Bobby Mackey’s World

Bobby Mackey’s World

by Annette Munnich

If you like your ghost stories to be factual as well as chilling to the bone, then I have the story for you. It’s intricate and multi-faceted like a black diamond, glistening and alive in it’s perpetual darkness. This is the true account of country and bluegrass music star Bobby Mackey and some of the history and experiences pertaining to his nightclub, Bobby Mackey’s Music World. Love and death linger intermingled in this structure with a well that is called the gateway to hell, and a stairway to heaven that leads to nowhere. The place in between is Bobby Mackey’s…

Bobby Mackey’s Music World is still open for business and going strong after 30 years. It’s located in Wilder, Kentucky which is actually on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio. Just inside the door a sign warns visitors that the establishment is haunted and the bar is not responsible for any damages. In other words, enter at your own risk. There are more than 20 signed affidavits from police officers, employees and church leaders in regards to paranormal experiences at Bobby Mackey’s Music World. It is true that Bobby’s wife, Janet, does not go to the club any more and hasn’t stepped foot on the premises in years. Janet, who did not believe in ghosts, was physically pushed which resulted in a fall down a flight of outside stairs and told by a disembodied voice to “get out”. And she did. *** Update. Sadly Bobby Mackey’s wife Janet passed way February 15th, 2009.

This is how an ordinary place evolved into one of the most haunted sites in America.  There are two structures here. The bar itself was once a speak-easy with mob connections. The back building, at one time, was a slaughter house and the blood from butchered animals ran down the well and emptied into the Licking River.

A recipe for a nightmare

Building section one which is now the nightclub

Building one is the site where love meets murder and suicide. The lovely dancer Johanna falls in love with singer Robert Randall. Her disapproving father has Robert killed. Johanna fatally poisons her father. She then goes to a secret room above the stage, writes a poem on the wall and commits suicide taking her life as well as the life of her unborn child… The activity in this location includes the sound of a crying woman believed to be Johanna locked in eternal sorrow. Bobby wrote a song called Johanna that tells her tragic tale.

The nightclub building has very strong paranormal activity. That includes heavy objects being moved and even thrown, people being pushed, and full body apparitions. The jukebox plays the Anniversary Waltz even though the record does not exist on the playlist. It has the ability to play this song whether it’s plugged in or not.

Carl Lawason was a maintenance worker who lived in the apartment upstairs. Carl is also the person who discovered the well underneath the floor in building two, which he regrets to this very day. Carl reports hearing what sounded like an army walking across the downstairs (bar area) floor every morning at 6 am. He also saw apparitions in his apartment as well as feeling cold spots and other various paranormal experiences during the time he lived on premises. Carl’s luck ran out when he actually became possessed and a six hour exorcism was performed to save him. When Carl came back into consciousness from this he was trying to choke the pastor. An unexplained fire spread up the wall immediately afterwards. Carl can still feel the negative forces present at Bobby Mackey’s.

Building section two which was the slaughterhouse.

Love becomes murder, decapitation, execution and dark eternal promises… Rewind for a moment to the well that Carl Lawason found under the floor. What he also found there was a piece of a human skull. This is the story of a girl named Pearl Bryan who was murdered by her boyfriend Scott Jackson and his companion Alonzo Walling. Her body found in the river without a head. The police dogs follow a scent that leads to the well in the slaughterhouse. Her killers were caught, tried and sentenced to death. Jackson and Walling were the last two people ever to be hung in Campbell County. Before the execution Pearl’s murderous boyfriend vows to haunt the place forever. This is a promise he and his friend Alonzo seem to have kept.

Alonzo’s spirit has been seen in the nightclub building as well and is accompanied by a feeling of heat instead of cold. He is able to manifest and has strength enough to throw garbage cans.

There is only one way to make this entire scenario worse and that is reports of devil worshipers performing satanic rites at the site of the well, opening a portal between this world and hell. The walls are stained with dripping blood, where strange and sometimes grotesque faces can be seen. A few feet from the well, a simple wooden staircase ascends to nowhere, leading only to the ceiling. Is it a pointless mockery that none can escape the doom that is this place?

Bobby Mackey

A strange twist of fate?

Bobby Mackey Was born on March25th 1948 as Randall Mackey. When Bobby was one day old his mother changed his name to Robert Randall Mackey. Robert Randall was the name of the singer killed by Johanna’s father… It’s been thirty years since Bobby felt drawn to buy the property that is now Bobby Mackey’s Music World.

His wife won’t enter Bobby Mackey’s. Carl Lawason was possessed while he lived in an upstairs apartment. One person flourishes in this hellish environment and that person is Bobby Mackey himself. At 60 years old he continues to write songs. Bobby takes the stage at his club and rocks the house with his brand of Country/Western and Bluegrass fare.

Bobby recently released his CD Foolin’ Around with his Big Mac Band.

Also released last year was his CD Ten Shades of Green.

Popular songs by Bobby Mackey include~

Ashes Of Love, Boogie Grass Band, Close To You, Corner Of Walk Don’t Walk, Heart, Hero Daddy, Pepsi Man, Poison Love, Seven Spanish Angels, Streets Of Baltimore, Thinking Of Home, With Tears In My Eyes, Yard Sale, Another Bridge To Burn, Buckaroo, I Never Once Stopped Lovin’ You, Image Of Me, Jukebox Charlie, and of course Johanna.

Listen to Johanna by Bobby Mackey

Hell’s Gate the Motion Picture Trilogy + Bobby Mackey News

Hell’s Gate, a film by Ron Whitt, is based on actual events and stars Michael Flinchum, Steve Moore, Jessica Bloom, Jennie Fagan and Melissa Fox. Hell’s Gate is due to be released the summer of 2009. Hell’s Gate Unleashed will open in 2010, and Hell’s Gate Revelation will come to theaters in 2011.

See the movie trailer

Read the book that inspired the film. HELLS GATE by Doug Hensley

This is what Shannon Sylvia from Ghost Hunter’s International had to say about her experiences at Bobby Mackey’s. “Investigating Bobby Mackey’s was a huge highlight of 2008 for me- as well as a huge personal highlight and goal. For years I wanted to check out the paranormal activity I’d been hearing so much about and I was not left disappointed.” Ghost Hunters International is back with new episodes January 7 9pmEST/8pmCST on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Shannon Sylvia’s my space page.

The first episode of Ghost Adventures, the new paranormal reality series on the Travel Channel, was on location at Bobby Mackey’s Music World. The Ghost Adventure’s team was locked in at dusk, first in the nightclub area, then let out in the middle of the night to move to, and be locked into, the old slaughterhouse part. They remained there until dawn. Zak Bagans was actually physically harmed as unseen forces inflicted long scratches down his back underneath his shirt. Ghost Adventures premiered in October 2008, and the first season re-runs can be seen on the Travel Channel Friday Nights. Check your local listings.

Ghost Adventures my space page

The Ghost Adventures Crew will be at Bobby Mackey’s Music World for a special 3 day event January 20-22, 2009. There will be music, a chance for you to participate in an investigation, and guest speakers Bishop James Long, Mark and Debbie Constantino, and Jeff Belanger. To find out more about this event and all other upcoming events visit Bobby Mackey’s website.

The event went well and here is a photo of the Ghost Adventures crew, Zak Bagans, Nick Groff, and Aaron Carter with Bobby Mackey. Read the article about the strange and frightening occurrences during the event.

Bobby Mackey’s Website

Make friends with Bobby on my space.