If drinking a cold brewski in a haunted mortuary sounds fascinating then the Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub in Seattle, Washington is the place for you to enjoy such an evening of hair raising events. The quirky pub is family-run and they have extended their family to include the many ghosts and spirits that inhabit the bar. Of course the fact that the pub is haunted comes as no surprise when you consider the building was originally built in 1903 as the Butterworth & Sons mortuary designed for the sole purpose of handling the steady stream of dead plagued by the outbreak of disease and inflicted by unavoidable disaster. The building possesses a magical charm that is nothing short of charismatic and it has that special quality that makes dining with the ghosts a harmonious and extraordinary occurrence rather then something eerie and uncomfortable.
The dark history of the pub draws in heavy crowds from visitors to the city who have heard the rumors of the paranormal activity and wish to see it for themselves. The locals absolutely love the atmosphere, the large selection of food entrees, a friendly staff that caters to your needs and they can never get enough of the paranormal activity that the pub’s dark past so easily encompasses. The haunted restaurant & pub has attracted the attention of ghost hunters for years and the great food and friendly service is simply a bonus to those looking for more than a visit with the other side.
Thousands of deceased people were laid out at the mortuary and it is believed that the vast majority of these souls are who keeps the pub active all hours of the night. Bartenders, waitresses, cooks and guests at the restaurant are often taken by surprise when random ghosts openly parade through the place like they belong there. They typically disappear just as quickly as they show themselves. St. Patrick’s Day appears to be one of those days that the ghosts feel inclined to join in on the festivities as occurred in 2005 when a tall mal spirit dressed in a suit walked to the end of the bar and just faded into thin air. The owner’s sister Karen McAleese is still trying to fathom what she witnessed, but pretty much sums it up to the ghost possibly being one of the thousands of dead people that ended up at the mortuary do to the diphtheria epidemic and mining accidents that overwhelmed Seattle in the early part of the twentieth century.
The ghost of a little girl in red velvet is a frequent visitor who loves to climb the steps. Her small pitter patter of footsteps have been heard by many different people and one spectator even became concerned when a little girl was spotted in the bar, but after a futile attempt was made to find the child all efforts were put to a halt when the group figured out that she was a ghost who had simply vanished. The pub has doors that miraculously slam on their own and because it occurs so much it has become something the family has gotten used to and now simply ignores. Owner Patrick McAleese witnessed a ghost firsthand in the upstairs and became a bit shook up when he realized that not only had he seen a real spirit, but he had caught it on film. The creepy photo is what initially stirred up interest from The Ghost Adventures team to zoom in for a closer look into possible paranormal activity at the pub.
The history of the building intrigued the team of paranormal investigators and gave them reason to come prepared with any and all ghost hunting equipment. The Travel Channel’s ‘Ghost Adventures’ visited Kells pub in 2010 with their team of paranormal investigators in an effort to confirm reports of ghost sightings. The ghost chasers were not let down. Zak Bagans knew that the very corrupt mortuary would stand to be a hot bed of activity, especially considering the Butterworth family was once accused of collecting corpses for cash, making it possible that many people suffered horrible deaths at the hands of deranged and greedy monsters. After a thorough tour of the building the team recorded tortured whispers and footsteps, and they managed to capture the ghost of a small disfigured child sitting at the top of the steps leading into the pub. An infrared digital still camera was used while walking through the pub after hours in the dark while the ghost chasers openly invited the spirits to manifest themselves. A group EVP session was held and spirit voices could clearly be detected through the team’s efforts. The eerie answers kept chanting “we don’t like you” and upstairs above the pub the group was rewarded with a friendly “hey there”!
The owners, patrons and various employees all claim that strange and unexplained things taking place in the restaurant are not only the normal, they are expected. Mirrors have been known to shatter and falling plaster falls from the walls for no apparent reason. Glasses tumble to the floor when no one is near them and the proof that Irish whiskey isn’t the only spirit making the rounds at the Irish pub is easily witnessed if you wait it out and look close enough to the evidence. Those who live on the edge and enjoy delving into the fine mysteries that life holds will enjoy a visit to the restaurant & pub if not for the many spirits then for the delicious food and hauntingly friendly atmosphere.
Happy Hour Appetizers: Belfast Bangers, Quesadillas and chicken wings.
Favorite Dinner Entrees: The Irish Pub Stew gives you a feel for the old country, the meat and sundried tomato filled Potato Farl Wrap is County Antrim farm fresh and the Ballycastle sausage roll is the purest taste of the Antrim’s coast of Ireland, plain, simple and deliciously topped with a Bordelaise sauce.
Buffet Favorites: Corned Beef & Cabbage Baked Salmon, Whiskey Glazed Ham and Roast Beef.
Location: 1916 Post Aly, Seattle, Washington, above the historic Pike Place Market between Virginia & Stewart Streets. Map: http://www.kellsirish.com/seattle/map.php or Call: 206-728-1916. Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub has two other locations from San Francisco, California to Portland, Oregon, covering much of the west coast when you include their Seattle, Washington pub. To date no reports of paranormal activity has come from their two other restaurants.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120147/Haunted-Irish-pub-sits-site-1900s-Seattle-mortuary.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0PRi3mWCU
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterworth_Building
Reference:
- www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120147/Haunted-Irish-pub-sits-site-1900s-Seattle-mo
- www.kellsirish.com/
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0PRi3mWCU
