It’s the time of year to tune up your “yikes,” “eeks” and primal screams. Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes a ghostly variety of Bend’s favorite haunts.
A starting point to explore Central Oregon’s haunted history is the Ghosts and Legends of Downtown Bend tour, led by mother-daughter mystery writers Jools Sinclair and Meg Muldoon. The two have been writing mysteries and ghost stories about Bend for more than 13 years. While Muldoon focuses on mysteries, having published 30 different titles, Sinclair has penned scarier tales, including a 13-book series of paranormal mysteries in which the main character is a Bend-based ghost whisperer.
Sign up to attend the 15th-annual Historical Haunts of Downtown Bend Walk on October 11-12, 2024.
Bend Ghost Tours
Since both are mystery authors, it was an easy transition for the two to create Bend Ghost Tours in 2021. “It gave us an excuse to dig up the real ghost stories of the city and use our storytelling skills to share with local or visiting ghost-hunter enthusiasts,” Sinclair explained. The two offer ghost tours from March to November with multiple offerings daily during the month of October.
They begin on the banks of the Deschutes River with the tragic tale of a visiting presidential candidate who tried to save a boy from drowning in Mirror Pond. “We open with this story and occasionally during our narrative, you hear geese crying out overhead. These cries sometimes sound like people screaming, which never fails to give our guests goosebumps—pun intended,” quipped Muldoon. There are many rumored haunted locations in Bend to explore, whether on a ghost tour or in a visitor’s imagination. For example, the iconic Pine Tavern on Brooks Street is the site of alleged paranormal history, including a particular ghost named “Gretchen.” Muldoon describes the story of a former waitress who started to leave the building after blowing out all the dining room hurricane candles at closing. “When she passed the dining room on her way out, she was shocked to see that every candle was lit again. [The waitress] believed Gretchen, the ghost, was behind this and many other scary times,” Muldoon said.
Down the street from the Pine Tavern is reputedly Bend’s oldest haunted house. Built in 1904 by Bend’s first mayor, Arthur Goodwillie, today it’s the home of Commons Cafe and Taphouse. When things are quiet late in the evening, passersby report hearing eerie sounds and seeing strange lights inside the house. On Wall Street, theatrical tradition at the Tower Theatre calls for a “ghost light” to stay on 24/7. Many theaters have a history of ghost visits, the Tower included, which has had repeated sightings of a long-deceased couple seated together in the empty space.
On Oregon Street, the O’Kane Building (circa 1916) has had multiple reports of unexplained activity involving a elderly man roaming the building all hours of the day and night. Muldoon said tour visitors have captured interesting pictures of unexplained mists, shadows, orbs and faces in their photos. Some believe that the most notorious, rowdy haunt is the former Downing Hotel at 1033 NW Bond Street, now vacant, which is said to host a long-deceased lady in a green velvet dress who continues to roam the halls. She reportedly was the widow of Downing, who committed suicide after learning of his wife’s unfaithfulness.
Why so much interest in the paranormal? Sinclair and Muldoon agree the paranormal offers a window into what lies beyond the grave. “It’s a glimpse into the unknown and reminds us there are still things out there we don’t understand,” Muldoon said.
Historical Haunts in Bend
The 15th-annual Historical Haunts of Downtown Bend Walk, October 11-12, is a fundraiser for the Deschutes County Historical Society and Museum and is “mostly historic, with a sprinkling of the paranormal and a whole load of family fun,” said Museum Manager Vanessa Ivey.
Especially spooky is the history of the museum building. Built in 1914, it was Bend’s first modern school with central heating and indoor plumbing, and the site of the tragic death of building contractor George Brosterhous. He reportedly fell to his death from the third floor through an open stairway. Ivey explained that many people believe that his ghost now haunts the building. An interview for this story took place in Ivey’s third-floor office at the museum, and as I got up to leave, the chair seat suddenly dropped about six inches, with no help from me. Ivey’s response: “Another George moment!” Learn more about the Ghosts and Legends of Downtown Bend tours here.
Or sign up to attend the 15th-annual Historical Haunts of Downtown Bend Walk on October 11-12, 2024.
