Ghost Tour: Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA

I’ve always wanted to go on a haunted tour. I'd like to see a couple of people get touched my unseen hands, accuse the person next to them of trying to talk to them and what not. When I was in Las Vegas, we had a mind to take the Haunted Vegas Tour, but decided against it as we were having paranormal experiences in our hotel room. But, when I got back, I started asking around for something similar and what I found were tours in Seattle: "The Spooked in Seattle Tour", which took place in historical Pioneer Square and the “Market Ghost Tours and Espresso”, in the Pike Place Market. When I brought this up to Eric he suggested that we bring along a few friends, too. He’d already told his co-worker Sam, who was also interested. I let a few of my friends know, but there were no other takers. So, I was just the three of us: Same, Eric and I.  We talked about each tour decided upon the Spooked in Seattle Tour.

We booked the 8:15PM tour. It started at the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the waterfront. But, we got there early just in case we needed to find parking or there was traffic on the the way there. Luckily, we arrived one hour early. The Ye Olde Curiosity Shop had some interesting pieces, so we passed our hour looking at the strange knickknacks all about the store. There were desiccated bodies in the back. One, that went by the name of Sylvester, was particularly creepy; I felt like he was staring at me. There were animal “oosiks”, penises, hanging right above the front entrance. There was a collection of shrunken heads, and there were double-headed baby animals that did not survive past a few days.

Shrunken head replica

Our tour guide, Jerome, was great. He was very enthusiastic, almost theatrical, and knowledgeable of Seattle history. He had with him a tablet that he used to show the crowd videos and play EVP’s, electronic voice phenomena, associated with some of the stops on the tour. We were joined by 20 others.

When we started the tour we walked south on Alaskan way to our first stop: Ivar’s. It is reported that his guitar playing and singing can be heard. As we proceeded south on Alaskan Way, our next stop was the Seattle-Bainbridge/Seattle-Bremerton ferry terminal. It is reported that the daughter of Chief Sealth, Princess Angeline, can be seen on one of the ferries coming from the Seattle side, but she is never seen on the side of the Kitsap peninsula.

Haunted religious relics

Our first in-door stop was at the Merchant Café, the oldest restaurant in Seattle. According to our guide, an episode of The Dead Files was filmed in the lower floor which used to be the first floor, and that there were some significant findings during the show. After hearing that news, we awaited to see the episode when it airs within the next few weeks.  When we were at the lower bar, I had a “déjà vu”, although I have passed by the bar, I have never gone inside, nor have I descended into the lower floor.

One of our stops was just across the street from the Pergola. As the guide told us the story of a nearby hotel, Sam and I could smell clove cigarettes. There was someone smoking nearby, but the guy was down wind, and he was smoking either menthol or light cigarettes. I happened a few more times and then it disappeared. It was the first creepy occurrence that night. But, the creepiest events happened in the “Spooked in Seattle” headquarters.

Note the chalk marks

They had been at the location for approximate two months. It is below street level and at one time an Italian restaurant evident from the “Ristorante” signs. The space laid vacant for several years after the restaurant closed. There is a section of the space that opens up to the Seattle Underground, but since it had rained that night, it wasn’t the most comfortable area to visit; water was seeping down into the area. When the guide started to tell about their headquarters. I whipped out my phone and started my EMF (Electromagnetic Field) detector app. He told us about a chair that would move over night. The last time the chair moved was a few weeks before. My app showed no spikes and read 400 mG (milligauss) which seems to be normal. But, when the guide mentioned an EVP of children in the area, the EMF app for my Android phone started to register around 500 mG! 500 mG is what my monitors at home emit. But, there were no electronics within range of where we were standing!

We looked around at the shop after the tour ended. Their headquarters had a few artifacts enclosed in tall glass cases. One of them was a small wooden box with a few religious relics. When I waved my EMF detector toward those items, once again it registered around 500 mG! Again there were not electronics nearby that I knew of. No other items had such a high reading.

All in All, It was a great tour where you learn the haunted history of Seattle, and get to tour historic Pioneer Square where the city started. In hindsight, I think that they could have divided the crowd up, say 10 people per group so that we could better hear the guide, hear EVP’s and see things he wanted to show us on his tablet.

Besides the walking tour they have ghost hunts. The latest is every third Saturday aboard the allegedly haunted USS Turner Joy in Bremerton, my home town. Eric, Sam and I might give it a try.

Summary
Website:	http://spookedinseattle.com/
E-Mail:	SpookedinSeattle@gmail.com
Phone:	(425) 954-7701
Available Activities:	Walking Tours Bus Tours Private Tours Ghost Hunts
Notes:	Book a few days in advance to maker sure get you and your group a spot.