If you’re looking to lift your spirits, share a few pints with these poltergeists.
Nicknamed “The Gravedigger’s Pub,” Kavanagh’s proximity to Prospect Cemetery guarantees more than liquid spirits. Their resident poltergeists will also keep you on your toes.
Originating in 1849, this spooky pub was named after its earliest owner John Kavanagh. Kavanagh, who famously fathered twenty-five children, provided booze and beer to the local working-class community.
His most routine frequenters were gravediggers.
Rumor has it that they would knock on the property’s walls for their pints after they’d return from the burial grounds. Sometimes they’d use the same shovels they’d use to excavate graves.
That may explain the residual energies paranormal enthusiasts claim to experience – as well as the full-bodied apparitions.
Kavanagh’s most commonly sighted spirits include a young man in tweed and a woman in white, so let us know if you spot any specters!
Want to feel like a nineteenth-century gravedigger? Customers can partake in the Kavanagh Tradition by throwing a shovel of cemetery soil against the property’s wall.
Often called “The Most Haunted Pub in America,” Kell’s Irish Pub isn’t for the faint of heart.
Once the E.R. Butterworth and Sons Mortuary, this former morgue once held the bodies of locals battered by disease and mining accidents.
Today, it offers one of the country’s most authentic Irish experiences.
The pub’s paranormal activity includes inexplicable apparitions and eerie disturbances: mirrors shatter while glasses spontaneously combust, plaster falls from the walls.
Their most popular poltergeists include an older man in a derby hat as well as a small, redheaded girl.
Luckily for us, both are known for their cheerful personalities.
Known as a popular spot for paranormal investigators, Wayside’s ghostly activity dates back to the 1960s.
Patrons regularly encounter cold spots, mysterious orbs, and full-bodied apparitions.
The original building was constructed in the nineteenth century as the “Munro House,” but didn’t harbor paranormal energy until the building caught fire a second time.
Since the accident, passersby regularly witness eerie apparitions in the third-floor window.
The most commonly sighted poltergeist goes by the name Sara, who’s suspected to have committed suicide on the third floor.
Most paranormal disturbances are credited to a friendly ghost by the name of Harry, though patrons have witnessed apparitions of the building’s original owner, too.
You can’t mention New Orleans without mentioning good ol’ Pat O’Briens.
Located on both St. Peter and Bourbon Streets in the French Quarter, this Irish Pub is known for its “spirits” as much as its liquor.
Originally built at the turn-of-the-century, Pat O’Brien’s continues to be one of the most preferred haunts for tourists and locals alike.
The pub’s ghostly residents seem to love the place, too.
If you’re looking for paranormal activity, check out the upstairs Ladies Room. Rumour has it that the place is haunted by the spirit of a past restroom attendant, explaining the unaccountable sounds and sensations.
Unseen specters are particularly mischievous at the piano bar, where patrons claim they’re pushed or touched.
Sounds from a phantom piano have also been witnessed near the bar along with the mysterious tip-tapping of shoes.
Want to hear more about New Orleans’ Haunted Bars? Check out our New Orleans Haunted Pub Crawl.
(link to Nola Pub Crawl Purchase page)If you’re looking for activities other than ale-drinking, check out Darkey Kelly's Bar. While their liquor selection is enough to get any patron plastered, their “spirits” are the real appeal.
Darkey Kelly’s was originally infamous for a woman burned at the stake, but recent investigations show that her story has an even darker side.
After bodies were uncovered beneath this former brothel’s floorboards, it was rumored that this woman was more than a witch... Some say she may have been Ireland’s First Serial Murderer.
Talk about a killer resume.
She’s now the scapegoat to the property’s ghostly on-goings, though they say she stalks the streets of Dublin, too. It looks like this poltergeist likes to keep on the prowl.
This Chicago haunt hosts various specters, but their most popular is a poltergeist in a white gown.
She’s particularly active during the holidays, when she’s known to cause electrical disturbances and cold spots.
She’s even known to slam a few doors if she’s feeling testy enough.
Although her identity is unknown, some suspect that she was the victim of a murder-suicide at the turn-of-the-century.
It’s rumored that a “jealous railroad brakeman” had a few beers too many when he decided to shoot the woman before turning the gun on himself.
The crime would have taken place in the rear apartment of the third floor, which is where the phantom is most commonly found.
You’ll find Ned Deveine’s nestled in Boston’s Faneuil Hall. With their frequent paranormal disturbances, you’re bound to find a few poltergeists, too.
This Irish Pub has numerous ghostly patrons, but the most gut-wrenching apparition belongs to a former slave.
Dressed in colonial-era working clothes, she’s most often spotted peeking around the corners of the establishment.
Many believe that this apparition was one of the Malagasy slaves brought into Boston before being sold to prominent politicians. This may explain why witnesses claim that she seems frantic or distressed, as if she was hiding from someone.
Staff also report blood-curdling screams coming from inside the establishment as well as full-bodied apparitions.
No one’s certain how many poltergeists populate Ned Devine’s, but it sounds like they’ve all met pretty gruesome ends.
This St. Patrick’s Day, share a Guinness with a ghost at your local Irish Pub. They could use a drink, and so could you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!