How to Go Ghost Hunting in Seattle

The Headstones of Bruce and Brandon Lee in Seattle's Lake View Cemetery

Seattle, Washington is the home of Microsoft, Starbucks and (for anyone who remembers the early 90s) grunge music. Despite (or perhaps because of) all of the rain, Seattle is known for being a very beautiful city, as well as an extremely pleasant one. What is perhaps less well known about it, however, is that it has more than its share of ghostly visitors. You may, if you like, go on one of the many commercial ghost tours Seattle has to offer, or you can go off ghost-hunting on your own with this list of haunted places.

Instructions

1. Explore the world-renowned Pike Place Market. Wandering among all of the shops and food stands there are said to be quite a few spectral revenants, including a Native American woman who prowls after sunset and a number of child ghosts who are thought to be the ghosts of the orphan children who worked at the market over 100 years ago.

2. Visit the Landmark Harvard Exit Theater, a movie theater site that served as the meeting hall for the Women's Century Club back in the 1920s. Those must have been some meetings, as the ghostly laughter heard by some moviegoers seems to indicate that former (and now deceased) members may still be meeting there today. In fact, Bertha Landes, Seattle's first female mayor, is said to be among their number, and she passed away back in 1943.

3. Check into the haunted Claremont Hotel, another party spot for the spectral set. Hotel workers frequently report hearing the sounds of a wild 1920's-era party, complete with jazz soundtrack and the sound of breaking glass. Other mysterious disturbances, including a levitating paperweight, have been reported by numerous hotel guests, particularly from the 9th floor.

4. Scope out some spooky schools. Both Hamilton Middle School and Nathan High School have been the site of reported unexplained happenings such as strange noises, doors opening and closing on their own, and footsteps not made by human feet.

5. Take a stroll past Suicide Bridge, Seattle's Aurora Bridge, from which over 230 people have leaped to their deaths, is the bridge with the second-highest recorded number of suicides in the U.S. - only the Golden Gate Bridge reports a higher number of deaths. Not surprisingly, some of these unhappy spirits are said to linger in the vicinity. Some have been seen recreating their final leaps, others, including a man and his dog, merely stand there and stare at passersby.

6. Commune with the dead at Lake View Cemetery. Among its famous residents are both Bruce and Brandon Lee, both of whom died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and consequently, may not be resting in peace.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring an umbrella and a light jacket even on summertime ghost hunts, as Seattle's weather really is as fickle (and damp) as it's cracked up to be.

Resources

• Market Ghost Tours
• Spooked in Seattle