Haunted hideaways
Published 5:00 am Friday, June 29, 2007
- Portland’s Old Town Pizza marks the beginning and end of Portland Walking Tours new 'Beyond Bizarre' tour. Originally the Merchant Hotel, the restaurant is rumored to be haunted. The tour runs July 1-Nov. 30.
If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?
Starting July 1, Portland Walking Tours.
Following the popular “Best of Portland,” “Epicurean Excursions” and “Underground Portland” tours, the new “Beyond Bizarre” tour explores Portland’s haunted hideaways and supernatural stories. The tour will run nightly through Nov. 30.
Armed with real ghost equipment, the 1.5-mile tour stops at the top three haunted places in the city: the infamous Shanghai Tunnels, the White Eagle Saloon and the Waldo Block (which now houses Mama Mia’s restaurant).
“In all my years of researching the paranormal in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve never seen an urban area with a higher concentration of supernatural activity than here in Portland,” said Jefferson Davis, author of “A Haunted Tour Guide to the Pacific Northwest.”
All “Beyond Bizarre” tours start and end at Old Town Pizza, located at 226 N.W. Davis St. in Portland.
Old Town Pizza sits in the original lobby of the Merchant Hotel, built in 1880. Underneath the floor boards are entrances to the Shanghai Tunnel, rumored to have once connected Portland via underground pathways. According to a press release, legend suggests these tunnels were used to “shanghai” or kidnap unsuspecting sailors and transport them to ships docked on the river.
According to Northwest Paranormal Investigators, the Shanghai Tunnels are the most haunted place in Oregon and the second most haunted place on the West Coast.
The family-friendly version departs every night at 7 p.m. and a 21-and-older version departs at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The late-night tour features more tales of “murderous mayhem, deadly debauchery and extreme weirdness,” according to the press release.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. tour are $19 for adults, $15 for seniors (65 and older) and youths (ages 11 to 17) and $5 for children (ages 5 to 10). Tickets for the longer 10 p.m. tour are $29 and include a drink voucher. Advance tickets are required to reserve ghost hunting equipment.
For tickets and more information, contact 503-774-4522 or visit www.portlandwalkingtours.com.