The New Orleans Dead of Night Ghosts and Cemetery Bus Tour
NEW ORLEANS — Ghost City Tours of Georgia has filed a federal lawsuit in Louisiana alleging that a competing ghost tour company is unlawfully using the name of one of its long-running Savannah attractions in a way that confuses customers, damages its brand and violates federal and state unfair-competition laws.
The complaint asserts claims under the Lanham Act and related state statutes and seeks to halt what Ghost City calls the unauthorized and misleading use of its “Dead of Night” tour name, according to the Nov. 17 complaint filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana..
Ghost City has operated its Dead of Night Ghost Tour in Savannah, Ga., for more than a decade, describing the tour as a signature offering that has acquired distinctiveness and substantial goodwill among tourists, travel writers and major booking platforms.
The company states it has used the name continuously since at least 2012 and has pursued both Georgia and federal service-mark protections based on that long-term use.
The complaint alleges that US Ghost Adventures, which is operating under the brands “US Ghost Adventures,” “Savannah Ghost Tour” and “Savannah Terrors,” has recently launched and marketed a competing tour called the “Savannah Terrors Ultimate Dead of Night Haunted Ghost Tour.”
Ghost City contends the use of the same “Dead of Night” wording for the same type of tour in the same city was intentional, designed to capitalize on Ghost City’s reputation and crafted to create a false association between the companies.
The lawsuit asserts that this marketing choice has already produced consumer confusion, including misdirected reviews and complaints that Ghost City says were actually tied to its competitor’s tours.
The filing places personal responsibility for the alleged infringement not only on the company but also on its managing member, Lance Zaal, who the complaint identifies as the controlling principal of US Ghost Adventures.
Zaal resides in the Eastern District of Louisiana and is alleged to have personally directed or approved the selection and marketing of the disputed tour name.
The complaint alleges that the two companies compete directly for the same pool of customers, selling ghost tours in Savannah through overlapping online search channels and booking platforms.
Because both offer similar nighttime historical storytelling experiences, Ghost City argues that tourists encountering the phrase “Dead of Night” in connection with ghost tours are likely to assume a connection between the two operators.
The complaint claims this confusion is not merely theoretical and includes reports from customers that Ghost City says were misled about which company operated which tour.
Ghost City further asserts that it attempted to resolve the dispute before filing suit.
On Oct. 17, 2025, the company sent a demand letter to US Ghost Adventures and Zaal, outlining its prior use of the mark and referencing incidents of consumer confusion.
The letter was sent via FedEx to the company’s New Orleans registered office, its Savannah operational listing, and its principal office in Gettysburg, Pa.
The complaint includes copies of the letter and delivery records.
In its filing, Ghost City argues that the alleged infringement threatens harm that cannot be remedied by monetary damages alone.
The company states that continued use of the disputed name by US Ghost Adventures diminishes the distinctiveness of Ghost City’s own mark and erodes the trust it has built with customers over years of continuous operation.
It claims the injury to brand identity and goodwill is ongoing and irreparable without court intervention.
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages. It is represented by Andrew J. Walker of Jones Fussell in Covington, La.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number: 2:25-cv-02332
