By Shellie Bailey-Shah
Haunted in Seaside? Just like all towns with a deep history, there’s chatter of the spookier side too. We dive in to find out when and where.
Seaside is known for many things: peaceful paddles in the Necanicum Estuary, long walks along the Promenade and the paranormal. That’s right, a fair number of sites in Seaside are thought to be haunted. In fact, Seaside hosts the annual Oregon Ghost Conference in March and they also are curious about the spookiest spots in Seaside.
To guide us through Seaside’s supernatural, we turned to Rocky Smith of Northwest Ghost Tours for the spine-tingling details about some of the area’s best haunts.
The Bridge Tender. (611 Broadway St.). Home to a former brothel, the owners of this tavern call the female spirit here, “the Madame.” Draped in a green dress, the Madame apparently still believes that she’s in charge. And she’s clearly not a fan of Europop. Tavern owner Catie Smith recounts that every time the jukebox would play an ABBA song, the CDs would fly up like a deck of cards! It happened three times before she permanently removed the CD. The tavern is also thought to be home to a few children’s spirits, including a little boy who has his own favorite song, “Pop Goes the Weasel.”
Beach Tats. (550 Broadway St.). When owner Tiffany Williams moved into the building that shares a wall with The Bridge Tender, she wasn’t fully aware of its history. Williams runs a body art studio on the first floor and performs psychic readings on the second. She had advertised her business by putting vinyl letters on the window, “Tarot & Palm Readings, Madame Tiffany.” That’s when unexplained knocking started on the doors. Williams says the ever-territorial Madame must have taken offense. The window has since been modified, and the knocking has ceased.
Twisted Fish Steakhouse. (311 Broadway St.) Both current and former employees of this downtown restaurant share stories of ghoulish activity in the kitchen — including mysterious shadows and a dent in the refrigerator made by something that was hurled across the room. They also claim this particular ghost moved from the old Seasider Hotel to Girtles Restaurant, which previously occupied this space.
Spay and Neuter Thrift Shop. (600 Broadway St.). Even ghosts like to shop for a good cause — in this case, to support ending pet homelessness. Volunteers report hangers sliding on the clothes racks during after-hours shopping sprees.
Highway 26 Overpass. (Junction between Highway 26 and 101). On your way out of town, beware. Drivers tell the story of a man jumping in the back of pickup trucks, pounding on the truck cabs and then disappearing, leaving behind bloodied bandages. Injured lumberjack, escaped mental patient or still-on-the-run Sasquatch? You be the judge.
