This episode is a fan favorite that was originally published as Episode 476. We hope that you have a happy and safe holiday!When musician Bobby Mackey opened Bobby Mackey’s Music World in 1978, he had hoped for nothing more than to open a small nightclub where audiences could enjoy the traditional country music he had devoted his life to for decades. Yet before the club was even opened, it was apparent to Bobby, his wife Janet, and manager Carl that whatever the new night club was going to be, it would be anything but normal.In the decades since it opened, Bobby Mackey’s Music World has gained a reputation, not just as a one of Kentucky’s enduring country western clubs, but as one of America’s supposedly most haunted locations. Indeed, Bobby Mackey’s is said to be the home of several spirits whose lives revolved around, and in some cases ended on the property, including the ghosts of a lovesick showgirl, a headless pregnant woman, and the two Satan-worshipping men who took her head.Thank you to the glorious David White for research assistance :)ReferencesAssociated Press. 1978. "State to probe fire at club near Newport." Courier-Journal, July 10: 6.—. 1993. "Legality of lawsuit blaming bar for ghost antics to be decided." Messenger-Inquirer, October 23: 17.Caraway, Robin. 2006. "Wilder nightclub site has storied past." Cincinnati Post, July 17: 14.Chicago Chronicle. 1896. "Pearl Bryan's story." Chicago Chronicle, May 10: 33.Cincinnati Enquirer. 1979. "Kentucky closes Mackey's club, citing faulty wiriing, sprinkler." Cincinnati Enquirer, December 16: 26.—. 1978. "Wilder police chief wants state to close Hard Rock Cafe." Cincinnati Enquirer, January 17: 17.Hensley, Douglas. 2005. Hell's Gate: Terror at Bobby Mackey's Music World. Denver, CO: Outskirts Press.Moores, Lew. 1993. "Court filing by club's lawyer is poetry in motion." Cincinnati Enquirer, October 22: 26.2005. A Haunting. Television. Directed by Joe Wiecha. Performed by New Dominion Pictures.Wecker, David. 1991. "Bobby Mackey demon story: truth or bull." Cincinnati Post, July 9: 11.Wolfson, Andrew. 2022. "A twisted tale: A failed abortion, a beheading and pennies left heads up at a grave." Courier Journal, May 4.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is Bobby Mackey's Music World?
1896.
Pearl was a 22-year-old girl from Indiana. And late in January of 1896, she told her parents that she'd gotten a telegram from a family friend in Indianapolis. I said it. I can never say that. Indianapolis? I'm not going to try again because I already said it. But so she got that telegram from that place, and these family friends asked her to come visit.
And she was like, hell yeah, sounds awesome. So she set off on her trip and just sadly days later on February 1st her body was found decapitated. Oh my god. In a large field less than 600 yards from Fort St. Thomas and very close by. to the abandoned slaughterhouse. So the coroner determined that Pearl had actually been drugged with cocaine just prior to her death.
And the cause of death was obviously the decapitation. Oh, God. And they believed that she had been killed where her body was discovered in that field. Unfortunately, the coroner also said that Pearl would have been alive when the decapitation started. Oh, my God. Yes. Oh.
So 1896 investigators started trying to put the pieces of the case together, and they found out that the last time Pearl had been seen alive was on the evening of January 31st. And she was spotted with two men, Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling. Now, the last time the three of them were spotted was in a cab from Cincinnati that was headed back in the direction of Fort Thomas. Oh, no.
Where she was found. Now, the detectives are pretty sure that these two guys had something to do with Pearl's murder and they were right on the right track. When Scott Jackson was arrested, he told the police that he and Pearl had secretly been in a relationship for the past several months and that recently he had found out that she was pregnant and he was not exactly pleased about this.
I just want to put a trigger warning here because this is going to be a little bit tough going forward just for this one section. Just a trigger warning for loss of pregnancy slash miscarriage stuff. Thanks. You're welcome. So he was, like I said, not happy that she was pregnant and suggested that Pearl try to induce her own miscarriage by drinking, I think, is it ergot? Ergot, yeah.
