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Best Haunted Bars In Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh boasts a history rich in steel and sports as well as a ghostly past. In fact, the city that's been voted one of America's most livable is also home to many of the nonliving. From east-end universities to north-side homes, ghosts abound in the city — some even patronizing area bars for one last round. If you're ready to share some spirits with the spirits, have a drink at these five haunted Pittsburgh bars.

Harmony Inn
230 Mercer St.
Harmony, PA 16037
(724) 452-5124
www.historicharmonyinn.com

From the inn's familiar spirits, Barney and Louie, to the little girl with a cat who appears at the top of the stairs, you never know who you may share a beer with at the historic Harmony Inn, which may be just as well known for its spirits as it is for its selection of classic American, German and Mexican cuisine. For more than 150 years, this quaint, vintage inn has welcomed travelers from throughout the world as well as the afterworld. Newspaper clippings are on full display in the inn's lobby, backing claims of cold spots, electric impulses, coins that disappear and reappear in various places, disembodied voices and whispers, and furniture that rearranges itself. While much of the activity is believed to take place on this pre-Civil War inn's second floor, visitors and the inn's owners have reported seeing a woman roaming the bar and dining room.

Papa J Centro's
212 Boulevard of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 391-7272
www.papajs.com

Papa J's prides itself on its "beautiful food simply prepared to be shared with family and friends." What this downtown Pittsburgh bar doesn't mention is that you may very well be sharing a meal and throwing back a few drinks with ghostly guests that still frequent this historic landmark, the city's oldest-standing former brothel. Ask bartender Frank about the paranormal at this Italian restaurant as you order a $7 Madame's Blood E Mary at the bar decorated with the headboard of the infamous Madame Dolly Cavanaugh. Other notable spirits include a woman shot by her jealous husband and a teenage girl believed to be an orphaned maid who once worked the brothel.

R & R Station Family Restaurant & Inn
19 W. Main St.
Mount Pleasant, PA 15666
(724) 547-7545
www.explorepahistory.com

Victorian train décor lends itself to the eerie, playful atmosphere of Mount Pleasant's R and R Station Family Restaurant & Inn where about 20 different ghosts hold claim to the inn's 17 private rooms, rattling beds, flickering lights and mischievously slamming doors. In the restaurant area, customers claim to have been pinched by these ghosts, some of which have been captured in photos fraternizing with bar patrons. R and R Station is certified with paranormal activity by the Pennsylvania Researchers Organization who found that Room 15 appears to house the most haunting activity as several spirits are believed to use that room as a portal to travel between planes. Come for the drinks and stay the night if you're brave enough to share a room with the loud footsteps and disembodied laughter that echoes upstairs.

Related: 'Ghost Hunters' Investigates Carnegie Library

Spotlight Lounge
1400 Washington Blvd.
McKeesport, PA 15133
(412) 672-1668

McKeesport's Spotlight Lounge is well known for more than just its beer and drink specials. This lounge is also notorious for its ghostly patrons that still linger in the bar. Mon Valley customers share stories of faces that reflect in the mirrors behind the bar and faces that reflect in the glass but do not appear in person. Some customers even report hearing phantom footsteps near the bathrooms.

Valley Hotel Bar & Grill
1004 New England Hollow Road
Clairton, PA 15025
(412) 233-9800
www.valleyhotelbar.com

From mysteriously disappearing items behind the bar counter to footsteps and glowing lights, the reported haunts are undeniable at Clairton's Valley Hotel Bar & Grill, which first opened its doors in the early 1900s. Pittsburgh Paranormal Society investigators who spent a night at the hotel back up these ghostly claims after experiencing a mirror throwing itself to the floor and shattering during their stay. But these haunting spirits aren't the only ones at this Jefferson Borough bar. The Valley Hotel Bar & Grill is also home to a huge selection of spirits and alcohol to enjoy while watching the bar's 150-inch TV.

Related: Ghost Hunters Visit Site Of Old Orphanage In South Versailles

Jessica Wasik lives in Pittsburgh where works as a full-time figure skating coach sharing her passion with todays generation of young skaters. A graduate of Robert Morris University with a degree in English Studies, Jessica is also a contributing writer for Allegheny West Magazine. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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