The cool autumn air blows leaves across the parking lot which was filled with cars just hours earlier. From the outside, the building looks somewhat like a mortuary, a great background for a scary story.
Whispers, odd knocks, swinging doors, smells of pipe smoke and even a touch from someone when no one is around are all things that employees at Colonial Lanes and Rebels and Redcoats Tavern have experienced.
"I don't even think about the noises anymore. It is almost an everyday thing." Amy Neighborgall, general manager said. "I don't believe it is evil, just playful."
Named one of the most haunted places in West Virginia by the West Virginia Ghost Hunters, Colonial Lanes, located at 626 W. Fifth St., was built in 1959 just as a bowling alley.
When more lanes and space were needed, 10 extra lanes were built along with The Taproom, a beer tavern connected to the bowling alley. The Taproom received its liquor license in 1967, becoming Rebels and Redcoats Tavern.
When entering Rebels and Redcoats Tavern, one is greeted by stained glass windows, an original bar and woodwork that creates a dark atmosphere, taking you back in time.
Previously a four-star restaurant, Rebels and Redcoats Tavern served food from 1969 to 2004. A tavern once again, Rebels is still filled with excitement and mystery of the unknown.
Neighborgall said one of the previous owners, Mr. Frankel, is believed to haunt the building. Frankel loved to roam the building and talk with customers and employees.
After Frankel passed away, strange occurrences began to happen and have continued ever since.
"I have had a lot of people quit because they didn't want to be left in the building by themselves," Neighborgall said.
"I have worked here 12 years, heard and seen some strange things, but I know that nothing is going to hurt me."
Judy Black, the front desk attendant at Colonial Lanes for three years said, "I have heard some strange noises in the stock room but I didn't really believe in a ghost until I smelled cherry pipe smoke in the stockroom and I knew that no one had been up there."
The creepiest parts of the building are the stockroom, located in the upstairs, the kitchen and wine room. These rooms have had the most activity and strange occurrences.
"I don't like to go upstairs or in the wine room by myself," Neighborgall said. "It is common to hear someone whisper your name, only to turn around and find that no one is there."
Gary Hooser, a cook at Colonial Lanes for nine months said he has never seen anything, but has heard a lot of strange noises.
Recounting a past experience, Hooser described a night when he and Geoff Carson, the bartender at the time, were the only two people in Rebels and Redcoats. Since neither of them were busy, they decided to shoot a game of darts. Hooser went to the restroom in between throws.
While in the restroom, Hooser heard a knock at the door. He did not understand why Carson had knocked on the door since another stall was available. Hooser came out of the bathroom only to find no one there. Carson had been in the kitchen the entire time and had no idea of the knock Hooser had heard.
West Virginia Ghost Hunters visited the building in 2002 and 2003 to take pictures of the building and find out if a presence truly does exist. Pictures of the inside and outside of the building revealed orbs present when the pictures were taken.
Some other places supposed to be haunted in Huntington are the Keith-Albee Theatre, River Park Hospital, the Fifth Street Hill area and Old Main.
Rebels and Redcoats Tavern will host a Halloween party from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Oct. 29. A bar tab and ribbon will be given to the most original, scariest and overall best costume. There will be no cover charge but patrons must be 21 to enter. For more information contact Amy or Eric at 523-8829.
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