America's Most Haunted Bars

Here's one way to ensure a bar will be haunted: open it in a former morgue. That's the case with Captain Tony's Saloon in Key West, FL, also a former speakeasy, where you may find yourself sipping gin and tonic next to a grave -- or a ghost. "Ghosts tend to go to places they frequented when they were alive," says California-based Loyd Auerbach, author of A Paranormal Casebook: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium.

"Consequently, places like bars, where people gather for social reasons or for other personal reasons, are often the target sites for the disembodied."

Every city seems to have a haunted bar and an intriguing story behind it. The ghostly presence can often be traced back to an erstwhile love affair or, sadly, the result of a grizzly murder. In Austin, TX, the victim of a bar fight has been causing mischief at The Tavern for decades, changing the TV channels or banging dishes in the kitchen. And outside of Las Vegas, a gambler killed when caught cheating still roams the poker tables at Pioneer Saloon.

Still, some ghost tales are taller than others. Jim Fassbinder, who leads ghost tours in San Francisco, says: "There's a bunch of haunted bar stories out there mostly promoted by barkeeps who know a well-told ghost story keeps 'em drinkin' and gets the barkeep a tip."

Not so at Stone's Public House in Massachusetts, where paranormal experts confirmed eerie happenings the owner had noticed. It's one of our picks for the most haunted bars in the nation--and you might want to consider a nice tip, after all, if you want to keep the resident spirits happy.

-- By David Farley

See All of America's Most Haunted Bars

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