Café Vermillionville, Lafayette, La.; Gaines Ridge Dinner Club in Camden, Ala.; Pirate's House in Savannah, Ga.; Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg, Tenn.; Country Squire Restaurant, Inn & Winery in Kenansville, N.C.; and Talbott Tavern in Bardstown, Ky., 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, populate 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 its 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 includes 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., Fri. through Sun., $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 in a poker game and subsequently ended his 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., Sun. through Thurs.; 5 - 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat.; Bar Hours, 3 – 9:30 p.m., Sun. through Thurs.; 3 - 10:30 p.m., Fri. and Sat. To dine with Mr. Jourdan, contact the restaurant to discuss at 504-568-1885.
-- "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. $79 per person.
-- 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 with tales about the property's history and hauntings, which is said Daffodale is extremely haunted.
Call the property at 850-997-1111 for dates and times and to make reservations.
-- 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 investigate the area for restless spirits using ghost-hunting equipment.
11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Tues., 6 -8 p.m., Sun. 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 history of the building and discuss the various spirits sightings.
Dinner begins at 7 p.m.; contact the restaurant directly at 843-249-2601 for reservations. $65.
-- The architecture isn't the only unique feature at the 1870 Octagon Mansion History Museum in Wytheville, Va. Inside, you can view owner John Cushman's lifetime collection of American history memorabilia that the former Gettysburg reenactor amassed over 25 years.
The Octagon mansion is open for tours and special events and has been the location of several paranormal investigations and "ghost hunter" broadcasts. Dinner with a Ghost events are held regularly, offering a haunting combination of history, fine dining and paranormal investigation.
Cost and other information is available at https://www.dinnerwithaghost.com .