Ergot, which is a fungus and rye mixed together. That's what they tried to blame the Salem witch trials on. Oh, shit. You're right. I forgot about that. So she obviously refused this because she was like, I'm not going to do that. And she refused it multiple times. Like, he kept being like, no, this is what you need to do. Like, we're not having a baby. You need to drink this.
And she's like, no, I'm not doing that. No, she gets to decide there, friend. Yeah, her body, her choice. Yeah. And it's like, you don't have to be a part of this baby's life if you don't want to. Go away. Bye. Bye. See ya. Never. So she kept refusing, kept refusing. And finally, he sent her himself to Cincinnati to have an abortion performed.
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Chapter 2: What haunting legends surround Bobby Mackey's Music World?
But people still were talking about the mystery surrounding the case ever since. Eventually, the talk of the case would slow down. But for a while, people were heavily focused on this. Yeah, this is huge. Right. So Scott, Alonzo, and Pearl have all been worked into the legends and the stories surrounding the abandoned slaughterhouse and then everything else it would come to be.
Now, some legends claim that they were Satanists and that Pearl had been murdered during a ritual sacrifice. And those legends say that the reason Pearl's head was never found was because it was thrown into the well of the slaughterhouse, which was like super, super deep. Yeah.
But by the 1920s, they decided, you know what, maybe we should fucking tear down that old slaughterhouse because damn, if it really is being used for rituals and decapitations, we should get rid of it. Yeah, probably. Yeah.
Now, like I said, people weren't really talking about the legend of what happened to Pearl as often because they were more focused on modern things like prohibition and gambling. Yeah. Fun things. Old sport. Well, prohibition's not fun. But in 1933, just as prohibition was about to end, also I should acknowledge that you said old sport because that was funny. That's okay.
I felt you understand it in your soul. I did. Yeah. I love Gatsby. But just as it was about to end, a man named Ernest Buck Brady bought the roadhouse and opened it up as a restaurant and casino. And he ended up naming it the Primrose, which I think is really pretty. That is pretty. Right. Now, in no time, the place was hopping.
People loved hanging out there, but more importantly, they liked spending their money there. Now, that latter part obviously brought attention from the mob. Oh, that whole thing. Oh, yeah, that whole thing. And eventually they were actually able to pressure Buck into selling the club to them. So the mob took over.
Damn.
The mob is like, mine. Mine. Money pit. I'll take it. I'll take it. So Frank Screw Andrews. Yep. They called him Screw. Yeah, they did. Of course. Don't ask why. Absolutely. He managed the now rebranded club that they were calling the Latin Quarter. Ooh. Sexy. Sexy. And it gained even more popularity.
Now, in the 1950s, it was actually the or one of the most popular illegal gambling dens in the area. And it went on that way for 11 years. Wow. Right. An illegal gambling den. That's a that's a good run. That's a good run. I don't know what the typical run is. Me neither. But that feels like a good one. Feels pretty great. I mean, over a decade. Yeah. Let's go. Like a middle schooler.
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Chapter 3: What tragic story is linked to the history of the site?
According to the Cincinnati Inquirer, the hard rock catered to a little bit of a rougher crowd of people made up of, quote, all people from out of town with an interest in live hard rock music.
hell yeah i feel like it's just a bunch of like um barbs from trolls world tour oh my god you're such a mom and i love you for that i was like barbs and then i thought you were going down like a stranger things around i was like i'm not getting it i went trolls world tour on us and i said trolls and then i was like oh and then you knew yeah you knew i fucking love barb
Just a bunch of barbs being like, let's rock. We have the rock string. Hell yeah. Let's go, brothers. But that was like the weird thing about this property. No matter what it was operating as, a roadhouse, the primrose, the Latin Quarter, the hard rock, there was always some kind of criminal element attached to it. You know, it's just like, that's its thing. It was just like, criminal!
