A Walk Through Natchez's Haunted History

An Evening with Natchez Ghost Tours

SRI Selfie
by Kaysee

Any time I visit a big city on vacation, I immediately look to see if they have a ghost tour available! Ghost tours are an easy way to get a good overview of the haunted history of an area in an entertaining (and often pretty humorous) way. In recent years, I've been to ghost tours of a few 'southern' locations, including Wilmington NC, Charleston SC, and even New Orleans. But, when I found myself in Natchez, Mississippi with some time to kill, the idea of a ghost tour didn't even cross my mind. Surely, this little town, while being steeped in history and having quite a few local haunts, wouldn't be offering ghost tours in the middle of winter. Luckily, as I was waiting in the lobby one day, I wandered over to my hotel's display of brochures and pamphlets for nearby attractions. My eyes immediately landed on a rack card for...Natchez Ghost Tours! The best part was...these tours were advertised as being offered year round, 7 days a week!

The night before we were to return to West Virginia, Dan contacted tour guide and owner, Scott McCoy, and reserved us four spots for that evening.

Tour Guide, Scott
in front of the
Eola Hotel

 It was a brisk, yet not cold (by WV standards!) evening when the three SRI ambassadors to the south, with my husband tagging along, met Scott in front of the historic, but unfortunately closed, Eola Hotel on the corner of Main St. and Pearl. After a brief introduction and what to expect on the tour, we learned that the Eola was in fact, the first haunted building we'd be hearing about. The Eola, which had its grand opening on July 1, 1927, was made possible by the Natchez Investment Corporation. Isidore Levy, who was President of the Board of Directors, had the hotel named after his daughter, Eola. 

I don't want to give too much away in this blog as Scott has curated some great stories and history for his tour, and I highly encourage you to go hear them from HIM if you get the chance. But, I will say that if the Eola Hotel, which has struggled for quite some time, despite being an extremely prosperous hotel and mecca of local social functions, ever opens back up for business....you're going to want to explore the 7th floor. The seventh floor, which was built to house an auditorium, banquet hall, and kitchen, is the heart of the haunting, and the hotel's three reported ghosts (a young woman in white, and two older men) like to hang out mainly in that area, interacting with staff and visitors alike.

Prentiss Club

Our next stop was the Prentiss Club, which opened in 1905 as an elite gentleman's fraternal organization of wealthy businessmen, named after Sergeant Smith Prentiss. It served various functions over the years, including a speakeasy during Prohibition, and was considered a total loss after a 2018 fire. The building was restored, but as of right now, sits empty, awaiting a new purpose. It's also a favorite location of a colorful local named Buzz, who passed away in 2011. Buzz has been spotted walking along the sidewalk by the building, immediately recognizable by his fashionable attire. Buzz has been reported to interact with those he encounters, communicate via K-II, and even be photographed. Unfortunately for us, it may have been a little too cold for this southern gentleman during our trip, as we didn't receive any sign that he was willing to talk.

King's Tavern

Our approximately two hour, one mile long tour took us to other parts of downtown, where we learned about a devastating night club fire, and the small museum dedicated to it that may have some lingering spirits. We also learned much about the town's early history and Civil War-era history with a stroll through the local park...a park that also serves as a cemetery. In addition, we made a stop to the historic King's Tavern. I've already dedicated a blog post to the King's Tavern (read it HERE!), but that was one of the locations that repeatedly came up as being the most haunted place in the area, so it was definitely a top priority for me to see before heading home. The tavern, which boasts being the oldest building in the state's oldest town has a long history of serving both the town and the riverboat community...and may have even been the site of a terrible murder that left a young woman named Madeline bricked up in the chimney. Madeline is still around, most often showing herself through a series of bare footprints traipsing through recently mopped floors.

Memorial Park

We wrapped up the tour with a special treat; we were allowed to go inside the old county jail! While the building is still used mainly for city offices, the old converted Victorian house still has the original jail cells in the back...including the 'death row' section, complete with what is believed to be the original indoor gallows. But, it's not the prisoners' ghosts who have most often been reported in the area; the spirits behind the hauntings are said to be the former guards, still on duty after so many years. We got to spend a little time exploring the jail and attempting to communicate through both the K-II and the flashlight method. 

