SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Public Library has created a list of 13 mysterious historic places in Spokane that may be haunted.
You can visit any of the 13 haunted buildings in any order, if you dare! The list includes Spokane Public Library Stories based on newspaper accounts and the books of Chet Caskey. It was updated in 2020 by Eva Silverstone and Vanessa Strange.
The list includes the history of each haunted building and their history before they were rebuilt. Check out the list and visit those places. You can visit the locations in any order.
The list of haunted buildings includes the following:
Spaghetti Factory:
Located at 152 S. Monroe in downtown Spokane, the story follows Washington state's prohibition of liquor's manufacturing and sale five years earlier than the rest of the country. That didn’t stop people from drinking. Staff at The Old Spaghetti Factory have reported seeing the ghosts of rum runners in the former liquor warehouse inside and on the train cargo platform.
Steam Plant:
The Steam Plant building is located at 159 S Lincoln St. in Spokane. According to stories, the plant is said to be chock full of apparitions. The steam plant was built on the site of the passenger terminal destroyed in the Great Fire in 1889, where some people died after they weren't able to escape its destruction.
In 1915, when crews started the new construction of the steam plant to heat the city, workers stopped work or walked off the job altogether, as they heard strange cries and saw dark figures.
The Davenport Hotel:
This haunted building is located at 10 S Post St in Spokane. In 1920, rich widow Ellen Mcnamara is said to have opened the wrong door and stepped through the Tiffany glass atrium to the lobby floor below. Listen for her famous last words “where did I go?,” uttered when she briefly regained consciousness.
If you have the chance to luxuriate in the spa, look for the apparition of a thin man in a tuxedo, the doorman who used to let the “right” people into the Early Bird Club during prohibition.
Bing Crosby Theater
The Bing Crosby Theater, formerly the Met, is located at 901 West Sprague Ave., in Spokane.
The story behind this building says a girl in 1920s attire was haunting both staff and patrons. Two star-crossed lovers from Lewis and Clark High School caught in a misunderstanding resulted in the poor girl plunging to her death on the floor beneath the balcony.
In later years, a long-suffering stage manager died from a heart attack on his shift. It is believed the girl has been seen in the building and the man in the green room.
Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox theater and tunnel
The theater, located at 1001 West Sprague Ave. in Spokane, has a tunnel running underground between the Bing and the Fox. It was used by performers and celebrities to make their way between the venues without detection.
During the restoration of this Art Deco theater in the early 2000s, construction workers knew Otis the ghost was to blame for missing tools and failed equipment. Different versions said Otis tragically died after falling from a high catwalk.
Oddfellows building/Ella’s Supper Club
Located at 1015-17 W First Ave. in Spokane, this building is reportedly full of strange phenomena, including a little girl in a dress running back and forth, strange smells and moving objects.
Many businesses have occupied the building, including a funeral home. The International Order of Oddfellows built this elaborate lodge in 1909 with goals like “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.” They probably helped a lot of people over the years, so it is believed maybe some are still there.
Carnegie Library
Located at 10 S. Cedar in Spokane, it is told the ghost of the first head librarian, a real piece of work, haunts the architects now working inside. It is told his bespectacled face has been seen in the windows.
Peyton Building
The building is located at 10 N Post St. in Spokane. The Great Eastern Block building was home to stores, offices, and apartments until a terrible fire broke out one night in 1898, where many residents got trapped.
According to stories about that tragedy, among those who died were Mr. Gordon, his wife, Mrs. Gordon and their children. It was found there was a second Mrs. Gordon and children in another apartment just a few blocks away. It turns out he didn’t leave his first family before starting another. Where the Peyton was built, there have been multiple reported fatal fires and paranormal activity.
Post St Bridge
According to the Spokane Public Library, the bridge located at W. North River Dr. was a popular suicide spot in 1896.
A series of unfortunate events led to the suicides of two upper-class young men, one right after the other. The socialites partied hard and Tom drank poison after joking about suicide, leaving his revolver to his best friend, Max.
Max was inconsolable over the death of his friend and rejection by his fiancée. He drowned his sorrows in booze and was kept on suicide watch by a hired guard. That guard naturally couldn’t stay awake all day and night, so Max slipped away to the Post Street bridge.
He grabbed Tom’s revolver, sat on the edge of the bridge, shot himself and fell into the dark, swirling waters below. In the years since, these dark waters have claimed the lives of many over the years, both suicides and homicides. Let’s hope these many instances are the last.
Spokane Club
The Spokane Club staff have reported all kinds of ghostly activity in the building located at 1002 W Riverside Ave in Spokane.
The bar, restaurant, ballrooms and hotel rooms could all be sources of historic haunting. It is told once open only to men, all kinds of planning and plotting took place here over the years. It is believed that former members now are haunting the building.
Spokane City Hall
The Spokane City Hall building made of art deco concrete and steel structure was originally a Montgomery Ward department store. Commonly referred to as “Ward’s,” the decision to acquire and remodel the building was not popular in the late 1970s.
Ward’s shoppers speculated city workers would be haunted by questions about new tires and hosiery. Forty years in, the scariest part of the building is probably the looming specter of the hideous dropped ceilings. The Spokane City Hall building is located at 808 W Spokane Falls Blvd.
North Coast Insurance/Old Smith Funeral Home
This building is one of the only buildings in Spokane with a Mansard roof. It was built in 1912, and the basement and street level were used for the Smith and Company Mortuary parlors and workrooms.
Apartments were on the second and third floors with laundry and workrooms on the fourth floor. The mortuary operated into the 1970s and was rehabilitated by North Coast Life in the 1980s. The garage was added to the west in a style to match the original buildings. It is believed that ghosts hang around this former funeral home. The building is located at 1124 W Riverside.
Hotel Indigo and Magnolia Restaurant/Former Otis
The Hotel Indigo and Magnolia Restaurant was the home for former Otis.
The 1911 building has seen its share of visitors, as it provided single room only inexpensive housing for decades. It was empty for several years until the 2000s. Legends grew of arcane rituals, but maybe it was just ordinary vandalism.
It looked so creepy and run-down for a time that it was used as a backdrop in the zombie show “Z-Nation.” The hotel building is at located at 110 S Madison, in Spokane.
The map is also available in Google maps and here.
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