This place is just like, it's kind of my thing to have criminal elements always. It's kind of like Alexis from Schitt's Creek.
Yeah, it's a little bit criminal.
It's a little bit criminal when it drives its car. Apparently though, it's time as the hard rock was the most violent. Oh, I didn't see that coming. Nor did I, but I thought the mob would have been, you know, me too, but maybe that was just less reported on. Here I am learning things, you know, I'm sure that it probably was when it was the mob, but we just don't know much about that.
And I'm not going to talk about it. No way. But the police, anyways, they write things down, and that's why we know about this. They write things down. Reports. But they were constantly going down there to break up fights, to respond to accidents, or worse, to investigate crime scenes. Oof. Lots of deaths going on. Yeah.
The wilder police chief.
Oh, we're getting intense now. It is. The Wilder police chief, Robert Schindler, I believe it is, told reporters, we have had an awful lot of trouble down there, but most of it happens in the parking lot. Oh.
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Chapter 4: How did the nightclub's opening face challenges?
And looking back, Bobby recalled, it got to the point where I wouldn't know which Carl I was talking to. I'd have to talk to him for a little while to figure out how to deal with him because he always seemed to be different. Poor Carl. I know. He was going through it.
Because the thing was, when he discovered the well, Carl became convinced that the stories that he had heard about Pearl Bryant's head were true. Which it could be. And it doesn't necessarily need to be, like, satanic. Exactly. It could be they just threw it in the well because they knew no one would ever find it. Exactly.
Now, he was worried about the malevolent spirits in the club, and he was worried that they were... Wait, I fucked that up. Sorry. Sorry. He was worried that the malevolent spirits in the club were actually Pearl's killers. Yes. Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling.
I agree.
And now he figured and understood that they were probably the ones who attacked Janet. Yep. Because remember, Pearl was also pregnant when they killed her because they didn't want her to be pregnant. Right. Yes. And now Carl was really worried that Alonzo and Scott would not stop until they had driven everyone out of the club for good. I fully believe this. Me too.
So his instinct was to get the fuck out of there and never come back again. Yeah. But at the same time, he was worried about leaving Bobby and Janet.
Aww.
Because it kind of sounds like he really thought of them like family. Carl! He was fully convinced that the building and the land were evil, but he just cared too much about them to leave them behind. That's precious. And that's why I love Carl. In Carl we trust.
Now, as we all know at this point, since buying the property and owning the club, Bobby had completely dismissed any claims of this place being haunted. But in the weeks following the discovery of the well in the basement, he just couldn't ignore the fact that something was causing Carl a whole lot of distress. Yeah.
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Chapter 5: What supernatural events occurred at the club?
Three things about Bobby, though. He's a good friend. He is. I feel that about Bobby.
He is.
So he agreed to find somebody who could help them with an exorcism because he was worried about his friend. Hell yeah. So it took some time and, you know, a few uncomfortable conversations with people. But eventually he came across this guy that he knew, Larry Kidwell, who thought that he might know someone who could help. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah.
But like Bobby, Larry was pretty skeptical and had a hard time believing in something he couldn't see or experience himself. But at the same time, willing to give the benefit of the doubt and willing to reach out to his friend, Glenn Cole, who was a local Pentecostal minister who might be willing to help. Oh, good.
So, unlike Bobby and Larry, Glenn Cole actually had no trouble believing that the club was haunted. That's one thing about Glenn. That's one thing about Glenn for you. According to Larry, Reverend Cole explained, That sucks.
Now, given the history of the property and like the whole fucking myriad of tragedies that happened on the site, Reverend Cole was like, yeah, I think it's entirely possible that this place is haunted. And more importantly, he felt a very urgent need to meet with Carl to determine whether he was in spiritual danger or not. Yeah.
So a few days later, he got to Bobby Mackey's and he wanted to talk to Carl and kind of take a look around the place just like Patricia Michelle. Now, almost immediately, Reverend Cole felt uncomfy. And Doug Hensley remembered meeting this reverend for the first time. And he said, he told me this was the most evil site that he'd ever stepped foot on in his entire life. And it was full of evil.
