Haunted Oxford Saloon

Oxford Saloon

Snohomish is a small town in the northern part of Washington state. This town prides themselves on their frontier history.

The Oxford Saloon is located in their downtown historic district. This building was built in 1900 and was used as Blackman’s Dry Goods store for over a decade.

The new owners converted it to a saloon. They built a vestibule in the entrance with a staircase that led up to the second floor rooms.

One source listed these rooms as being used as a “boarding house” but others state they were used for an upscale bordello.

Today, the Oxford Saloon still occupies the building’s main floor and it also hosts some otherworldly activity.

The Pinching Ghost

During its frontier days the saloon experienced more than its fair share of violence. A local policeman by the name of Henry was hired as a part-time bouncer.

One night a fight broke out and when Henry went to break it up he was stabbed. He died from this wound.

It is believed his ghost lingers in the saloon. He is known as a mischievous entity.

His apparition has been seen in several locations, in the basement as well as near an area that once was a men’s card room and near the stairwell.

But his favorite spot is the Ladies Restroom. He is both felt and seen in this area.

Many female patrons have reported being pinched inappropriately. It is stated if he is confronted he just disappears.

The Second Floor

The rooms upstairs are used as office space today.

It is believed that 3 ghosts from the saloon’s darker history reside in these rooms.

Kathleen was a prominent businesswoman in Snohomish during its frontier days. She is reported to have run the bordello above the saloon.

She lived in the building before her death. She is seen as “an older women” wearing a purple dress embellished with purple bows.

One of Kathleen’s “girls” Amelia is also seen. It is said she was forced into prostitution. Her dead body was found curled up in her bedroom’s closet.

The cause of her death is unknown. But a third ghost seen, a man wearing a bowler hat, is speculated to be her murderer.

A Recent Investigation

One paranormal group investigated the building in 2005. They picked up several interesting EVP’s.

A male voice was heard repeating everything the female investigator said and a child’s voice was recorded upstairs laughing and crying.

The owner gave the keys to the offices upstairs to the couple that was conducting the investigation. When they unlocked one door upstairs they key fell out of the keyhole--it was if someone had pulled it out.

They felt this entity was mocking their presence.

They also took several pictures at the bottom of the stairs. One had a male figure in it looking up the stairs and in another this figure was looking toward the camera.

One of their teammates later that evening while using the Men’s restroom heard a voice state “get out” as he hastily left the room he heard, “you’ll die.”

This couple later rented office space in this building. They reported furniture being moved around while they were out of their office.

In 1973, Snohomish’s historic downtown and several residential blocks were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.