In polished Singapore, Haunting Heritage Tours is uncovering the stories that lie in the dark
It’s 5.30PM on a humid Saturday evening, and I’m heading out for the night. But I wasn’t going out to a bar or club for drinks—I’m boarding a ferry from Changi for something far more unconventional: a ghost tour on Pulau Ubin.
At one point, I found myself walking along a rocky path in pitch-black darkness with 11 other participants, guided only by two tour guides and a candle-lit lamp. One of them joked, “Now, this is the part where you don’t want to be the last person.”
Being the scaredy-cat that I am, I hurried to the front, silently praying, even though I’m not religious, until we reached our destination: a humble wooden shrine known as the German Girl Temple.
This was my introduction to dark tourism: visiting sites connected to death, tragedy, and the supernatural. But as I would learn, it’s not just about ghost stories. It’s about history, empathy, and how we confront the uncomfortable parts of our past.
More people are interested in dark tourism
The term dark tourism was first coined in 1996 by Scottish professors J. John Lennon and Malcolm Foley, describing travel to places linked to death and disaster, like Auschwitz in Poland, Pompeii in Italy, and Cambodia’s Killing Fields.
Around the world, curiosity about the macabre is growing. According to a report by TravelandTourWorld, the dark tourism industry alone is expected to swell to nearly US$40 billion by 2032. What was once a niche fascination has grown into a recognised form of cultural tourism, offering people a chance to confront the stories history often leaves in the dark.
In Singapore, that fascination has found its champion in Eugene Tay, founder of dark tourism group Haunting Heritage Tours. These tours started in 2023, following the success of his 2015 book Supernatural Confessions: You Are Not Alone, which recounts his own experience of learning about the spirit world, demonic possessions, and exorcisms.
The book garnered an online community of paranormal survivors, believers, sceptics, and the simply curious, which then led Eugene to further expand his business into a full-fledged media platform with a YouTube and podcast channel.
Now, Haunting Heritage Tours is also part of his business offerings, providing a variety of experiences. Each one takes participants to infamous neighbourhoods for supernatural sightings, such as Changi and Pulau Ubin, blending folklore, local history, and the occasional chill down your spine.
Breaking the taboo
While Supernatural Confessions earns from other avenues, including Patreon subscriptions and online live shows, half of its revenue comes from its Haunting Heritage Tours. But for Eugene, getting here wasn’t easy, and the path to legitimacy was, quite literally, haunted by bureaucracy.
When he first launched his Changi tour in 2023 with the late playwright and theatre director Jonathan Lim, it quickly gained popularity. Participants loved it, and word spread online.
However, his success also drew the attention of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which informed him that he was liable to be fined for running illegal tours, something that he never expected. “I know we shouldn’t spit, I know we shouldn’t steal. I know we shouldn’t rob and murder, but I didn’t know this was against the law,” explained Eugene.
Determined to continue, he enrolled in a nine-month course and earned his tour guide license in Apr 2024, making him the first licensed tour guide in Singapore that specialises in dark tourism. That said, some STB officials still remained cautious, concerned about whether his tours would reflect poorly on Singapore’s global image.
“I could tell that it was a love-hate relationship with me,” explained Eugene.
Eventually, Supernatural Confessions was invited to curate official walking tours for the Singapore Heritage Festival 2024. One tour was designed as a lighter, tamer version for casual participants, while another leaned fully into the paranormal experience.
The spookier tour, Walk With Hantu: Changi, quickly sold out, reaching its participant limit within a week. Demand was so strong that the tour had to be extended for another week, and it became one of Eugene’s signature experiences.
Since then, Eugene has collaborated with institutions such as the Peranakan Museum and the Singapore Night Festival, offering guided walks even during traditionally non-scary months like Apr and May. The success of these tours demonstrates that what started as a niche curiosity has grown into a year-round interest for both locals and tourists.
Sharing firsthand experiences, while also earning from it
Having run Supernatural Confessions for nearly a decade, Eugene has collected a wealth of ghost stories and firsthand accounts. These experiences form the backbone of his tours, giving them a depth that goes beyond simple storytelling.
In a world where information is instantly accessible, Eugene sees immense value in gathering personal stories from locals and families. They offer participants a tangible connection to the past: experiences and details that can’t be replicated through books or online research.
