Bobby Mackey's Music World
Encyclopedia
Bobby Mackey's Music World is a nightclub
and honky tonk
that is currently owned by country singer Bobby Mackey and located on 44 Licking Pike in Wilder, Kentucky
. Situated about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio
near the Licking River
, the building is self-proclaimed as "the most haunted nightclub in the USA."
s and modern folklore, the location allegedly houses a "gateway to hell
" and is haunted by spirits including Pearl Bryan
, whose corpse was found in a field several miles from the site in Fort Thomas, Kentucky
. Unsubstantiated stories include Bryan's murderers being Satanists
who, according to fanciful tales, cursed the location and vowed to haunt everyone involved in prosecuting the case. Also according to urban legend
, sometime in the 1930s a pregnant dancer named "Johanna" committed suicide
by hanging in a dressing room at the Latin Quarter club, which then operated inside the building currently housing Bobby Mackey's. Rumor has it that this deed was carried out after her father murdered her lover, a singer at the club, though investigations have failed to find police reports of this event ever having taken place. Furthermore, scholarly research into property records, newspapers, and court files has failed to substantiate most of the fanciful claims made regarding the sanguine history of the location, and no connection between the site of Bobby Mackey's and the Pearl Bryan murder has ever been established. Most who have studied the Bryan slaying have concluded any claims to either Bryan's death or dismemberment at the Wilder, Kentucky structure are unsupported by a foundation of hard fact, and place these popular accounts into the realm of the tall tale.
According to Bobby Mackey, the site was originally used as a slaughterhouse
in the early 19th century and later torn down for construction of a roadhouse
that took on various names, such as The Brisbane, until he purchased it in 1978.
The nightclub has been featured on the following paranormal television
programs:
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
that is currently owned by country singer Bobby Mackey and located on 44 Licking Pike in Wilder, Kentucky
Wilder, Kentucky
Wilder is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,035 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Wilder is located at ....
. Situated about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
near the Licking River
Licking River (Kentucky)
The Licking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of the region of northeastern Kentucky between the watersheds of the Kentucky River to the west and the Big Sandy River to the east.-Origin of name:The Native...
, the building is self-proclaimed as "the most haunted nightclub in the USA."
Folklore
According to urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s and modern folklore, the location allegedly houses a "gateway to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" and is haunted by spirits including Pearl Bryan
Pearl Bryan
Pearl Bryan was a 22 year old pregnant woman who was decapitated in Fort Thomas, Kentucky in 1896. Her head was severed below the fifth vertebra. Due to the murder's gruesome nature, it achieved significant notoriety at the time...
, whose corpse was found in a field several miles from the site in Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan...
. Unsubstantiated stories include Bryan's murderers being Satanists
Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism, sometimes referred to as Traditional Satanism, Spiritual Satanism or Devil Worship, is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship. Other characteristics of Theistic Satanism may include a belief in magic, which is...
who, according to fanciful tales, cursed the location and vowed to haunt everyone involved in prosecuting the case. Also according to urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
, sometime in the 1930s a pregnant dancer named "Johanna" committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by hanging in a dressing room at the Latin Quarter club, which then operated inside the building currently housing Bobby Mackey's. Rumor has it that this deed was carried out after her father murdered her lover, a singer at the club, though investigations have failed to find police reports of this event ever having taken place. Furthermore, scholarly research into property records, newspapers, and court files has failed to substantiate most of the fanciful claims made regarding the sanguine history of the location, and no connection between the site of Bobby Mackey's and the Pearl Bryan murder has ever been established. Most who have studied the Bryan slaying have concluded any claims to either Bryan's death or dismemberment at the Wilder, Kentucky structure are unsupported by a foundation of hard fact, and place these popular accounts into the realm of the tall tale.
According to Bobby Mackey, the site was originally used as a slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
in the early 19th century and later torn down for construction of a roadhouse
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
that took on various names, such as The Brisbane, until he purchased it in 1978.
