'Ghost' to test Wilder nightclub

5/21/2008 8:33:48 PM

There's no wilder tale in Wilder than poltergeists at Bobby Mackey's nightclub.

The latest to check it out will be a crew from the Travel Channel's new "Ghost Adventures" series premiering in October.

Paranormal investigator Zak Bragans and two videographers with nightvision cameras and digital records will be locked down Friday from dusk till dawn at the honky tonk club, 44 Licking Pike, in Campbell County.


Since built in 1850, it has housed a slaughterhouse, casino and nightclubs. After Mackey bought the place 30 years ago, employees reported doors opening and lights coming on by themselves, and an unplugged jukebox playing the "Anniversary Waltz."

Mackey believes the building is haunted by a woman named Johanna who committed suicide there in the 1930s. It inspired him to write a song called "Johanna."

Over the years, many TV documentaries have been filmed there. The strange events also were documented in Doug Hensley's book, "Hell's Gate: The Terror at Bobby Mackey's Music World."

"We researched a lot of different haunted places, and we thought this one qualified for our series," says Joe Townley, executive producer for My Entertainment Co. LLC in New York.

Bragans and videographers Nick Graff and Aaron Goodwin will spend this week in Wilder interviewing former Mackey employees and others who have witnessed odd things at the club.

"Ghost Adventures" is a spin-off from Bragans' Sci Fi Channel special last year, Townley says. It premieres 9 p.m. Oct. 17 on the Travel Channel.

Eight one-hour episodes are being shot by My Entertainment, which has produced shows for Spike TV ("Pros vs. Joes,"), Comedy Central ("The Bar Mitzvah of Comedy Central"), IFC ("Framed") and Logo ("Stolichnaya Presents Be Real").