McGillin's owner Chris Mullins, Sr, left, and son Chris, McGillin's manager, don't let a little haunting faze them.
By SE Burns
Philly’s McGillin’s Olde Ale House on Drury St. in Center City was recently named “one of the coolest bars” in the U.S by Gourmet Magazine. But if you feel an actual chill there, it might be old Ma McGillin. She’s not “appearing nightly,” but her ghostly presence has been felt—and now captured in a photo—taken by paranormal investigators.
Like anyone else, Ma continues to be welcome at the 150-year-old pub. Manager Chris Mullins and I sat down not long ago to talk about the paranormal activity that has haunted, so to speak, McGillin’s over the years.
The particular ghost in question is presumed to be that of “Ma” McGillin. She owned the restaurant with her husband William McGillin, starting in 1860. On August 31, 1901 “Pa” McGillin died and “Ma” McGillin took over running the restaurant until her death in 1937 at the age of 90. Here’s what Chris has to say about McGillin’s spectral hostess:
Q. Do you like the idea of your restaurant being haunted?
A. The concept is both scary and intriguing! We realize that we are just the current hosts of McGillin’s, there were great characters before us and it is great to know that they are keeping us company. Hopefully we make them proud. I am not sure we are as wild as they were generations ago, but we try! At the same time we are proud to be in their midst.
Q. Can you give us some examples of some paranormal activity that goes on in the restaurant?
A. Back in the 70’s and 80’s our longtime manager Anita would insist that Ma McGillin would follow her through the first floor, she said she saw Ma on several occasions. The irony of this is that when the South Jersey Paranormal group did their overnight analysis of our building, they shot a photo of a “Lady in White” in a reflection of our mirror over the fireplace, pointing to the front door. This image seemed to be Ma!
Q. Are you afraid to be in the restaurant alone?
A. It can be a little scary when we are alone in certain areas of the building. Our late night cooks feel a bit creepy when they sense a ghost, or see a shadow. When a full pot unexpectedly falls off a counter it gets your goat!
Q. Why do you believe that this ghost is actually “Ma” McGillin?
A. Ma spent the longest time on this property of any past owner – she raised her children on the second and third floor, her husband, the famous William McGillin, died in the basement; after his death in 1901 she ran the tavern until her death in 1933. Who else would it be? McGillin’s storied past surrounds Ma so much that it seems obvious that even in death she would reside here.
Could that be Ma in the looking glass? See insert for a close-up.
Q. Was “Ma” McGillin well-liked in Philadelphia?
A. Ma was beyond well-liked here in Philadelphia – she was beloved! She ran a very clean, very respectable tavern, and was one of the few female proprietors of her time. For most of her ownership, women were not even allowed in the major part of the bar, so to have her own the place is pretty extraordinary. Hundreds descended on Drury Street on the night of January 17, 1920 to watch Ma symbolically lock the front doors of McGillin’s and mourn the end of legal consumption of alcohol. Each November 12, thousands came to McGillin’s to receive a white carnation from Ma herself, on her 89th birthday, her last, 4000 carnations were distributed! When Ma died, she was the oldest living parishioner of St. John’s the Evangelist, and was one of the first women to have Broad Street closed for her funeral procession.
Q. What was “Ma” McGillin’s favorite dish to eat in her restaurant?
A. Quite honestly during most of her time at McGillin’s there were few options, mainly a roasted potato from the hearth, beer was the liquid food of choice. During Prohibition however, Ma hired the Executive Chef from the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, then the finest hotel in the Philadelphia, to create the first real menu. Even then the menu was fairly simple: Broiled steaks, lamb chops, ham and egg platters, and oysters, along with surprisingly similar sandwich options that we offer today.
[Chris told me that his great uncle was found dead in the alley behind the pub.]
Q. Is anyone ever nervous about going to the back alley where your great uncle was found dead?
A. No, in fact this is the way most of our “in the know” guests enter and leave daily. My great uncle left on a very high note, I am not sure he had any regrets!
Q. Has anything unusual happened in the alley since the death of your great uncle?
A. No not so much, though on an anniversary of his death, when my grandfather and a few staff were enjoying a few cocktails after a long night of work, they were sharing stories of their deceased relative and friend, Steve, my grandfather made a crude comment about his ghost telling him to just leave the bar and its patrons alone. Then he threw a wet rag at the window above where my great uncle had passed the last year, and the entire window fell right out of the pane – from what I understand, the entire group fell as white as a ghost, so to speak!
Q. Do you feel your great uncle’s death, or the window breaking, had anything to do with the ghost of “Ma” McGillin?
A. I think that each of these characters miss the fun and are slightly jealous of the living enjoying all that they worked so hard for. I think it is all in good fun, and they find there is something irresistible and need to come back! Let’s hope our living customers feel the same way!
SE Burns writes frequently for www.irishphiladelphia.com about the Celtic paranormal.
