4 Weeks of Fright: There's more than one kind of spirit at Yager's Tap House

Editor's Note: This is the first in a four-part series highlighting spooky tales in the area. For story suggestions, contact the editor at donc@goldcountrymedia.com.There might be something more than spirits on tap at Yager's Tap House and Grille Pub. Brian McKeown, one of Yager's co-owners, said he has known for some time that the building, located at 727 Trader Lane, was haunted. "Last year, when we were remodeling the place, previous patrons and employees would stop by and tell us stories," McKeown said. "We heard a lot of interesting stories." He said that the building was something of a "fixer-upper" and a lot of work went into it, so Yager's could re-open for last year's Folsom Live. During that time, McKeown said he heard more stories about the place and learned about its history. "The building was built in 1856. I believe that it was originally a fire house," he said. "Peter Yager opened his brewery here in 1882. Before Prohibition, it was a bar called the Soapy Saloon. It has also been a hardware store and a grocery store." The lowermost floor once served as downtown's civil defense bomb shelter years ago and it has three underground tunnels — all of which are now sealed. "Bootleggers used those tunnels during the Prohibition days, (according to local lore)," McKeown said. "I've heard there are other tunnels in the Sutter Street area." McKeown said that many of the stories he's heard focus around the ghost of a little girl. "Some people have seen her running around the pool table," he said. "One day, one of our cooks was mopping the upstairs room where the pool table was located. He heard a sound and looked around — that's when he saw this little girl running around the pool table and watched her vanish into thin air." Jeff Dwyer, a paranormal investigator from San Francisco, wrote a book titled "Ghost Hunter's Guide to California Gold Rush Country." The book has a listing on Yager's and even calls the entity "The Eight-Ball Ghost." McKeown knew the story. "A few years ago, some customers wanted to play pool but couldn't because the eight ball was missing," he said. "They looked everywhere for it and couldn't find the damn thing. Then, that night, one of the employees walked by the pool table and out rolls the eight-ball." The pool table has since been relocated to the bottom floor, where the old bomb shelter was located. But, the "Little Girl," as McKeown and some employees call her, keeps busy all over the building. "After our opening, we could hear footsteps up in the attic," he said. "Then the door up there would open and close by itself. Something kept messing with the alarm control box too. It got to be annoying at first then we just told ourselves it was (the Little Girl). We've gotten used to it." McKeown said employees and customers have told him of hearing a girl laugh and whispering. Some, he said, have even experienced cold spots appearing then disappearing. "But, it's nothing creepy," he said. "Before this, I had another experience with the paranormal. I'm not scared. In fact, I've even crashed here over night during the remodel but I was never scared." Last Christmas, one of the bartenders set out a plate of cookies for the Little Girl. "Nothing happened though," he said. But the Little Girl isn't the only ghost haunting Yager's. "We call the other one 'the Old Woman,'" he said. "Some people who've been in the old bomb shelter have seen her. Some have even been touched by her." Like the Little Girl, McKeown said no one feels threatened by this other entity. Nothing malicious has ever happened. "I would love to know more about the history of the building and who worked here," he said. "I know the ghosts are attached to this place for some reason." While McKeown is curious about the ghosts he doesn't want ghost hunters to show up and investigate. "The ghosts are here because they want to be and we want them to stay," McKeown said. "We don't want people to provoke them or anything like that. This is their home, so to speak, and I don't want anyone to be disrespectful towards them." So, McKeown and others at Yager's are content with their ghostly companions. He looks forward to more experiences. "This Christmas, we'll be setting out a plate filled with cookies again," he said. "It'd be great if they were gone by the morning."