Guard's Walk
Old City Jail

This was a great tour, and fairly priced at $25 per person. Scott was a great storyteller, and any 'down time' between stops was spent with personable conversation, us telling him about ourselves and our own paranormal experiences, and vice versa. And, while Scott notes that he is a storyteller/historian and NOT a paranormal investigator, he did bring along a few ghost hunting gadgets to help enhance the spooky experience. 

The Natchez Ghost Tour was a great way to wrap up our week down south and have one final spooky sendoff before heading back to the cold, snowy mountains of Appalachia. If you're ever in the area, please make this a part of your itinerary. It's a fun, informative way to see the downtown Natchez area and get a glimpse into its haunted history.  Find them at:

Natchez Ghost Tour Website

Natchez Ghost Tour Facebook

Phone-- (225) 772-0525

Further Reading:

National Register Application for Eola Hotel

Historic Natchez Foundation: Prentiss Club

Ghosts of King's Tavern (Natchez, MS)

King's Tavern
Circa 1920
Source: Mississippi State University Libraries

On a recent trip down south, I stayed just outside of Natchez, Mississippi while working on a film project with the Uncovering History Crew. Sitting in my hotel doing some research one night, I decided to be nosy and see what haunted locations were in my area. Natchez, being such an old and historic town on the Mississippi River, had quite a few places with a ghostly reputation, but one in particular kept popping up: King's Tavern.

Located on Jefferson Street in Natchez's On-Top-Of-The-Hill Historic District, The King's Tavern is the oldest building in the state's oldest city. The tavern dates back to 1769 when it was built by the British as a blockhouse for nearby Fort Panmure. The construction of the building is pretty interesting in and of itself. Aside from the sun-dried bricks used, the wood for the three-story tavern came from two main sources. First, wood was recycled from scrapped sailing ships in New Orleans, which were brought in via mules. But, the majority of construction materials came from the flat riverboats that sailed down the Mississippi, loaded with supplies. Since these types of boats couldn't go back UP river, they were dismantled and sold, and their captains and crew returned north via the Natchez Trace.

After the Revolutionary War, the British left the area, and the old blockhouse was sold to Richard King in 1789. King, originally from New York, moved his family down south and opened the place up as a tavern and inn catering to the riverboat men and those taking the stagecoach. Comfortable accommodations could be found on the third floor, while good drink and food could be found in the tavern. During this time, King's Tavern also served as a social center for locals, as King acted as the town's postman, receiving and sending out the residents' mail. The family was held in high regard throughout the community...but that may have just been their outward impression. More on that later...

King's Tavern, December 2023
Photo by Theresa
Natchez Ghost Tour

Riverboat men and other travelers weren't the only ones who stayed at the inn. During this time, the Natchez Trace was the main route back up north, and thus, was the route that many of the riverboat owners, now with their pockets stuffed with the cash from the goods unloaded and boats scrapped, traveled to go back home. Outlaws and highwaymen were known to frequent this route, robbing and often brutally murdering travelers. Some of the worst of these criminals were the Harpe Brothers, who were regulars at the tavern. In one story, it is said that Micaja 'Big' Harpe even killed his own daughter when she wouldn't stop crying! He was hunted down by a posse and killed in Kentucky in 1799. His head was displayed on a pike--a warning to other criminals that the good citizens were through with this type of behavior.

It wasn't long until steamboats replaced the old riverboats, and these vessels COULD travel UP the Mississippi, lessening the need for an inn at this location. In 1817, the property was sold to the Postalwaith family, and from 1823 to 1973, the old inn was converted into a private residence passed down through the family for several generations. That year, it was sold to an investor and became a restaurant. After a brief closure, it reopened as a farm-to-table style restaurant, but is currently closed and up for sale. Perhaps like many local restaurants and similar establishments, King's Tavern couldn't recover from the Covid-19 closures. Or maybe, people weren't too sure about having a meal in the state's most haunted restaurant!

