2008 Woodie Awards
Huntington's Haunted Tavern
After the music has been turned off, the laughter has died down, the lights have gone low and everyone has gone home, an eerie presence can be felt throughout Rebels and Redcoats Tavern and Colonial Lanes.
EMILY NELSON
Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: Life!
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The cool autumn air blows leaves across the parking lot which was filled with cars just hours earlier. From the outside, the building looks somewhat like a mortuary, a great background for a scary story.
Whispers, odd knocks, swinging doors, smells of pipe smoke and even a touch from someone when no one is around are all things that employees at Colonial Lanes and Rebels and Redcoats Tavern have experienced.
"I don't even think about the noises anymore. It is almost an everyday thing." Amy Neighborgall, general manager said. "I don't believe it is evil, just playful."
Named one of the most haunted places in West Virginia by the West Virginia Ghost Hunters, Colonial Lanes, located at 626 W. Fifth St., was built in 1959 just as a bowling alley.
When more lanes and space were needed, 10 extra lanes were built along with The Taproom, a beer tavern connected to the bowling alley. The Taproom received its liquor license in 1967, becoming Rebels and Redcoats Tavern.
When entering Rebels and Redcoats Tavern, one is greeted by stained glass windows, an original bar and woodwork that creates a dark atmosphere, taking you back in time.
Previously a four-star restaurant, Rebels and Redcoats Tavern served food from 1969 to 2004. A tavern once again, Rebels is still filled with excitement and mystery of the unknown.
Neighborgall said one of the previous owners, Mr. Frankel, is believed to haunt the building. Frankel loved to roam the building and talk with customers and employees.
After Frankel passed away, strange occurrences began to happen and have continued ever since.
"I have had a lot of people quit because they didn't want to be left in the building by themselves," Neighborgall said.
"I have worked here 12 years, heard and seen some strange things, but I know that nothing is going to hurt me."
Judy Black, the front desk attendant at Colonial Lanes for three years said, "I have heard some strange noises in the stock room but I didn't really believe in a ghost until I smelled cherry pipe smoke in the stockroom and I knew that no one had been up there."
Whispers, odd knocks, swinging doors, smells of pipe smoke and even a touch from someone when no one is around are all things that employees at Colonial Lanes and Rebels and Redcoats Tavern have experienced.
"I don't even think about the noises anymore. It is almost an everyday thing." Amy Neighborgall, general manager said. "I don't believe it is evil, just playful."
Named one of the most haunted places in West Virginia by the West Virginia Ghost Hunters, Colonial Lanes, located at 626 W. Fifth St., was built in 1959 just as a bowling alley.
When more lanes and space were needed, 10 extra lanes were built along with The Taproom, a beer tavern connected to the bowling alley. The Taproom received its liquor license in 1967, becoming Rebels and Redcoats Tavern.
When entering Rebels and Redcoats Tavern, one is greeted by stained glass windows, an original bar and woodwork that creates a dark atmosphere, taking you back in time.
Previously a four-star restaurant, Rebels and Redcoats Tavern served food from 1969 to 2004. A tavern once again, Rebels is still filled with excitement and mystery of the unknown.
Neighborgall said one of the previous owners, Mr. Frankel, is believed to haunt the building. Frankel loved to roam the building and talk with customers and employees.
After Frankel passed away, strange occurrences began to happen and have continued ever since.
"I have had a lot of people quit because they didn't want to be left in the building by themselves," Neighborgall said.
"I have worked here 12 years, heard and seen some strange things, but I know that nothing is going to hurt me."
Judy Black, the front desk attendant at Colonial Lanes for three years said, "I have heard some strange noises in the stock room but I didn't really believe in a ghost until I smelled cherry pipe smoke in the stockroom and I knew that no one had been up there."