Beer taps mysteriously turning on, the sounds of glasses being stacked, flickering lights and low chatter from female voices have all been attributed to ghosts that haunt The Spanish Moon, a bar where many University students go to party. The large, brick building located in the gloomy shadows of the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge has been used for several purposes since it was built, including a temporary morgue. “They started storing bodies upstairs,” said Myles Standafer, general manager of The Spanish Moon, who has worked there for five years. Standafer said the building’s second story was used as an emergency morgue after a pre-levee flood drowned a handful of Baton Rouge residents. He said what many believe to be a haunting spirit came from the era of the morgue. “I’ve had some employees scared to go upstairs by themselves,” Standafer said. “People have said that the [beer] taps will turn on by themselves every once in a while.” Several Web sites that index haunted places around the nation list The Spanish Moon as a haunted building. “Manifestations include apparitions of a young man, beer taps turning themselves on, strange noises and flying glassware,” Ghostwatchers.org reports of the bar. “This downtown area nightclub is inhabited by at least one known ghost.” Justin Bourgeois, doorman at The Spanish Moon, has worked at the nightclub for three and half years. He said after closing some nights, he hangs out with the bar’s owners on the second floor. He said one night, even though there they were certain no one was downstairs, they heard the sound of glasses being re-stacked and the low chatter of voices. “I’ve heard weird things that I don’t know if maybe it is just haunted or maybe it’s just old house noises,” Bourgeois said. “But it’s a creepy place to be in at night when there’s nobody here – like childhood fear creepy. I don’t like being here by myself.” Bourgeois said one of the owners once went to the bar during the middle of the day to empty the cash register. As he was taking money from the register, he felt someone grab his arm. But when he turned around to see who it was, no one was there. The building was empty. “[Now] he won’t be in the building by himself at any time of the day,” Bourgeois said. “There was nothing there, and he swears up and down that something grabbed his arm.” Bourgeois said some workers have also reported pool balls mysteriously jumping from the pool table and rolling across the floor, even though no one was playing at the time. Bourgeois said the eeriness of the building is compounded by bolts and holes in the walls left from when the building was used as a temporary jail. He said the building was also used as a feed and grain store many years ago. “I’ve heard while it was a feed and grain store, a little girl got trampled to death by one of the horses inside,” Bourgeois said. Bourgeois said the band Silversun Pickups played at the bar six months ago. He said the lead singer, who is interested in paranormal activity, asked to sit upstairs in the private room alone with the lights off for a while after the performance was over. “He came out and said he didn’t hear anything,” Bourgeois said. “But he still thought it was really creepy.” Roderick Pyatt, a paranormal psychologist, investigates and uses video cameras to confirm or debunk the presence of paranormal activities. He investigates these occurrences at the request of clients. His operation, known as the Louisiana Paranormal Research Society, has visited countless buildings during the past four years. Pyatt said he is not aware of a spirit at The Spanish Moon, but he has never been asked to investigate the building. He said students should not be afraid of going to the bar, even if it is haunted. “If the place is haunted, enjoy it,” Pyatt said. “It’s the way you look at it. Enjoy the atmosphere.” Standafer said he does not believe the building is haunted. He said he has not witnessed any sign of a ghost’s presence. “It’s definitely not a mean [ghost],” Standafer said. “It hasn’t hurt anyone.” Standafer said the folklore surrounding the bar is not a marketing ploy as it is not an aspect they advertise. He said most patrons are not aware of the story. He said the people who call or stop by asking about the haunting are usually interested in other haunted buildings. Spencer Johnson, University alumnus, said he heard a story about the lead singer of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead seeing a ghost on the balcony during its performance. Johnson said he does not believe in ghosts and is not sure what the singer may have seen. “It’s definitely a creepy looking building,” said Cody Miller, Baton Rouge Community College undecided sophomore. “But I’m not really scared to come here.” Gabriel Hauschildt, University alumnus, said he goes to The Spanish Moon all the time and has never heard anything about the bar being haunted. He said he would not believe the stories even if he heard them. John Bennett, who has been going to The Spanish Moon since moving to Baton Rouge this past summer, said he won’t think about ghosts unless he sees one, which he does not expect to happen. He laughed at the idea of a ghost turning on a beer tap. “I think he probably drinks Guinness,” Bennett said. “It seems like a ghostly kind of beer. Ghosts would like it.”
—-Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]