Small hauntings abound at North Corktown's Nancy Whiskey
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Nancy Whiskey at 2644 Harrison St. Photos: Annalise Frank/Axios
Frank Sinatra music could once be heard in Gerald Stevens' bar, despite no discernible source and power turned off to the building.
Why it matters: That's far from the only creepy moment reported at storied North Corktown bar Nancy Whiskey, which dates back to 1902 and appears on many lists of haunted spots.
- Bar staff have said they've heard voices, seen cups fly off surfaces or found cabinets open when they'd been closed.
Flashback: Stevens, Nancy Whiskey's owner of 20 years, tells Axios that a paranormal group investigated back in the 2000s. They turned off all power to ensure no false readings and then inspected the building in North Corktown for around three hours while Stevens waited.
- "They captured all kinds of stuff," he says, including recording voices and disembodied Frank Sinatra music on tape.
- "Two of the guys were in the basement and the guy behind had somebody tap him on his shoulders, and he completely freaked out," Stevens says. "He would not go back down there."
Reality check: While Axios Detroit cannot confirm nor deny the existence of ghosts, we can say that longtime watering holes, and all their quirks, are an integral part of the city's culture.
- Plus … it's Halloween, y'all.
The intrigue: Stevens also told a tale of a now-retired barmaid who would do inventory in the empty, locked bar's basement around 2013, and hear footsteps upstairs.
- The barmaid surmised the spirit could be the late former owner Owen McCarthy, and when they left a glass of his favorite Dewar's scotch out, the sounds stopped.
What they're saying: Stevens says he believes, but hasn't witnessed anything himself.
- "A building this old … how many people's lives has it been part of? How many people in 123 years spent 10 or 15 or 20 years of their life drinking in there? The stories it could tell."
"You see a lot of activity in places where a lot of emotion takes place," Detroit Paranormal Expeditions co-founder Jeff Adkins tells Axios. "It doesn't always have to be some crazy, big place. And I think it's a byproduct of energy that sticks around."
- Adkins hasn't investigated Nancy Whiskey himself, but has visited to hear the staff's stories.
Plus: Other haunted bars include the Two Way Inn and the Whitney, per Hour Detroit.
The bottom line: At its heart, Nancy Whiskey isn't about mysticism. It's a simple neighborhood bar where Stevens says he wants anyone who walks in to feel comfortable.
- "We have food, and we have beer. Nothing more … If you've ever been to a real Irish pub, that's what I'm going for."