“I can walk down Chinatown and tell you the history, but what makes my tour a killer is that I knock on the door and interview a retired prostitute or someone whose grandmother was a Samsui woman, and her grandmother told her these stories,” he said.
But running these tours also comes with logistical and financial considerations. While most of Eugene’s tours cost between S$68 and S$89, some—like the Pulau Ubin tour I attended, which is this year’s seasonal offering—are priced higher at S$158 per participant. The increased cost reflects factors such as the need for a ferry and the tour’s longer duration.
Eugene explained that a portion of the revenue covers operational costs, another portion goes to the groups and individuals who host his tours, and roughly 30% goes to him personally. This way, the tours can provide additional income for residents and businesses, building lasting relationships in the communities they visit.
The demand is there, but these tours aren’t easy to run
Despite the growing interest, dark tourism in Singapore remains a niche compared to other countries. One key challenge is execution: guides must adapt to a wide range of participants, from children to corporate groups, while handling sensitive themes such as death, trauma, and tragedy with tact and wit.
“As a guide, you’re not just being a storyteller, not just being a repository of facts, you’re also being an entertainer, you start taking care of people’s feelings, because dark tourism, unlike any other form of tourism, it’s dark, impressive and scary,” he said.
In a bid to expand his business, Eugene has trained other guides, with mixed results. In one instance, a guide delivering Eugene’s material about the late playwright Kuo Pao Kun came across as insensitive, earning their first one-star review. The reviewer stated that some facts about Kuo Pao Kun were misrepresented, making the experience feel “disrespectful” and “poorly executed.”
Even a single misstep like this can overshadow otherwise well-received stories, which is why Eugene continues to lead most tours himself. However, this reliance on him also limits the number of tours the company can offer.
All tours take place on Fridays and Saturdays, restricting monthly capacity. “I can create 10 tours tomorrow, but I don’t have the days to run them,” he added.
“So, until I find another Eugene, or even if I can’t find another Eugene, I need to be able to let the community know that there’s going to be different guides with different styles taking on my content. And until that happens, I don’t see my revenue growing very much.”
Maintaining the credibility of dark tourism
Eugene believes every story deserves respect—and that includes the tales of spirits.
Many groups in Singapore engage in ghost hunting, using devices to detect spirits and attempting to provoke paranormal activity. Eugene has also experimented with similar one-night-only events on Halloween before launching his tours.
However, he realised that such antics are disrespectful to the spirits present after hearing accounts of others’ health deteriorating or getting hurt from their activities, and having firsthand experience with possession cases and paranormal encounters.
“If I’m running a tour and I’m gonna do that, who’s to say that one day I will not get one of my participants possessed? That will be the end of my tour. And if a life was lost, then there’s going to be a level of guilt and responsibility.”
The stakes go beyond individual safety. Eugene also feared that such antics could damage the credibility of dark tourism in Singapore. By focusing on research-driven storytelling and immersive experiences, he maintains both participant safety and the integrity of the tours.
“What I fear is fup dark tourism’s reputation,” he lamented. “You won’t see the differentiation, because it’s all lumped under dark tourism, so that’s the danger of it.”
More room to grow
As demand grows, Eugene is working on expanding his tours and involving new guides without compromising the experience. He also plans to publish another book detailing the stories he’s collected and launch an educational course for aspiring dark tourism guides.
“If you want to run it, take my content, go ahead. If I think you’re good enough, I will hire you to be an official guide on my Haunting Heritage tours. If not, feel free to run on your own,” he candidly stated.
Rather than seeing competition as a threat, Eugene views it as an opportunity to bring dark tourism to new neighbourhoods and present another side of Singapore that is rarely seen. He believes the appetite for horror is universal, regardless of age, background, or socioeconomic status; everyone leans in when a ghost story is told.
“I’m going to live to say this, I believe everyone in Singapore has an appetite for horror in some shape, way or form. Regardless of their SES level, race and age, when someone tells a ghost story, all of them will be on the same page.”
- Learn more about Haunting Heritage Tours here.
- Learn more about Supernatural Confessions here.
- Read more stories we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Also Read: Not your typical tourism agency: This S’porean biz helps football fans catch live matches
Featured Image Credit: Supernatural Confessions
Last modified: October 17, 2025
About the Author: Eric L.
