America’s Most Haunted Bars and Restaurants

The charmingly ramshackle interior of this old sailors’ drinking spot in SoHo is still the preferred haunt of at least one sailor, Mickey. He likes the ladies, as female patrons and employees have complained of being goosed by Mickey. And he also likes his drink; regulars have been perplexed to find pint glasses suddenly empty. In September 2014, there was a ghost sighting by a waitress’s boyfriend. They were sleeping in an upstairs room (the space used to double as an inn), and she woke up in the middle of the night to find him transfixed. When she asked what her boyfriend was doing, he said, “I’m just saying hello to the strange man standing in the corner.”

As the site of a former morgue, Captain Tony’s Saloon happens to be one of the few spots you can sip a gin and tonic next to an actual grave. There are, in fact, two here. Oh yeah, there’s also an old tree growing through the roof of the bar; according to legend, it was used to hang criminals. So it’s no wonder that bathroom doors become mysteriously locked on their own or that people regularly feel strange sensations while having a drink here.

The 18th-century building that houses this Bourbon Street bar is brimming with ghostly intrigue. There’s E.J., who apparently sits at the bar. There’s the woman who sometimes appears in the mirror. And then there’s Jean Lafitte himself, a former pirate who ran a smuggling business here in the 18th century—and who may have used this bar to hide his stolen loot. Patrons have apparently seen his apparition standing in a corner scowling and smelled a trace of his tobacco.

It’s a bold move to build on a former Native American burial ground. Yet that’s where the Jury Room sits. Since 1831, this spot has been popular with drinkers, including the spectral kind. Regulars and employees have talked of seeing a tall shadowy man roaming the premises. Workers claim that objects regularly fly off of shelves, and one person even saw a pitcher of beer being poured by itself.

When a bride-to-be tripped at the top of the steps and died after breaking her neck, she ushered in a ghostly era for this Hoboken bar. Since the incident in 1904, employees have regularly seen a lady in white hovering near the steps. Note to any betrothed couples: don’t get married here.

Arizona might be the last place you’d expect to find a restaurant specializing in oysters, but Casey Moore’s Oyster House draws crowds for its elevated pub fare and, of course, oysters Rockefeller. Before this was a hip Irish pub, it was the home of William and Mary Moeur, built in 1910. After the couple died (inside its walls, of course) it had a brief stint as a bordello. The souls of those who passed here still cling to the walls. Forks fly off tables, a black-haired woman wanders the kitchen, and the Moeurs continue to dance together upstairs.

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas once wrote “do not go gentle into that good night.” It’s safe to say that when he did go (during the night, too) it certainly was not gently. A man of his own word, he’d tossed back 18 whiskies at White Horse Tavern—the second oldest, continuously-run tavern in the city—before collapsing into a coma. But it seems he may still be thirsty for more, as many patrons have reported seeing him sip libations in his usual seat.

Gun shop-turned-restaurant, but there’s more. Gun apprentice Daniel Denoon was murdered here by his boss (who later committed suicide). So today, as guests work their way through upscale Southern dishes (vidalia onion hushpuppies, corn and basil grit cakes)in this cozy eatery, a bit of thumping and ruckus can be heard from the stairwell where Daniel fell to to his death.

Tucked away beneath a Victorian-era restaurant in sunny Santa Monica is this quasi-secret, hipster-loving cocktail bar. What’s not a secret is that it’s haunted. In the early 1970s, the house that sits above the bar was moved to this location from a few miles away. Delia, the resident ghost, apparently made the journey as well. Delia gets up to the usual ghostly behavior, amusing herself by flicking the lights on and off and slamming doors. If you really want to entertain her, though, order a Delia’s Elixir: bourbon, agave, lemon, and raspberries, and wait for the paranormal activity to commence.

Pioneer Saloon, located 35 miles from Las Vegas, looks like it’s straight out of the Old West (though it’s been a bar only since 1913). Inside, you’ll find an old potbelly stove, vintage poker tables, and a resident ghost. The spirit of an elderly miner haunts the place. He was killed in 1915 after getting caught cheating at cards. He can sometimes be seen standing over gamblers, though perhaps he learned his lesson since he won’t help any others cheat.

