Perhaps the Least Scientific Ghost Search of All Time - But Did We Find Something?

That speck to the left - a spirit or, well, just a speck?

What do a little boy named Jacob, a Native American known as Princess Angeline and Seattle business pioneer Frank Goodwin have in common?

Well?

They're dead.

Yet they still make occasional appearances at the city's famed Pike Place Market, founded in 1907 and the oldest farmers market in the country.


During a recent trip to Seattle, I discovered and eagerly signed up for The Market Ghost Night Tour. Did I expect to see an apparition? Not really. But I did seek the advice beforehand of an acquaintance who is more deeply involved in the paranormal. She advised me to be alert to all of my senses during the tour.

Princess Angeline

It was not in the way that she meant, but the sense that was most helpful was hearing. Our guide, Heather, regaled us - and frightened some of the younger ones on the tour - with stories about the market's hauntings and the historical characters behind them. The boy with no eyes. A nearby mortuary. A serial killer who posed as a doctor.

Heather encouraged everyone to take many photos, so I did. In one photo, seen at the very beginning of this blog entry, a possible "orb" appears in the basement area of one of the market's restaurants. To some, orbs are evidence of the presence of a spirit. To others, they are just specks of dust on the camera lens.

Bottom line: The tour, from Bubble Gum Alley to a room set up for the comfort of the boy ghost Jacob, was both educational and entertaining. We can't be certain what we learned, but we definitely had fun. Can't wait to go back and take the "adult" version of the tour.

Heather talks about the room set up for the ghost boy Jacob.