If you look through my back catalog of blog posts, you will find that I love ghost stories. I’m fascinated by their ambiguous nature and the many forms that they take.
Ghost hunts can be fun too, but ghosts rarely cooperate. They like to catch you off guard and when you least expect it. They also like to reveal themselves most to those who might not be so quick to believe them.
I prefer hearing ghost stories to going on a ghost hunt. I know I will get something out of hearing a ghost story that I might not get if I go looking for my own story to tell.
So, I was very excited when US Ghost Adventures reached out to me and asked me to take a ghost tour in my hometown of Pittsburgh. Over the next 90 minutes, I got a unique look at the history behind some of the most prominent buildings in the heart of the city. Below is my review of the Pittsburgh Ghosts Ghost Tour.
About US Ghost Adventures
US Ghost Adventures is a ghost tour company that books tours in over 100 US cities, including short walking tours, pub crawls, and overnight stays. The local chapter near me is called Pittsburgh Ghosts, and I was invited to take their Sinister Shadows of Steel City Tour. Tours are held nightly and year-round. You can find their full list of cities, tours, and destinations on their website.
What to expect before the tour
The Pittsburgh Ghosts tour meets in the heart of town at the corner of Smithfield Street and Oliver Avenue, just outside of Mellon Square Park. It’s a short walk from the T-stops or the downtown parking garages.
Our tour guide, Shay, was easy to spot, holding a bright lantern and decked out in full costume. After checking in, we waited for our full group of 17 to show. Shay had mentioned that her crowd the Saturday before had been a group of 70. So, be sure to anticipate a crowd of various sizes, especially during the Halloween season.
It was a chilly night. So, I layered up, and once we got moving, I had no issue staying warm. There are no indoor sections of this tour. So, you will be out in the elements the entire time.
The route was flat and urban, but several people in our group often looked for a bench or a set of stairs to sit down during our stops. Another family left briefly to buy a bottle of water at one point. So, dress appropriately, bring whatever liquids you need, and be ready to walk and stand in place for short periods of time.
What to expect during the tour
The tour guides wear microphone headsets so that everyone can hear what they are saying over the sounds of the city. Even so, even a small town little Pittsburgh can be busy with activity on its city streets.
Understand that there are a lot of distractions in the area, including loud engines, pedestrians, and music. A few emergency vehicles flew by on our stops, and at one point, a group of masked teens tried to drop in and interrupt the tour. Luckily, our guide remained professional and continued her presentation, and nobody in our group gave them the attention they were looking for. So, they soon left.
Other passersby gave us strange looks as they passed by or waited on a nearby corner for the crosswalks to change. Some even cut through our little semi-circles on the sidewalks to get to where they were going. However, nobody tried to follow us on our route or put in their two cents about what we were doing or what our guide was talking about.
One family used an EMF meter to try to capture any supernatural activity that took place during the tour. The only child in our group was the keeper of this tool. I think he was disappointed that this was more of an informational tour rather than a ghost hunting expedition. So, I would suggest not bringing a kid younger than 11 on this tour, and even then, only those who have the attention span to listen to the guide’s stories and can handle some gory details.
Introductory information about Pittsburgh
Shay began the tour at our meeting place with a very brief history of Pittsburgh, from a French fur trader’s first attempt to settle in 1669 to the attack of a British fort by more French traders who had since partnered up with the Indigenous groups who had previously run them out of the area. This set the tone for the brutal and deadly battles that were fought on the land and the steel industry that was built up around those dark periods.
Pittsburgh is one of the oldest cities in the country, which is nothing compared to a lot of overseas locations. However, it has enough of a history to warrant a collection of supernatural tales, and our architecture and preservation of history creates the perfect atmosphere for that supernatural activity to thrive as you’ll see in the seven stops we made.
The Pittsburgh Playhouse
Our first stop was The Pittsburgh Playhouse located a few blocks around the corner from our starting place at 350 Forbes Avenue. This playhouse is associated with Point Park University. The building is new, built in 2018. Its original location was one neighborhood over in Oakland and has since been demolished.
It felt way too new to be considered a haunted place, especially with the fall festival tables and decorations lining the front of the building. However, it was explained that a lot of the items from the old building were brought over to the new building, and those items brought along the spiritual energy that came with it.
I think it’s an interesting concept that it’s not just buildings that can be haunted. In fact, it makes more sense for a ghost to latch onto a personal item, particularly items that they used in their daily lives and work.
The ghosts in this playhouse make use of the instruments and the innerworkings of the theater in order to make their presence known. They have also been known to influence the operations of the theater and even delay productions by scaring the living cast and crew with their shenanigans. I guess if you’re stuck at work in the afterlife, you might as well make the most of it.
The City County Building
We then weaved our way a few blocks down the street to the City County Building located at 414 Grant Street. The entrance into the building is beneath three stone archways that were lit up pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as were many of the buildings in town that night.
We climbed the front steps to listen to a brief overview of this building which houses the mayor’s office and the Supreme Court of Pittsburgh. However, our guide explained that this is not so much as a haunted building as just an interesting spot to talk about the haunted history of the University of Pittsburgh located in the city’s Oakland neighborhood. It was too far to walk to Pitt from our current location, but it definitely set the tone for how far reaching the city’s paranormal activity is.
