History

This super cozy Irish pub run by the McAleese family has been a favorite for more than three decades. The building was originally the Butterworth & Sons mortuary (a mortuary purpose-built to handle flood of dead bodies produced by plague, mining accidents and violence in the early 1900s), and Kells is said to be haunted by several ghosts, possibly including a man who got eighty-sixed for shooting a hole in the wall. To ward off the ghosts, the bar is stocked with holy water. Find Kells and its spirits (plus live Irish music every night) tucked away in Pike Place Market’s Post Alley, across from the Pink Door.

Hauntings & Lore

There are more than just bottled spirits that hang around Kells Irish Pub:

One is a little girl with long red hair. She’s known to play pranks on the guests, but really she wants to play with other kids. During the day, you can have children in the pub, so that’s when she’s most active. This ghost girl can manipulate physical things and has made toys for children, like rag dolls, who visit the bar. No one knows the girl’s identity: She may have been one of the many children who died in the 1918 influenza outbreak. This ghost girl doesn’t mean to harm anyone, so have some fun with her, if she manifests near you.

Then there’s a ghost named Charlie. He manifests in the Guinness mirror, then disappears. Charlie does it quite often on nights when a band plays. You’ll know it’s him because he’s an older gentleman wearing a derby hat. Even in death it seems he’s still a fan of live music, because he’s been seen hanging about the bar and stage. More often than not, it’s the musicians who see his familiar dark shadows.

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