Stories From The Other Side

It may be hard to believe, but Three Spirits Tavern is haunted.

When Charlie Zimmerman and Leslie Blair bought the property, they planned to turn the first floor into a tavern and the second and third floors into living spaces. They didn’t realize that someone was already “living” there.

As realtors, Charlie and Leslie have heard claims of hauntings many times about other old houses. So, at first they didn’t believe the stories about this property.

The house was built in 1883 by Nicholas Funken. Nick was a coal broker who took in customer payments from a small commercial structure on the property. The house remained in his family until Charlie and Leslie bought it in 2017—on Halloween, in fact.

Despite the accidental meaning behind the “Three Spirits” name, the tavern’s moniker was originally intended to convey a commitment to serving “three outstanding spirits: bourbon, wine and beer,” as Charlie puts it, as well as a reference to their three-person family.

Overheard Conversations

Major interior work to turn the first floor of the house into a tavern began in April of 2018. Charlie and the crew began hearing strange noises and noticed that their tools were sometimes moved around.

One day when Brian, the contractor was installing an outlet, he heard a discussion between two women he couldn’t see, whose names seemed to be Ann and Mary.  Charlie confessed he was relieved to know that Brian “hears them too.”

A representative from Gatekeeper Paranormal came one evening with her son to check the place out. She closed the curtains and said “We don’t want any Nosey Nellies” and when she played the recording back she heard “Nosey Nellies” repeated in another voice.

Old Photos

While showing the home on the third floor they noticed some photographs of old fashioned-looking people. These turned out to be Nick, and his wife, Anna, and her sister, Marie.

Footsteps

That November, the heat was off in the house so repairs could be made. Charlie was working in the surprisingly roomy basement. He heard footsteps overhead, walking across the wood floor in the bar. He shouted, “Hello?” but no one answered.

He went back to work and it happened again. Checking upstairs, he confirmed that no one was in the building with him. He went to lock the front door, but realized it was already locked and the key was in the keyhole.

The other workers on the project also heard unexplained footsteps on numerous occasions.

First Sighting

Working late one evening, Charlie went to shut the front door. Reflected in the glass, he saw an old man standing right behind him, staring directly at him. He whirled around but no one was there. He recalls that the man wore a white cotton shirt and had a large moustache.

About a year later, after the tavern had officially opened for business, Charlie again saw the reflection in the door, as he was locking up. This time when he turned around, a man was standing in the room but he disappeared when Charlie blinked.

Leslie and Charlie believe that this presence is the ghost of Nick Funken, although it might be George Funken, who was estranged from his daughter at the time of his death. She was told that George had died of a cold and was not allowed to see him while he lay in state in what is now the tavern’s middle room.

Nighttime Appearances

A year or two ago,  Charlie and Leslie’s daughter and her friends, were sleeping in the second floor bedroom when one friend woke suddenly. She felt hands tugging at her but was unable to move. Then she saw a dark figure coming toward her, looking down at her. The figure stopped at the threshold to the room and did not enter.

Another time, during a sleepover with her friends, Leslie was awakened in the night by the sounds of running and girls’ laughter coming from the third floor. She turned to go upstairs to tell the children to go to bed, when she saw they were all sound asleep on the second floor. None of the children were up on the third floor.

Third Floor Visitations

The third floor seems to be the epicenter of many of the otherworldly experiences. It is a large room, about 27’x16’, with a closet. Its diamond-shaped window overlooks the back of the property. Paul was one of the contractors working on the renovation. About halfway through construction, Paul refused to go up to the third floor anymore, after he saw people staring unresponsively at him out of that window.

Leslie says that guests who have slept up there report vivid, realistic dreams about people in their lives who have died.

One relative, who grew up in the house and is an occasional visitor at the tavern, has many tales about the ghosts. Once when she and her friends were playing on the third floor, the door inexplicably locked and would not open. When it finally came free, she felt herself being pulled across the room. She never again went up to that floor.

Calming Shower

Leslie and some of their guests have discovered that the shower in the second floor apartment is a tranquil space. Several people have reported that they received “calming messages of peace” while taking a shower. They believe these experiences are reassurances from loved ones who have died.

Living with Spirits

Charlie has his own take on what he calls “the interesting experience of sharing the house with those who still inhabit it.” He explains it this way:

“It’s like going to a drive-in theater. You’d be sitting in your car watching the big screen when suddenly someone in the projection booth would bump the projector and you’d go cross-eyed for a moment. Then it would be fixed. That’s kind of what it’s like living with spirits. They are still playing the movie of their lives in their minds and we’re playing the movie of our lives at the same time. Sometimes, things kind of get crossed over. So, you might hear them, you might see them. A lot of times you hear them talking or walking, but all in all, they are not evil. They just kind of live here and inhabit it with us. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but after that, you’re fine.”