Pacific Paranormal Research Society

Joe's Cellar Restaurant

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Joe's Cellar
1332 NW 21st Avenue
Portland, Oregon

Haunted? Yes, with several conscious entities including: that of an ex-prostitute, a man who died in a fire here, a homeless man who is a wee bit mental, and even stranger- a little weiner dog with a jingling collar that has appeared to a couple of employees, running and yipping through the bar. When chased it disappears! This animal obviously belongs to one of these entities.
The rest of the sightings or experiences are probably Residual imprints.

Investigative results: Matching EVP captured by both Jefferson Davis and our own recording equipment. EMF meter was active on the staircase and intermittently in the hallways.
Photographically, only the ever-controversial Orbs were captured.

Joe's Cellar is a popular NW Portland watering hole and coffee shop. As is our usual custom, we enjoyed a bite to eat here during our investigation and I have to say that the Bisquits & Gravy are to die for. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the ghosts stick around because they appreciate an inexpensive, home cooked meal!

In October, we were invited to investigate this diverse property, contacted by a sprite and eclectic reporter named Rosie from the NW Examiner. Joining us for this early-morning excursion, was renowned Northwest author, Jefferson Davis, Rosie's friend Daniel, as well as Kathy, a long-time employee of Joe's Cellar who has had many paranormal experiences while working here.

Historically, this nostalgic icon served primarily as a prostitution and gambling establishment- as did most of the early and original buildings in Portland that are in close proximity to the river. Shanghai Tunnels are rumored to be lurking beneath the back parking lot, and crumbling remains of tunnel openings are said to be located in the basement, along with "mounds" of dirt that to employees, resemble old graves (They are not- they just look that way).
We heard this banter for ourselves when one of the waitresses had to head down to the basement for some supplies- the basement obviously being a location that none of them enjoy visiting. The others teased her to "watch out for the people buried down there."

Ghost sightings are common here, and the employees have many stories to tell. They have nicknamed the woman seen and felt most frequently as "Tess" and carry on conversations with her during paranormal activity. Her apparition was seen many years ago, peering out from the upstairs window to the parking lot below- staring at 2 employees in the early morning who were just arriving for work.
Upstairs in the old brothel (now used for storage), we found a prime location to set up a controlled environment with our investigative equipment. With only one door for an entrance and exit which remains heavily locked from the outside,

there would be no mistaking some of the sounds received and heard by employees and patrons from the downstairs lounge. It must be noted that there are street sounds heard and also recorded, as many of the upstairs windows have been broken out over time.

There is no electricity in the old upstairs brothel.

These photographs show both Todd and Martina walking through the hallway with their EMF Meters spiking. There are Orbs directly in front of them. Were these causing our meters to spike?

The following are a few of the more interesting anamolies we believe to be paranormal in nature. Yes, they are Orbs.

First, this golden Orb resembling a smirking face appeared in the old kitchen area, after footsteps and the closing of a cupboard door were audibly heard.

A small Speeder hovering near the floor races toward our group's activities.

I contrasted this photo to reflect a negative-stage so I could have a better view of the anamoly on the floor. The light Orb on the upper left in the original photo is an obvious dust Orb, and as expected, disappeared during contrasting. However, the Speeder on the floor actually appears brighter in this one and is creating an obvious little trail from it's movement. I find this photo very interesting.

Todd is putting the final settings on our video camera, as a possible floating onlooker to the right comes out of a room to watch him.

What was strange to us more than anything was the EVP that we captured. We did get a man's voice often; "Tess" spoke only briefly. When she did it was in quick and fleeting sentences. Jefferson Davis captured on his recorder many of the same voices, as well as other sounds that we did not record (and vice-versa).
To us that is a strange phenomena, as both recorders were left running next to each other and for the exact, same amount of time. There should be no reason for one digital recorder to pick up the sounds of a baby crying, when the one next to it recorded nothing. We set the recorders up specifically to guard against equipment failure; instead we received more questions than answers.

Also in place was our video recorder, which DID NOT pick up on any anomalous voices, but where you could hear physical sounds such as banging, scraping, and heavy boot walking, that were picked up on the recorders.
Even stranger, the FIRE ALARM that has NO electricity and has also its WIRING HANGING along side of it was recorded GOING OFF.

However, the piercing sounds of the fire alarm were NOT heard on our video equipment, which was only a few feet away! (??)
This leads me to believe that depending upon the type of haunting, or the dimensional location of the spirit(s), many times you may pick up more EVP on DIGITAL equipment rather than ANALOG.
We have found recently that we have been getting more EVP now that we are setting up Digital Recorders in controlled locations during investigations. There has to be some scientific cause & effect to back this up this theory and we are studying it.

If this still warrants an argument with my fanbase of current skeptics from one of the"The I-Love-to-Hate-Psychics-and-Ghost-Hunters.com" Blogs, then it's true- I must be unconsciously damn talented and can now create voices, Globules, and PK out of thin air!

Woo-Hoo! Make it so Number One!

Special thanks to: Rosalie Key from the Northwest Examiner for writing such a fantastic article, and to Kathy Seymour and the whole staff at Joe's Cellar Restaurant.