On television
- On December 13, 1991 Jerry SpringerJerry SpringerGerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
interviewed Bobby Mackey, his wife Janet, his employee and the building's caretaker Carl Lawson, and Reverend Glenn Cole about their experiences. Lawson and Cole claim that Lawson had been possessedDemonic possessionDemonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
and later exorcizedExorcismExorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
by Cole for six hours on the site which took place on August 8, 1991. Lawsons's videotaped exorcism performed by Cole was aired on the talk show.- On October 30, 1992, on his show
Geraldo (TV series)Geraldo is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Geraldo Rivera that aired in syndication from September 7, 1987, to June 12, 1998. On the last two seasons, it was known as The Geraldo Rivera Show. Both titles were produced by Investigative News Group in association with Tribune...
, Geraldo RiveraGeraldo RiveraGeraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
interviewed Mackey, his wife, Lawson, and Cole, along with Hell's Gate author Douglas Hensley and others. - On October 30, 1992, on his show
The nightclub has been featured on the following paranormal television
Paranormal television
Paranormal television is a genre of popular reality television programming. Its scope comprises purportedly factual investigations of paranormal phenomena, rather than fictional representations found in such shows as The Ghosts of Motley Hall and Ghostbusters, or cartoon/children's series such as...
programs:
- A 2006 episode of the National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
's documentaryDocumentaryA documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
series Is It Real?Is It Real?Is It Real? is an American documentary television series that originally aired from April 25, 2005 to August 14, 2007 on the National Geographic Channel. The program examines popular or persistent mysteries to determine whether the featured cryptozoological creature or supernatural phenomenon is...
features the reportedly haunted location. - The 2006 episode "Gateway to Hell" of the Discovery ChannelDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's docudramaDocudramaIn film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
series A HauntingA HauntingA Haunting is an American paranormal docudrama anthology television series that originally aired from October 28, 2005 to November 9, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of paranormal experiences at...
features interviews with and re-enactments of the reported experiences of Bobby and Janet Mackey and Carl Lawson. - In 2008 there was a two part live interactive broadcast on livescifi.tv which claimed to show EVP and malevolent spirit activity.
- The 2008 premiere episode of the Travel ChannelTravel ChannelThe Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
's ghost-hunting series Ghost AdventuresGhost AdventuresGhost Adventures is a weekly American paranormal television series that premiered on October 17, 2008 on the Travel Channel. Currently produced by MY-Tupelo Entertainment , the program follows and stars ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Goodwin, as they investigate locations that are...
features interviews with the owner himself, Carl Lawson, author Douglas Hensley, and some customers and staff of the club, as well as a paranormalParanormalParanormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
investigation at the location, during which, Zak Bagans says he experienced three scratch marks on his back as well as capturing a shadow of a man wearing a cowboy hat. Later, the program also conducted a 3-night investigation with enthusiasts in a 3-part web seriesWeb seriesA web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
called Return to Bobby Mackey's. The Ghost Adventures Crew returned once more in late 2010. - On November 16, 2011, the SyFy program Ghost HuntersGhost HuntersGhost Hunters is an American paranormal reality television series that premiered on October 6, 2004, on Syfy . The program features paranormal investigators Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The two originally worked as plumbers for Roto-Rooter as...
broadcast footage of an investigation conducted by TAPS at Bobby Mackey's. Early on in the segment, on-air comments were made by a senior researcher that people have "gotten many things wrong" in their accounts of the history of the site. The implication seemed to be that over the years, as media attention has returned again and again to the nightclub, the tales regarding Bobby Mackey's have grown increasingly lurid as they've moved farther from established facts. The 2011 TAPS investigation failed to prove the presence of the preternatural at the nightclub.
External links
of Bobby MackeyBobby Mackey
Bobby Mackey is a classic country singer whose career has spanned 40 years. His musical style can be described by his loyalty to Hank, Haggard, Jones, Owens, Twitty and Paycheck and is the foundation for his musical success....