Kells Irish Pub

An Irish pub operating in the basement of Seattle's first purpose-built funeral home, a 1903 Beaux Arts mortuary off Post Alley near Pike Place Market. Ghost Adventures documented EVPs and an infrared image of a childlike figure, and staff encounter at least three distinct spirits including a red-haired girl from the 1918 flu pandemic.

The building that houses Kells Irish Pub was built to hold dead bodies, not pour pints. Edgar Ray Butterworth started his career collecting buffalo bones on the Kansas plains in the 1870s for fertilizer. After losing his first wife Grace during childbirth, he eventually settled in Seattle and purchased Cross Undertakers in 1892, renaming it E.R. Butterworth and Sons. His flagship mortuary opened in October 1903 at 1921 First Avenue in a five-story Beaux Arts building designed by John Graham Sr., the architect's first commercial commission. It had rusticated sandstone, Roman bricks, lion-head cornices, a crematorium, a columbarium, a chapel seating two hundred in Flemish oak pews, and the first elevator on the West Coast, used to transport bodies between the building's five levels.

The mortuary became entangled with serial killer Linda Hazzard in 1911, processing British patient Claire Williamson's body under circumstances suggesting evidence tampering. During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed 1,003 Seattle residents by year's end, the U.S. Navy contracted with Butterworth for sailor funerals at $100 per casket. Edgar's son Gilbert faced federal fraud charges for allegedly double-billing families while collecting government reimbursements, though he was acquitted after a retrial. Edgar died on January 1, 1921, after three strokes. Gilbert moved operations to Capitol Hill in 1923.

In the early 1980s, the McAleese family opened Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub in the basement level on Post Alley, adjacent to Pike Place Market. The building sits in one of Seattle's most haunted corridors, and the pub quickly developed a reputation to match.

The spirit seen most often is the Lady in Waiting, believed to be a woman who died during the 1918 flu and whose body was prepared upstairs. She appears as an elegant figure in period dress, sitting alone at corner tables during quiet afternoon hours, scanning the room as though perpetually waiting for someone who never shows up. The scent of lilies follows her, and the temperature drops sharply around whoever sits nearby.

Then there's Charlie. Tall, thin, dark suit, derby hat. He's most frequently spotted in the Guinness mirror behind the bar. Staff think he was a former Butterworth employee, a social spirit drawn to live music who moves silently between tables and seems protective of the restaurant, ensuring chairs are properly arranged after hours.

The most endearing spirit is a mischievous red-haired girl, believed to be one of the hundreds of children who died in the 1918 pandemic. She's most active during daytime hours when children visit the pub, manipulating objects to create toys and pranking adult patrons. During quiet evenings, glasses slide off tables without cause, mirrors shatter spontaneously, and plaster falls from walls with alarming frequency.

Ross Allison, founder of AGHOST (Advanced Ghost Hunters of Seattle-Tacoma) and creator of the Spooked in Seattle ghost tour, was among the first investigators to examine the premises. His team recorded EMF readings that appeared to respond intelligently to questions, blinking once for yes and twice for no. They captured spirits on camera and recorded Class A EVP.

Ghost Adventures investigated for Season 4, Episode 14. Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin documented multiple EVPs including voices saying "get off that thing," "looking for my child," "get me outta here," and "I don't like you." Bagans captured on his infrared camera a strange, disfigured, childlike figure that appeared in one frame and vanished in the next. The team concluded that the souls of those who died for unjust reasons remain trapped within the building.

Servers feel gentle shoulder touches and hear their names whispered. Candles relight after being extinguished. Electronic malfunctions include calls from disconnected numbers. During Irish music performances, phantom instruments play alongside the live musicians.