Legend Has It Hell’s Gate Is Inside This Kentucky Club

The first thing people usually think of when they hear the term club, is either golf, or dancing and drinks at a night club. When people hear the name Bobby Mackey’s Music World, they often think of Hell’s Gate in Kentucky. Of course, this is a night club, but it is also the site on which some horrific things took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We’ve looked into this haunted nightclub, and here are some things that might surprise you.

This legend lies in the sleepy town of Wilder. It is located on 44 Licking Pike, and was purchased by Bob Mackey in 1978. Prior to that, there was some bad juju going on around the property.

Dave S

If you're unfamiliar with the way slaughterhouses used to operate, let us just say that cruelty was more common than kindness. The regulations during that time were even more lax than they are now, and methods were barbaric.

Tabitha Kaylee Hawk/flickr

In 1896, a pregnant 22-year-old Indiana woman was discovered near the current location of Mackey’s. Her name was Pearl Bryan, and she had been decapitated at the fifth vertebra. Two men were eventually convicted of her murder and were hung in Newport. Those men were Scott Jackson, who was said to be her beau, and Alonzo Walling. They were put to death together in 1897, swiftly, due to public uprising and possibilities of a lynching. Pearl was well loved.

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Supposedly Bryant’s body was sacrificed to the dark lord, or a demon. Others say that Bryant attempted an abortion but it failed, and her lover didn’t want the child. Lore says the men plotted to kill her and prevent the shame. Some say the murder took place at the old slaughterhouse. That has not been confirmed.

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The murder has been the focus of television shows. It was featured for the paranormal theories on Ghost Adventures. The actual murder was the focus on a segment of the series, “Criminal” on PRX. The murder itself got a lot of attention back in the Victorian era due to the popularity of Pearl, and the horrific butchery and desecration of her body.

In 1933, it was a casino called the Primrose. A man called EA Buck Brady bought the building and ran a successful operation. The Cincinnati mob caught wind of the successful casino and tried to force their way in. When Brady refused, the thugs began to threaten and harass customers. Buck snapped, attempted to kill a mobster in 1946, and was charged with murder. He left the casino business after that.

The slaughterhouse is long gone. It became the site of a road house. It had several names, one of which was the Brisbane. Another sad tale surrounding the property is that of a young, pregnant dancer named Johanna who committed suicide. She supposedly poisoned herself and unborn child because her father hung her lover on the property.

The biggest draw now is the paranormal lore. There is an old well in the basement deemed Hell’s Gate that draws paranormal investigators, television shows and paranormal enthusiasts. People say they see and hear things like unexplained steps, voices, cries, and shadows moving when they shouldn’t be. Overall, the hole is not a pleasant place to be alone, in the dark.

Kathy B/Yelp

aka Haunted Lives: Real Ghost Stories in 1995, 2006 National Geographic’s "Is It Real?," Discovery Channel’s "A Haunting" in 2006, and Travel Channel did a three-part web series called "Return to Bob Mackey’s." Ghost Hunters of the Syfy Channel featured the club in November of 2011.

When it comes to creepy places, you wouldn’t expect a country western nightclub to be the home of Hell’s Gate in Kentucky. Have you ever visited Bobby Mackey’s Music World and taken the paranormal tour? Would you? Here are some other weird haunts in Kentucky that have whisperings of the paranormal.