Boston is wicked old, and Warren Tavern is a perfect spot to experience the city's history and hauntings.
Boston is wicked old, and Warren Tavern is a perfect spot to experience the city's history and hauntings. A Revolutionary stomping ground, Warren Tavern served the original Sons of Liberty. Are these freedom fighters the ghosts who are lurking in the dark corners? Or maybe it's the spirit of its namesake, Dr. Warren? Nobody really knows who the specters are, all we know is that they refuse to leave.
Known as one of Boston's oldest spots, dating back to 1780, Warren Tavern is also one of Boston's most paranormally active locations. But who is the specter lurking in the dark corners of this colonial hangout? And is there only one ghost? Or are there a few spirits roaming around the bar and dining room, amidst the living?
The shadowy woman in a black Victorian dress has become a familiar sight for many of the Warren Tavern staff. She is usually seen hanging around the front room of the Tavern. Perhaps she is longing for her love to return from the bloody battle at Bunker Hill. Or maybe she is the residual energy from one of the many other businesses that inhabited the building throughout the 19th century. Nobody really knows who she is, or why she's there, only that she has never left.
Perhaps the most interesting ghost who is believed to haunt Warren Tavern is the gentleman whom the pub is named for, Dr. Joseph Warren. The shadowy figure can be seen donning a colonial wig and tights. He tends to stand near a porthole window, making himself known to anyone in the bar who is willing to see him.
A common claim is the sound of boots walking around the building. The heaviness of each step approaches the unassuming individual from behind. Still, when they turn to see who is near, there is nobody there. It is speculated that Dr. Warren is the wearer of the phantom boots. But could there be another ghost in addition to the Victorian woman and Dr. Joseph Warren?
The ghostly activity at Warren Tavern has brought in curious paranormal investigators. When Para-Boston visited, they were prepared for a night of apparitions, disembodied voices, and residual sounds. They set up all of their gear and equipment for the night and did their best to invite the ghosts to show themselves.
The Para-Boston team didn't have what they would consider an active investigation. They did hear what sounded like rattling pots and pans in the kitchen, but for the most part, not a lot of activity. The lead investigator, Michael Baker, told Sam Baltrusis in his book, Haunted Boston Harbor, "we didn't encounter anything, but we did debunk a few things."
Though Para-Boston didn't have any luck with "para-Warren Tavern," the staff still feel confident that their ghosts who don't want to leave the Tavern, even after last-call. And one well-known Boston psychic attested their claims.
Mary Lee Trettenero has investigated the Tavern four times and has had experiences as a patron there, as well. She was well aware of the staff's claims about a Revolutionary War-era man seen loitering about the bar, and the sounds of disembodied footsteps, but she felt the need to make contact of her own.
One of Trerrenero's most memorable experiences was when she was indeed there as a patron. She was having lunch at Warren Tavern with a friend when the "lights started flickering" behind her. Her friend asks Mary Lee who she thinks is causing the lights to flicker.
Mary Lee turned into the energy of where it was coming from and saw the figure of somebody "wearing a black coat, and he was severe looking." She immediately knew who it was… it was Daniel Webster. You see, this wasn't the first time she had met Mr. Webster. Her first encounter with Daniel Webster was at the Bunker Hill Monument. Maybe Mr. Webster continues to pontificate on the power and the pride of America.
But we are Americans. We live in what may be called the early age of this great continent; and we know that our posterity, through all time, are here to enjoy and suffer the allotments of humanity.Daniel Webster, The Bunker Hill Monument, June 17, 1825
On July 4, 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia by Massachusetts resident John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. Just four years later, in 1780, Mr. Hancock found himself inside Charlestown's first building erected after it had been destroyed by the British in 1775. Inside the building, he sat, just blocks away from Bunker Hill with compatriots Paul Revere, Samual Adams, and George Washington. That building is Warren Tavern.
Warren Tavern was one of the first buildings erected in historic Charlestown after the violent and bloody Battle of Bunker Hill. Dr. Joseph Warren was one of the many colonists killed in the battle. But Dr. Warren wasn't just killed in battle, his dead body was mutilated and desecrated, postmortem, by a British officer.
A Harvard graduate and practicing doctor and surgeon in Boston, Dr. Warren was an active member of Boston's political community. He was a Grand Master of the Freemasons, a member of the Sons of Liberty and the Boston Committee of Correspondence. Dr. Warren was the one who sent Paul Revere and William Dawes out on their warning ride to Lexington in 1775.
In 1775, Dr. Warren spent weeks readying the militia for the impending battles, when he was elected the second general in command of the Massachusetts forces. A noble believer in the cause, Warren declined the command and volunteered to go into battle with his musket in hand.
As the British troops began their assault on the colonists atop Bunker Hill, Warren fearlessly fought for freedom from British rule. Warren fought on the third assault on the redoubt from the British until he ran out of ammunition. He was killed instantly by what is believed to be either a musket or pistol ball in the head. His body was stripped of clothing and bayoneted until unrecognizable, only to be tossed into a shallow ditch.
I stuffed the scoundrel with another rebel into one hole, and there he and his seditious principles may remain.~British Captain Walter Laurie
The British still weren't satisfied. In a letter to John Adams from Benjamin Hichborn, he describes what British Lieutenant James Drew to the deceased Dr. Joseph Warren:
In a day or two after, Drew went upon the Hill again opened the dirt that was thrown over Doctor: Warren, spit on his face jumped on his stomach and at last cut off his head and committed every act of violence upon his body.
It's no wonder Dr. Warren's spirit is thought to still roam-his soul riddled with trauma and unable to rest. Dr. Warren's body was exhumed ten months later by his brothers and Paul Revere. He was placed in the Granary Burying Ground, but would eventually be laid to rest in1855 in his family's vault at Forest Hills Cemetery.
Built in the Federal-style of the 18th century, Captain Eliphelet Newell erected Warren Tavern in 1780 and named it after his close friend, Dr. Joseph Warren. It was reportedly built with wooden beams from the Charlestown Navy Yard, which are now proudly displayed. The hand-carved wooden ceiling beams can be seen in the dining room and bar. And though it has served libations for decades, it wore a few different hats through the 19th century.
Drinks were poured from 1780 to 1813, when Warren Tavern was shuttered, temporarily. It spent some years as a bakery, private club, and warehouse. Charlestown saw a dip in their population in the 1900s and the historic building on Pleasant Street was left abandoned and in disrepair.
Warren Tavern was brought back to life in the 1970s by a handful of entrepreneurs who loved history. The Tavern was reopened in 1972 and is still serving locals and tourists alike.
Think about it, what an amazing honor to have a drink and a meal in the exact spot that George Washington, Paul Revere, and Dr. Joseph Warren all raised their glasses in the name of Liberty.
Warren Tavern is located at 2 Pleasant Street in Charlestown, MA. If you find yourself there having a beer or cocktail, take notice of the shadows, and let us know if any of them move.
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