With fall right around the corner and summer coming to an end, the time for all things spooky is drawing near. It is a time for ghouls and ghosts, rainy fall nights, beautiful colors among trees, and the horror movie night binges. Portland, Oregon is home to many reported haunted locations, and has a long history of sights attracting fans and paranormal investigators. Many places such as The Shanghai Tunnels, Cathedral Park, The Bagdad Theater, McMenamin’s, Lone Fir Cemetery, and many others are among the most famous, but there are other smaller places around.
Many local Portlander’s are familiar with the long closed Ye Olde Towne Crier,a building built in 1927 with a long history of it’s roots. It is most famous for being the Ye Olde Towne Crier, but a variety of other bars and businesses have resided within it’s walls.
More recently and after nearly a decade of being vacant, Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery have taken up the mantle of bringing the basement area back to life with their own medieval twist. The new business location for Wyrd will include a fully functional mead hall style tap room, their meadery where they make their honey based beverage, and their storefront of handmade leather goods with artists on consignment. If all goes okay with Covid-19, Wyrd is aiming to open their new doors in the fall and will operate within all the guidelines in place for safety.
The hauntings and ghost sightings date back to the staff at Ye Olde Towne Crier. According to the building’s Facebook post:
The Ye Olde opened in ‘53. The building was built in 1927 as a market. The family who originally owned it converted it over many years and added a 3rd level for their residence. That’s the secret spot. The ghost first appeared in the lounge in 1966, per the old staff. All three fireplaces are still intact.
During the remodeling process over the last few months, Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery has noticed minor paranormal activity while working on their new space. Objects have shown up in random spots, ceiling fans have begun to spin on their own while the co-owners ate their food on breaks, loud noises as if someone walked into a metal sink hard, etc. Often it is just the three co-owners there working on the space and can confirm their experiences so far, which led to them researching into whether or not the place has a history of being haunted.
Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery does not wish to upset any spirits who share their residence and is currently working on a plan to collaborate peacefully with their new shared space roommates. Wyrd currently operates from their small storefront (no taproom yet) and meadery in Milwaukie, Oregon and is open to the public.
To anyone interested in checking their new place out this fall, this very well could be Portland’s first haunted meadery.
Follow Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery here:
The Obsidian Crow 