Both the upscale apartment building located on the campus and the Cathedral of Learning tower, the most recognizable landmark in Oakland, contain a history of ghost stories. The activity ranges from humming through the hallways to overturning a quilt on a bed in a particular display room. I was familiar with the Pitt ghost stories before this tour, but I liked hearing the in-depth historical background as to why those particular buildings are haunted.
The Allegheny County Health Department
Our next stop was on the other side of the street behind the City County Building located at 542 Fourth Avenue. The building sits at the end of a dead end road, and I found it amusing that an actual “Dead End” sign graces this area.
There, we learned that this was the site of the old morgue that was opened on April Fools Day of 1903 in a location 263 feet away. As the city grew over the next 30 years, the city used some primitive methods to stabilize the building before a group of horses moved it to its current location inch by inch over the next three months. The morgue remained operational during that time.
The construction of the building was meant to deal with the issue of storing the city’s dead without having to take them to the next closest location, about five hours (in today’s drive time) away to Philadelphia. However, during this stop, we learned about some very questionable practices that took place due to their inability to deal with all of the unclaimed bodies that were pouring into the building.
The original ovens and freezers are still in the basement of the building. And from the stories that have come out of this location, many of the unclaimed dead stick around to roam the hallways, attempting to identify themselves and how they died to their living counterparts.
The Old Allegheny County Jail and Courthouse
We then backtracked those previously mentioned 263 feet to the Allegheny County Courthouse and former site of the Allegheny County Jail located at 436 Grant Street. Built in 1888, it was pointed out that the building was constructed in a Gothic Italian style. It contains a bridge that connected the jail to the courthouse so that inmates could easily be brought from one building to another.
Between 1888 and 1911, 56 male and female inmates were executed via hanging in this building. Its limestone construction is also known to be a material that traps spirits, keeping those executed inmates encased in their literal prison which closed in 1995.
Here, we learned about the warden’s wife, Kate Soffel, and her failed attempt to spring two brothers from the prison, leading to her capture and arrest. She and her family originally lived in the warden’s quarters, and she can still be seen there, as pointed out in a photo that was passed around of a figure in the glass of the window to the door to the warden’s quarters that we were standing in front of for most of the presentation.
We also learned that there is a free museum tour inside the building. Visitors can also pay for a guided tour to learn more about the jail’s history.
The Frick Building
From the courthouse, we looped around the corner to the Frick Building located at 437 Grant Street. This stone building is still adorned with antique-style lights at its entrance and intricate carvings around its windows, including gargoyles on the top floor.
A plaque on the corner reads “Street Grade Prior to 1912.” It was explained that this area was originally a forested hill called Grant’s Hill where a major part of the French and Indian War was fought. Over time, the city decided to develop it into a more urban area, and they spent the next several decades leveling it 10 feet at a time.
Shay went into detail about the building’s owner, Henry Clay Frick, who is a well-known figure to many Pittsburghers. He was also shrewd and treated his workers unfairly, causing them to unsuccessfully unionize and later attempt to strike when their wages got cut and their hours increased.
In this very building, a Russian anarchist named Alexander Berkman unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Frick. Here, the supernatural element comes in as it is reported that Frick’s young, deceased daughter interfered with the assassin and gave her father the edge to eventually overtake his attempted murderer and live to fight another day.
The Union Trust Building
Just next door at 501 Grant Street, we proceeded to the Union Trust Building, a large stone building with ornate carvings in a Flemish Gothic Style whose first floor is lined with businesses. There, we learned about preacher turned mayor Joseph Barker inciting a riot and threatening the life of the very judge who later swore him into office.
Barker met his end via decapitation after falling onto some train tracks as a train was passing by. However, he ended up right back at the Union Trust Building where his headless spirit roams the 10th floor hallways and offices.
The Omni William Penn Hotel
Just next door, we arrived at our final stop, The Omni William Penn Hotel, located at 530 William Penn Place. This is essentially Pittsburgh’s Stanley Hotel, an old yet ornate building where many public figures and politicians have stayed while visiting The Steel City.
However, the ghosts who remain there are from a variety of eras and walks of life. There’s a 1920s lingerie salesman who committed suicide in one of the bathrooms and now causes that bathroom door to lock and unlock at will. A 60s socialite and an old woman who died in the hotel in the 70s also have made their presence known as permanent guests of the hotel.
Final thoughts on the tour
Our tour wrapped up approximately 30 minutes later than scheduled. However, none of that time was lost as it was filled with information about each of the seven buildings we visited. The rest of the time was spent roaming the dark, cold streets of Pittsburgh and taking in its history from our modern lens.
I didn’t see anything paranormal or capture anything on camera, but like I said before, that’s not the experience I was looking for. Instead, I learned a lot and noted much more that I want to research further. A lot of these buildings are also open to the public during normal business hours. So, if you’re looking to conduct a private ghost hunt, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Again, I’m very excited to have been offered to partner with US Ghost Adventures. I know that a lot of ghost lovers out there like me would love to get their own tour of their city. So, if you live in or plan to visit the Pittsburgh area, consider signing up for this tour and experience it for yourself!
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