There's been quite a bit of reported activity at King's Tavern over the years. Objects moving, shadow figures, and mysterious sounds have all been documented. On the third floor, people have even heard the sounds of a baby crying, accompanied by a wailing mother. One story to explain this was that Big Harpe (remember him?) was staying at the inn one night and a mother and infant were staying in another room. The baby wouldn't stop crying, which kept the infamous outlaw awake. He calmly barged into the woman's room, grabbed the crying child from her arms, dashed it against the wall, then calmly handed the now silenced (and deceased) child back to its mother. Without an ounce of regret, he went back to his room and finally fell asleep. As seen earlier, there was a story that Harpe had killed his own daughter for crying....could this unnamed child actually have been his own?

King's Tavern in Daylight
Source: Haunted Houses

Arguably, the tale of the crying baby ghost is the most horrific from King's Tavern...but the story of Madeline is a close second. Madeline was a beautiful young girl who worked for the King family. An affair began between Mr. King and Madeline, and eventually Mrs. King found out about it. The perfect family wasn't so perfect after all. One day, Madeline went missing. She wasn't seen alive ever again. But, it is believed that she WAS found.  In the 1930's, work on the brick chimney revealed a hidden wall. Behind the wall were three skeletons; two men and one woman. Along with the remains was found a bejeweled dagger. It's not known who exactly the men were, but the woman is thought to obviously be Madeline. It is theorized that Mrs. King either killed her herself, or had her killed and bricked up her remains and murder weapon behind the wall. The two men who joined her in death may have been the hitmen, killed to cover up the crime, or two additional witnesses/accomplices who knew the truth behind Mrs. King's evil smirk.

Madeline is the main ghost of the King's Tavern, and is blamed for the majority of activity. Although no longer in service, the fireplace where her remains were found always seems much warmer than the rest of the room, as if there's a fire burning. Things around the bar are moved around, and a woman wearing old-fashioned clothes has been spotted throughout the building. But, Madeline's favorite 'calling card' is her footprints. Many employees have been vexed by a line of bare footprints traipsing through the wet floor that they JUST mopped, even though they know for sure no LIVING person could have passed through. 

Unfortunately, this place was closed during my stay, but we did get to see it AND hear about its haunted history from Scott McCoy of the Natchez Ghost Tour! This was a really awesome tour, full of anecdotes and scary stories from the town's most haunted hot spots. I'll be doing a blog post dedicated to that tour soon, so keep an eye out. And as always....stay spooky everyone!

*Haunted Houses has a wonderful summary and plenty of pictures of this location. Please check the link provided for more information!*

The Headless Skeleton of Deer Island

Aaarrrghh!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, and here on Theresa's Haunted History, I'll be celebrating the best way I know how---with a pirate ghost story!  Today's addition to my Haunted America page is an eerie one from a small island just off the coast of Biloxi, Mississippi, known as Deer Island.

It was the early 1800s and two fishermen had just set up camp on the sandy shore of Deer Island.  As they sat around the fire, preparing their evening meal, they began to hear rustling coming from palmetto bushes nearby.  At first, they assumed that an animal must be causing the racket, as the wind was too calm to produce such activity.  But then, the rustling intensified to the point that the fishermen turned around...only to find themselves face to face...uh, well maybe not face to FACE...with a HEADLESS SKELETON! 

Understandably, the two fishermen began backing up from the eerie bone man, and when they realized it was following them, they took off towards their boat at top speed.  The men left the island and all their belongings there overnight.  The next morning brought sunlight and bravado, and the men returned to collect their things.  There was no sign of their skeletal guest, but it is noted that later on, some money was found near the campsite.

