01/13/13

The Ghoul of Grays Harbor

aberdeen

***Mr. Ghost And Ghouls’ first contribution to this blog!***

Is that a cool Pacific breeze on your neck or is that the damp, ephemeral hand of a long dead killer? That’s a question countless visitors and employees of Billy’s Bar and Grill have been asking themselves for years.

Aberdeen, Washington is known for something a bit more sinister than timber and fish. A long time maritime port, Aberdeen has been a respite to those shipping to and from various ports of call. Billy Gohl, or “Billy Montana” as he was more colorfully known, went about preying upon hapless travelers for more than a quarter century.

billy gohl aberdeen

Historians attribute more than 100 missing sailors and union opponents to the cold, murderous hands of Gohl. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Grays Harbor saw the disappearance of more than a hundred men, most likely due to a bullet and a chute to the Wishkah River. The old Sailor’s Union building held the valuables of those departing, as well as one of the most prolific serial killers in US history – Billy Gohl.  A sailor who’d had a little too much too drink and holding a few extra coins and notes might find himself lifelessly floating out to sea the next morning like so much other discarded trash thanks to Billy. It wasn’t until a cohort had been caught that was Billy ever brought to justice.  While only formally convicted of two killings he’s strongly suspected of so many more.

Long after his trial and ultimate death in a Washington mental asylum, Billy as well as some of the prostitutes and sailors who once graced the premises, seem less than eager to move on from this world.  Employees have reported glasses flying from shelves and a regional paranormal research group was able to record a faint but noticeable voice call out “whore.” Most patrons who experience the phenomena report feeling sudden cold spots where the fabric between the living and dead is worn thin.

So when you’re in the far corner of America, along the shores of Grays Harbor, be sure to stop by Billy’s Bar and Grill if your hunger for a hamburger includes a side of the macabre.  Flash a little cash while you’re there and see if don’t feel the cold rush of Billy Montana trying to claim one last victim.

09/25/12

Creepy Photo of the Day: Specter in the Tea Room

restaurant ghost photo

Australia’s Curiositeaz Vintage Tea Room, in Perth, shared this photo last July. According to Curiositeaz owner Dan Clifford, something set off the tea room’s motion sensor late one night and this is what he found after reviewing the security footage. One paranormal investigator called the photo “the most convincing image we have seen in almost a decade.” Do you agree?

Send your ghost photo to ghostsghoul@gmail.com or submit your true ghost story here!

09/23/12

Eerie Eateries: 100 Haunted Restaurants in the United States (Illinois – Missouri)

rusted sign

Here’s the second installment of a four-part series featuring 100 haunted restaurants from across the United States (first part here). Have you visited any of the places on the list?

Illinois

The Country House
A young woman reportedly haunts The Country House Restaurant in Clarendon Hills. Legend has the woman committed suicide sometime in the 1950s and now makes her presence known by opening shutters, moving around pots and pans, and playing music on the jukebox in the middle of the night. People have also spotted the young woman beckoning customers from an upstairs window.

241 55th Street
Clarendon Hills, IL 60514
630-325-1444

haunted country house restaurant

One Eleven Main
Galena’s One Eleven Main, once the site of a mortuary and casket-making company, now has a haunting reputation. The executive chef photographed what he believes are three ghosts playing outside the historic restaurant (photo here), and another employee found the name “John” written in sawdust.

111 North Main Street
Galena, Illinois 61036
815.777.8030

haunted one eleven main

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09/22/12

Creepy Photo of the Day: Casino Ghost

ghost photograph

This photo from GhostStudy.com shows an eerie anomaly in the background of Perth, Australia’s Burswood Casino. Is it the ghost of a departed gambler?

Send your ghost photo to ghostsghoul@gmail.com or submit your true ghost story here!