Whoa. That's kind of redundant. But like I thought you were going to say that's kind of evil. That is pretty evil, though. Yeah. Evil. Well, when you think about it, when you told me the Pearl Bryant story, it's like they killed her by decapitating her. Yeah. She died getting her head sawed off. Uh-huh. That is the most evil shit you can possibly imagine. Absolutely. And she was pregnant.
And she was pregnant. And this used to be a slaughterhouse.
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Chapter 6: How did Bobby and Janet Mackey respond to the hauntings?
Carl knows what's up. Carl does. But a few days later, Reverend Cole did come back to the club to perform the exorcism that would maybe rid Carl and the nightclub of the spirits that haunted them. Now, Carl was surprised to find that the reverend was accompanied by a reporter and three cameramen. Were you surprised? Not cool.
But Reverend Cole said, you know, they were just there to document things, quote, just in case anything happens. Yeah. If I was Carl, I'd be like, am I going to die? I don't know about this. So he was worried about the reporters being there. And he told the reverend that he was also worried about getting hurt. But the reverend was like, no, listen, I've done this a ton of times.
Chapter 7: What impact did the haunting have on the club's reputation?
Nothing to worry about. He said, I've been in the ministry for 18 years and I've come close to seeing it all. Come close. Close, but you haven't seen it all. Not quite. There's some stuff I haven't seen. Still uncomfy with this. I'm like, that could happen here. A little bit. You might actually see it all here tonight.
So for that reason, Carl was apprehensive, but he was also hopeful and he was like ready to do this. So he led Reverend Cole and the reporters to the old kitchen and that's where the exorcism was going to be performed. Okay. Now, the room at that point was mostly being used for storage, especially since the renovation. So the men had to push all the clutter out of the way before they could set up.
Now, once they figured they had adequate space, they set up a table and Carl was to sit just across from Cole, the reverend. And he started reciting a prayer and asking for the Lord's help in cleansing the space of its spirits. Now, within a matter of minutes, Reverend Cole said he started to notice a change in Carl's body language.
I guess his palms were pressed really hard into the table and his head started nodding up and down. And he, quote, began mumbling something under his breath and a low and different tone of voice. Oh, I don't like that. I don't like it either. It gives me Esteban from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. And that episode fucked me up when I was little.
I have no idea what you're talking about, but I imagine it is uncomfortable. If you're a Zillennial, you know. Now, while Reverend Cole went on with his prayer, Carl was having a hard time talking, but continued his raspy breathing. And I guess that started like right after Cole began reading from the Bible. He started like doing a weird raspy breathing. Yeah.
Now, Cole kept going on, commanding the spirits, trying to guide them out, you know, la-di-da-do. And as he was talking— You're not going to perform an exorcism right now. No, the fuck I'm not. Why not? No, if there's spirits here, then cool. But Carl's eyes seemed, the reverend said, to be completely fixated on him, the reverend.
And finally, Carl spoke in a strange voice and told the reverend, quote, they'll get me while I'm alone in here. Which, like, I have goosebumps right now. Now, for some, like, that's the thing. This, like, really fucking creeped me out. But the reverend believed that the voice was intended to trick him and, like, prey on his sympathy. Like, it was coming from a spirit and not Carl. Right?
So the exchange between the reverend and the spirits that seemed to be inhabiting Carl's body went on for what seemed like hours, with the reverend praying over Carl, who seemed resistant to what this guy was saying. But finally, Carl's body seemed to start jerking and spasming as Reverend Cole continued to command these spirits to leave his body. And then finally, Carl fell limp.
And moments later, he looked up at the reverend and said, I feel different. Something in me has changed. Oh, I hope better. Right? So he smiled and he seemed pleased that the exorcism appeared to have worked. Now, outside the kitchen, Larry Kidwell watched as the four newsmen walked out of the room. And they all had kind of like disappointed looks on their faces, I think, because.
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