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Market Ghost Tours, offered year round, aim to blend Seattle’s surprisingly ghoulish

Published 7:00 am Monday, September 24, 2012

Post Alley - where the haunting begins.
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Post Alley - where the haunting begins.
Post Alley - where the haunting begins.
The death toll of Seattle's children took a dramatic leap around 1918 when the Spanish Influenza hit the city. The disease struck the weak, and because the infected were contagious and incurable, parents with a sick child would sometimes abandon them at a quarantined hotel around the market. Many children died nameless and alone, and their remains bear a special connection to Kell's Irish Pub and the building's past owner, E.R. Butterworth.
Pike Place's Mae West: Nicknamed for the sultry starlet of the 1920s and 30s, Pike Place's Mae West was a true character. Although she looked like someone's grandma, she had no qualms about striding up to a handsome man at the market and quipping, My left leg is Thanksgiving, my right leg is Christmas. Why don't you meet me in between for the holidays?
A mysterious orb frolics near tour leader Christian. Perhaps the spirits are fond of him?
Heaven's plaque: Tiles were sold for $35 to help fund renovations of Pike Place Market. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama and mustachioed hunk Tom Selleck all bought one. So did Heaven's Gate, a religious cult passing through Seattle in the eighties, eventually destined for a UFO in the sky.
Old donut shop: The sight of a former child thievery and prostitution ring. The owner was shut down in the late 1980s.
Haunted ramp: This ramp is an original part of the city and still contains wood from its first construction. Spirits tend to imprint on natural elements, a possible reason that young ghosts are sighted around this area of the market.
A mysterious green orb appears in this shot. Who might it be the spirit of?
Christian has been giving ghost tours for three months.Although he didn't believe in ghosts before starting this job, an odd encounter on the job has given him cause to reconsider. I haven't seen a physical ghost, but I have had to change my belief system, which doesn't make room for ghosts, he said.

Market Ghost Tours, offered year round, aim to blend Seattle’s surprisingly ghoulish history with more modern and well known tales of the city’s risque past. Many people know that the strip of 1st Avenue near Pike Place Market used to be called Flesh Avenue, but do they also know the sordid significance of the ‘coins’ sign attached to the Hard Rock Cafe’s announcement board? And even those who don’t believe in ghosts will shudder when they realize what Kell’s Irish Pub functioned as at the beginning of the century.Seattle is teeming with things to do this Halloween weekend, but the Market Ghost Tour is the best bet for the history buff – and amateur ghost hunter – in all of us.Photos by James Castelline.Published on October 29, 2010

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