The idea that money was found near the site sparked rumors that the headless skeleton must surely be the ghost of a deceased pirate.  A tale was told that many years before the fishermen made camp on Deer Island that fateful night, a pirate ship had landed on that same shore.  After the booty had been buried, the captain asked if any of his men wanted to volunteer to guard the treasure.  A naive, young man responded that he would do it, not knowing that it was customary for the designated security for buried pirate treasure was to be...supernatural.  The captain took out his cutlass, lopped off the man's head, and threw the body in the palmetto bushes.  The young pirate was true to his word, and his spirit, in the form of a creepy, headless skeleton, watched over the treasure for many years.  It seems as though he has finally retired, as no 21st century encounters with the skeleton have been recorded.

This fascinating bit of local lore was first recorded in a Mississippi newspaper column titled "Back With Father Time in the Early Days of the Mississippi Coast."  The article,"Headless Ghost Haunted Deer Island In Olden Times," appeared on May 20, 1922 and was written by local historian, Anthony Ragusin, aka Mr. Tony.

Mr. Tony was introduced to the story of the Deer Island skeleton by 78 year old local, Eugene Tiblier Sr.  The Tiblier family had been in the Biloxi area since the French Colonial times and were respected citizens with a deep knowledge of the area's history.  

*Information for today's blog came largely from a SunHerald article dated 17 October 2015:

Coast Chronicles: Stories of ghosts on Deer Island

The Ghosts of the Cedar Grove Inn, MS

From cityprofile.com

It's somewhat bittersweet; the first round of Haunted America is almost at an end.  Just two more states remain after today's blog about a beautiful and extremely historic southern B&B in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

That bed and breakfast is known as Cedar Grove and was once the main house on the plantation of the same name. It was built by John Alexander Klein, a local planter and businessman who dabbled in many areas of commerce.

 Construction on Cedar Grove began in 1840, shortly after John met a young lady named Elizabeth Day who was visiting New Orleans with her parents.  Elizabeth was a mere 14 years old at the time, but following her 16th birthday, the couple was married.  An extended European honeymoon allowed the couple a chance to purchase plenty of furnishings for their new home while construction continued in their absence.  When they returned, they lived briefly in a nearby guest house until the elaborate home was in livable condition.  Still, construction wasn't completely finished until 1852.

The couple were able to spend only a decade enjoying their new home before the outbreak of the Civil War turned life upside down for them and many other southern families.  A skirmish left a cannon ball embedded in the wall of Cedar Grove, which can still be viewed today, but luckily the home was saved by its use as a Union Hospital.

The family was also able to hide much of their fortune in plain view, within a secret compartment in a piece of parlor furniture...yet times were not all happy for the Kleins.  One of the sons was killed in a accident on the back stairs when he dropped the gun he was carrying and it discharged.  A young daughter died of presumably natural causes on the second floor, and two infants were also lost.

With the amount of death and tragedy this home has seen over a period of close to 200 years, its easy to see how its gained a haunted reputation.  John Klein is said to still be lording over his former residence and will make his presence known by the smell of pipe tobacco near the Gentleman's Parlour.  Elizabeth has been seen walking down the front staircase and throughout the house, seemingly going about her normal routine.

The little girl who died upstairs has been seen looking sad and confused, wandering the staircase, and has been heard playing and giggling throughout the house.  The sound of babies crying has also been witnessed.  In more recent sightings, housekeeping staff have reported that they will make a bed, then come back to find it indented, as if someone unseen were lying there. Disembodied footsteps are heard on the back staircase where the teenage son died. And, of course, there are Civil War soldiers, presumably those souls who passed away when the home was used as a hospital, seen wandering the home and grounds.

Today the home is a huge and elegant bed and breakfast owned by Colleen Small.  It has grown exponentially since Buzz Harper first opened a 2-room B&B there in 1980. But, despite all these changes, it seems as if life goes on for the Klein Family, who are still presiding over their home.

Bonus Fright:  Nearby is another B&B known as Annabelle.  Annabelle was built in 1868 by John Klein for his son, Madison Conrad Klein, on the original plantation land.  Today, this location is also said to be haunted.  A one-legged Confederate soldier has been seen in what was formerly known as the Dixie Room!

Cedar Grove Inn Website

Haunted Houses of Vicksburg