Not every bar wants its business publicized for being haunted. But Shaker’s embraces its reputation. And the self-proclaimed “Milwaukee’s haunted bar” may not be a misnomer, either. There are a few floors at Shaker’s, and each is said to be crawling with ghosts. Elizabeth haunts the bathroom. Molly, an employee of the brothel that used to occupy this building, was hacked to death and is said to roam the penthouse. Call ahead before your next visit to find out when the owner is giving a tour, as he regularly does.

It all began in the early 20th century when a prostitute named Emily was killed in The Tavern, an unwitting victim of a bar fight. That’s when her ghost was unleashed. To this day, bar-goers have claimed to see a woman clad in early-20th-century garb staring out the window of this Austin bar. She’s been known to be mischievous, too, sometimes changing the channel on the TV, dialing the phone, or banging dishes in the kitchen.

A trip to Charleston, oft called The Holy City, is not complete without a generous dose of Southern comfort food. Head to Poogan’s Porch for biscuits, fried alligator, she-crab soup, plus a side of something ghostly. Zoe St. Amand was a schoolteacher who lived in the house at the turn of the 20th century. She continues to wander the famed restaurant and looks so real that diners often mistake her another patron.

Centuries ago, an English sailor swindled the townspeople of Monterey and pretended to be a physician, transforming his home into a deadly infirmary. Both his spirit, as well as those of the innocents he killed, are said to haunt the site, now Restaurant 1833. Dark wood, a marble-topped bar, and an apothecary-inspired cocktail menu add to the creepy yet trendy vibe. Expect a lot of bitters, salts, and herbal tonics in your glass.

When your local pub was once a morgue, you should probably expect there to be other spirits aside from vodka and gin. In the early 1900s, Kell’s Irish Restaurant & Pub served as a mortuary specifically-designed for those who died in major accidents, in plagues, and in violent atrocities. The darkness of the past still remains. Mirrors have cracked at random, beer mugs move mysteriously and apparitions appear (and disappear) with little explanation.

At acclaimed Italian restaurant Il Buco, the wine cellar house hundreds of bottles: and maybe a few ghosts, too. The owners and employees have reported feeling a strange presence here and, to confirm their suspicions, hired a team of real-life ghost busters. After the paranormal investigation, it is thought that a murder took place in the cellar after a violent struggle. Today, you may still here the sound of a baby’s cries (if you listen closely) or happen upon a bottle of unopened, yet half-drunk wine.

Once a speakeasy, the eponymous bar of Simon Lundberg, an early-20th-century industrialist, is said to be haunted. When a married woman who was having an affair with Simon’s son, Roy, was killed in a car accident, the family was scandalized as news of their illicit relationship trickled out. So someone, hoping it would make the story go away, cut the woman’s image from a mural in the bar. Since then, some regulars say they’ve felt a strange spirit in the tavern. Current owner Scott Martin says he’s never seen or felt a ghost but that he’s seen plenty of people react to feeling “something.”

When Leonard Fournier bought this pub in the late 1970s, he kept experiencing bolted doors that weren’t supposed to be locked and lights that would go out in rooms. So he had a series of paranormal experts in to analyze the circa 1834 building, and they all agreed on one thing: in the upstairs function room, they experienced an eerie not-good feeling. That has persisted ever since. Have a drink at Stone’s, sure, but venture up to the function room at your own risk.

Nina loves to wear perfume, black dresses, and eat pizza. She is also dead. But Nina hasn’t been able to cross over. Instead, she lurks amongst customers at Portland’s Old Town Pizza. The tale goes that Nina was an enslaved prostitute at the former Merchant Hotel a century ago—the lobby of which is now the hip taproom and pizzeria—who was thrown down an elevator shaft. Today, she remains suspended between worlds, but finally keeps much more amicable company. Order a spooky Green Ghost cocktail: fresh lime juice,gin, and chartreuse, while keeping your eyes peeled for paranormal activity.