I typically don't give a tour like this 5 stars, even if I have a great time just because I feel even my favorite tours can't be perfect (and to me, 5 stars is for perfection). "Perfect" is subjective, but I will say this tour deserves 5 stars.
I took the Greenwich Village Haunted Tour the Saturday of Halloween weekend. First, I'd like to say that it's as described on the website. It isn't meant to be scary. It's meant to be historically informative and a bit comedic. That it was.
Professor Mortimer made his job look deceptively easy, due to how natural of a great guide he is, or well-seasoned, or both, can't tell which. He was always one step ahead of how the crowd might react, so he could appeal to just about any type of person - the jumpy ones, the skeptics, etc. so that everyone could get the most out of the tour. He was able to step out of character and return into character just enough and at the right moments, so that the tour could poke a bit of fun at other tours that take themselves too seriously, as well as tours that don't take themselves seriously enough. This may seem like an odd observation, but it showed me just how intelligently he handled the tour, which I appreciated.
I liked that the format of the tour was like a "class" (yet am glad he didn't go overboard with that metaphor which could have been too much). When he gave us a "pop quiz", it helped me remember some of the information that we went over. While I enjoy these tours tremendously, I tend to space out :) The review of what we saw helped me take away more from the tour had he not done the pop/quiz and review.
I didn't find the tour to involve a tremendous amout of walking, but I'm a walker. I can't easily estimate how far we walked, but I feel it may not be for those who get tired easily, but easily doable for anyone who typically strolls around Manhattan.
I appreciated that Professor Mortimer reminded us politely yet effectively to leave room for passersby while we gathered around our various stops. As someone from the tri-state area and a frequent visitor to NY, I know the frustration of getting blocked by a tour group as I try to go about my day!
I will probably sign up for at least one of the other Haunted Manhattan tours. I'm not big on long, detailed history tours, but this one seemed just about right in terms of the amount of detail given for the number of sites, for someone who wants to learn a bit more about New York history.