2008 Woodie Awards
Fright Night: Houston's most haunted spots
Audrey Leon
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: A & E
- Page 1 of 3 next >
|
La Carafe, a two-story bar located at 813 Congress St., is housed in the oldest commercial building in Houston. Built in 1847, La Carafe was originally a bakery and general store. Its convenient location along the bayou served well as a trading post. Its owner, John Kennedy (no relation to JFK), was shot and killed in front of the building decades later.
Throughout the years, the bar has sustained two fires, one of which is rumored to have killed some children on the second floor, according to Scott Wells, proprietor of HoustonSeance.com. The story says that sounds of children playing have been heard on the second floor. Patrons also claim to have seen the apparition of a former bartender in a second-floor window, Wells said.
In addition, Wells told a story of a female proprietor from New Orleans who pushed her competition down La Carafe's stairs. For this reason, it is said that some women feel an icy hand on their shoulders as they descend the stairs. Many accidents have occurred in the stairway, but it is unknown if they can be attributed to the ghost.
Wells and his business partner Jamie Salinas picked La Carafe for their séance because they wanted a place that would be accessible, intimate and absolutely haunted.
"People come here, and they expect to see or hear something," Wells said.
Just going by the décor, it is easy to believe La Carafe is haunted. The bar is lit solely by more candles, and many pictures from yester-year line the walls. An antique cash register is still used at this cash-only bar.
One night, when Wells and Salinas were shooting a trailer for their website, the pair heard a chair slide across the floor. In addition to a camera and voice recorder, the men were using an electromagnetic field meter to detect any strange activity.
That night, the EMF meter spiked at 3.5 milligaus. It is generally accepted in the ghost-hunter community that a reading between 1.5 mg and 8 mg suggests the presence of paranormal activity because "spirits" emit low electromagnetic fields.