Dinner, Drinks, Tales and (Potentially) Spirits

Table for two ... maybe Muriel's New Orleans photo personal collection (2024)

Café Vermillionville, Lafayette, Louisiana, Gaines Ridge Dinner Club in Camden, Alabama, Pirate's House in Savannah, Georgia, Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Country Squire Restaurant, Inn & Winery in Kenansville, North Carolina, and Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, Kentucky, are some of the restaurants where spirits aren't just the bottled type poured into glasses to consume. On occasion, owners, staff, and, at times, guests have recounted shenanigans and mysterious happenings from the departed-but-never-left who want to make their presence known.

Haunted restaurants, much like haunted hotels, are prevalent in the South. While many "spirit-friendly" restaurants are stops along ghost walks, some invite you to dine with their resident ghost(s) and learn more about their history, hauntings and more.

-- At the Emily Morgan Hotel, The Official Hotel of The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, Bad Wolf Ghost Tours and Occult Shop host The Haunted Dinner Tours, which include a three-course dinner and tour focusing on the history and hauntings of the property and other nearby locations. 

Check in at 6:30 p.m., Friday through Sunday. $75 per person.

-- There are stories and upon stories of hauntings in nearly every nook and cranny of New Orleans' French Quarter. One, in particular, is at Muriel's Jackson Square, which hosts a handful of spirits, but there is one apparition to which the restaurant extends its hospitality. 

A set table for two, complete with bread and wine, awaits Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan, a former owner of the house, now the restaurant, who lost a poker game and subsequently took his own life on the property. With reservations, you can claim the second seat. And while you are at Muriel, check out the Seance Lounge on the second floor, where it is believed Mr. Jourdan spent most of his time while he was among the living. 

Dinner Hours: 5:30 - 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 5:00 - 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Bar Hours: 3:00– 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 3:00 - 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday. To dine with Mr. Jourdan, contact the restaurant at 504-568-1885 to discuss.

-- "Dinner with the Spirits" at Glenfield Plantation in Natchez, Miss., features a three-course meal and eerie tales. Retold by generational homeowners of the house, you can learn about the property's paranormal occurrences and more.

Dinner is every evening at 6:30 p.m.; reservations are preferred; however, same-day bookings are available. $89 per person. 

-- It's the age-old question: what type of wine pairs well with ghost stories? If you find out, let us know. In the meantime, Dahlonega Walking Tours in Georgia offers the "Grapes and Ghosts Wine Tour," a two-hour tour that guides you to tasting rooms where you can sample local wines and hear haunting tales related to the tasting rooms.

5:00 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays; open to 21 years old and older; $30 per participant (does not include alcohol price), $25 for designated driver.

-- Monticello, Fla., a little over 20 miles east of Tallahassee, is considered the South's most haunted small town. In addition to year-round tours led by Historic Monticello Ghost Tours, The Daffodale House (ca. 1897) presents "Dinner and Stories," an hour-long three-course meal accompanied by tales about the property's history and hauntings, which is said to be extremely haunted.

Call the property at 850-997-1111 for dates and times and to make reservations. $60 per person.

-- Discover how haunted Pensacola, Fla.'s Seville Quarter is with Pensacola History and Hauntings Tours' Seville Quarter Paranormal Investigation and Historic Tour. Dine at the city's most haunted restaurant, then use ghost-hunting equipment to investigate the area for restless spirits.

11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Tuesday; 6 -8 p.m., Sunday. Reservations required. $50 per person.

-- Partake in a three-course dinner and a ghost tour at one of the most haunted places in America - The Brentwood Restaurant and Wine Bistro in Little River, S.C. 

During the tour, storytellers walk you through the building's history and discuss the various spirit sightings. 

Dinner begins at 7 p.m.; contact the restaurant directly at 843-249-2601 for reservations. $65 per person.