Spirits In Mississippi

The King’s Tavern is located in the historical downtown section of Natchez, Mississippi. It is a lovely place for cozy, meals, luncheons, dinner parties, and receptions. It also provides meals for large tour buses traveling along the Natchez Trace Pathway.

The King’s Tavern building is 237 years old which makes it the oldest structure in the very old riverport city of Natchez. When the British established Fort Panmure around 1769 this building was meant to be a blockhouse for the fort. Since the town had no sawmill nearby wood beams were brought in by mules which were taken from New Orleans sailing ships that had been scrapped. Other sources of wood used to construct the King’s Tavern came from flat riverboats. Boats men having taken their boats down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers found they couldn’t take them back upriver and so sold the boats as wood. Another building material was sun-dried bricks.

In 1789, a New Yorker named Richard King moved his family to Natchez and bought this block home making it a combination tavern and inn as well as the place where the town’s mail came in. The third-floor rooms were used for accommodations. Unfortunately during this time people making a living from gambling and robbing people began settling in Natchez and preying on boatmen and visitors alike. After spending a night at the King’s Tavern boatmen would head home along the Natchez Trace Pathway where outlaws would hold them up and even kill them.

The infamous, sadistic Harpe brothers were among the outlaws who took delight in torturing, mutilating, and finally killing their victims. Eventually, one of the Harpe brothers overstepped the line, even for outlaws, and was killed and beheaded by another outlaw. His head was displayed as a warning for others. The invention of the steamboat ended the need to travel along the Natchez Trace. Richard King sold the tavern in 1817 and it became a private home for a total of 150 years. In 1973 having been sold again it became a tavern and restaurant using the original name the King’s Tavern.

Big Harpe, one of the Harpe brothers, was staying at the tavern. He encountered a mother there who had a fussy baby. They were staying in the attic room and the mother was attempting to quiet her baby. Big Harpe swaggered from the tavern, went upstairs, and grabbed the baby away. He swung the child by its feet, smashing it hard against a brick wall killing it. Then returned to the bar to buy another drink.

Richard King had hired a pretty 16-year-old girl called Madeline as a server. She caught his eye and Madeline became Richard’s mistress. Finding out about the affair Mrs. King decided to hire thugs from Natchez Under the Hill to stab Madeline. Either thugs or Mrs. King herself finally killed Madeline. Her body was bricked up in the chimney wall in the main room of the tavern.

During the 1930s the Portsmouth family, who were living there at the time needed to do some renovations. While repairing the chimney/fireplace in the main room of the tavern, 3 mummified bodies one of a girl and two men were found. The girl was believed to be Madeline. The murder weapon, a dagger was found in another fireplace in another room. It is a mystery as to who the two men were.

Paranormal Activity

After the discovery of the bodies some restless spirits were awakened. Shadowy forms have been seen passing right through the stairways. The fireplace where the bodies were discovered would emit heat when it wasn’t in use. A woman’s footprints can be seen on freshly mopped floors. One employee was terrified when she saw footprints coming toward her across a wet floor. An apparition of a young woman has appeared in front of patrons and staff. Jars have been knocked off shelves and water comes pouring from the ceiling onto the floor. Doors that are hard to open will suddenly open by themselves. When a staff member called Madeline by name the door shut again. She seems to enjoy turning on faucets and lights. An EVP of a woman was made in one of the empty bedrooms. A crying baby has been heard in the attic room.

Man With Top Hat

An entity of a man with a top hat looking sinister has been seen. Either victim or outlaw. The waiters and waitresses feel that he’s an evil entity. He has been seen wearing a dark jacket, pants, and a black tie string. Sometimes he appears behind people as their pictures are being taken by the fireplace where the bodies were discovered. People have felt tightness in their necks and shoulders and pressure on their chests. Dishes have been thrown around and in one of the mirrors in an upstairs bedroom, the face of a man has been seen for an instant.

The Chapel of the Cross in a 1852 gothic chapel located on Highway 16, between the towns of Madison and Flora, Mississippi. The chapel is made of brick with a pointed arch front doorway and sharply-tipped windows. It was built by Mrs. Margaret Johnston, in memory of her husband and was finished in 1855. It has French stained glass windows, a pipe organ, a baptismal font made from one stone, an altar, and a communion rail. Services are held here to this day.

Sorrowful Spirit

The Chapel of the Cross and its graveyard are locked up at 6 PM to prevent vandalism and give the restless spirits their privacy. By the grave of Henry Vick a young woman in her early 20s is seen crying inconsolably. When the living approach she disappears. In 1857, Mrs. Margaret Johnson’s daughter Helen was very much in love and engaged to a man named Henry Vick. He was killed in a duel a few days before their wedding. Helen spent hours crying at his grave. Later she took a trip to Europe overcame her grief and married a minister. However, a part of her continued to mourn for Henry. Therefore it is possible that what people see is an emotional impression of this extremely painful time for grief-stricken Helen or perhaps she just can’t let go and remains here.

Crazy Caretaker

The organ has been heard playing late at night. At times non-stop manic giggling fills the air. Blood stains appear now and then on the Chapel’s stone floor. An apparition has been seen going straight through the front door and the locked iron gate protecting the door. It seems that many years ago the caretaker, who was in charge of the Chapel of the Cross, snapped and chopped off the head of his mentally, unbalanced wife right in the Chapel. After he had cleaned up the mess the caretaker hung himself from the Chapel’s rafters.

Ghostly Apparitions in a Tree

Two apparitions were seen opening the front door, going through the iron gate then climbing a tree and sitting together before melting into air. A thought has been that perhaps these are Helen and Henry, trying to live together on Earth.