Houston’s Spaghetti Warehouse on the corner of Commerce and Travis has been named one of the scariest, haunted places in the nation. The Desel-Boettcher Warehouse was built in the Main Street Market Square Historic District in the early1900’s. The building has served as a produce warehouse, storage for the Southern Pacific Railroad, and as a pharmaceutical warehouse. The building was purchased in the 1970’s and renovated into the Original Spaghetti Warehouse. It was furnished with millions of dollars in antiques such as a huge hand-carved staircase from a castle in England, a full size Houston Avenue trolley car, grandfather clock from Europe and a beautiful chandelier from New York’s Penn Station.
The ghost tales center on a young pharmacist who was dedicated to his job. He was busy with a pile of paper work with invoices overflowing upon his desk. Grabbing a stack of the files, he headed for the back elevator. Without looking, he stepped into the dark, open elevator shaft and fell several feet to his death.
When the man didn’t return home in time for dinner that evening, his adoring wife began to worry. She hurried to the warehouse hoping to find her husband busy at work. Instead she found a found a group of people standing in and about the building talking about a tragedy that occurred there. Inside the warehouse she found the remains of her beloved husband crumpled at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The distraught woman died at her home about a year later. Her family believes she died of a broken heart.
Due to the sudden accidental deaths, and grief from the tragic loss of loved ones, the ghosts of grief stricken lost souls remain behind in the vast Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant and seem to make it quite active.
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Spaghetti Warehouse and explore its haunted areas with Houston’s ghost tour hostess—Sandra Lord, owner of Discover Houston Tours. Sandra met Kenton and I in the restaurant lounge where she gave us brief descriptions of her various tours. The Broomstick Adventures and Ghost Walks Tours both feature the popular eatery. Folks stop in early for dinner—then are geared up for the evening’s tours.
Some of the Spaghetti Warehouse staff stopped by our table and told me some of their own personal chilling encounters with the ghosts. One of the wait staff reported seeing a wicker basket floating near the grand wooden staircase and watched as it set gently back down to the ground. She also reported hearing her name being called out when nobody was in sight.
Another waitress was attending to guests when a wine bottle lifted off the table, floated through the air and landed upright once again. The bewildered guests were awestruck. Other guests say they have been tapped on the shoulder or had their hair tugged. The upstairs dining area of the restaurant seems to be the most active. It is quiet on the second floor most evenings, but that doesn’t stop the spirits from rearranging the furniture, or causing dishes and silverware to be in disarray. Kenton, once a resident of Houston, recalled a time when a group of his friends dined inside the full sized trolley car on display in the center of the second floor. He said there seemed to be an eerie presence within the trolley dining area. Salt and pepper shakers and other items vibrated and moved about the table as they watched.
Sandra showed us the upstairs bathroom in a back corner. At one time this was part of the area where the legendary elevator shaft stood. Strange photos and orbs are often photographed near the “throne chair” in the restroom.
“Folks hate to use this restroom,” she told us. Cool, clammy breezes seem to hurry the restroom user quickly from the stall. “Nobody stays in there very long.”
