The California Seafood Restaurant People Think Is Haunted

With Halloween coming up, you'll probably hear more than enough urban legends of "haunted houses," "ghosts," and  "poltergeists." To any skeptic, these supposed encounters of the supernatural are easily explained away through natural phenomena or invented by attention-seekers looking to cash in on more gullible folks. But skepticism hasn't stopped Americans from continuing a love affair with the weird and the unexplained.

Past the big-name haunted houses such as the Winchester Mystery House (via Atlas Obscura) or the home of Lizzie Borden (via Smithsonian Magazine), there is one place that one wouldn't expect to have a supposedly-haunted history behind it. The Moss Beach Distillery is located in Moss Beach, California, a restaurant that at first glance seems to be your average coastal seafood joint. According to the building's "lore," however, you would be surprised to learn that the restaurant is home to a mysterious presence known only as "The Blue Lady" that goes back to the restaurant's days as a 1920's speakeasy.

The story goes that the titular "Blue Lady" was a woman who fell in love with a handsome piano player who worked at the distillery. The two had a wild and torrid affair until one evening, the two were assaulted on the beach below the speakeasy, and the woman was killed — perhaps by her husband, who discovered her secret affair. Nowadays, the "Blue Lady" supposedly wanders the restaurant, searching for her long-dead lover. Is there something truly unexplainable going on at the Moss Beach Distillery?

According to the Moss Beach Distillery, the "Blue Lady" makes herself known through a variety of unexplainable, but harmless, pranks. These allegedly include checkbooks that levitate, women losing single earings only for several of the missing items to be discovered together, and doors that are inexplicably locked. While the restaurant attests that the "Blue Lady" has been spotted by many small children, is there any sort of truth to these alleged sightings and events?

According to SF Gate, the story behind the Moss Beach weirdness may not be as "fantastic" as it seems. For starters, the many origin stories of the supposed spirit that haunts the restaurant always seem to differ, ranging from suicide to a violent murder. One story even has the "Blue Lady" as being the victim of a car wreck, despite the supposed wreck not even being anywhere near the distillery. 

When the paranormal TV show "Ghost Hunters" visited the restaurant in 2009, they discovered that many "special effects" were built into the restaurant, such as mirrors that would show ghostly faces and hidden speakers to broadcast "unexplainable" noises. Reviews on Roadside America going back to 2002 even make the claim that Moss Beach Distillery uses these special effects to entertain and spook customers. 

The idea of using ghosts and ghouls to draw in the crowds isn't anything new, as one "haunted house restaurant" in Cleveland can attest to. But, hey, who knows? Maybe there's always another invisible dinner guest joining you at your table.