 7 p.m. from Independence Visitor Center (April through December), other times available, grimphilly.com/tours/.
