Pat O'Briens is a legendary downtown San Antonio bar famous for hurricanes and now....ghosts! Although that's nothing new to the staff there. While Pat O's has been in existence a short time compared to the age of the building, little is known about the building's past. It's been an art gallery, a department store, a general store, and more than likely a family residence on the second floor as was customary for the time period. What is known, is the deep and dark history of the land the building sits on. The land was once the scene of some of the most horrific fighting during the battle of The Alamo. Seen on this map (http://the-alamo-san-antonio.com/historical_map_alamo.htm) the 18 pound cannon the Alamo defenders used to ward off Santa Anna, was fired in the general direction of where Pat O'Briens sits today. Theoretically, the cannon would have a much larger firing distance, but for those times, it was a primitive weapon, being used by men with little training. Santa Anna's men atacked the Alamo at the North Wall which was very near where Pat O'Briens is located. Eventually the Mexican army made it over the Alamo wall just down the road from Pat O'Briens north of the former US Post Office building. All of this is important because it could explain some of the strange happenings that take place at Pat O's. Very little is known or understood about the paranormal activity at the bar, the Alamo battleground is one theory. That would not explain however, the spirit of a child who appears regularly and is known to staff as "Timmy".
"Timmy" is believed to be around six years old and is quite a menacing spirit. He's playful and most often seen peering out of the second story windows. Countless do-gooders have complained to management that a child of that age should not be in a bar that late at night. Yet each time management checks into their claims...the upstairs is locked, lights are turned off, and no one is there. Patrons and staff members have reported seeing "Timmy" on the stairs as well. Many have seen a child walking past them on the stairs, or have had to dodge a child running past them as they walked up or down. "Timmy" is also believed to be the spirit who likes to play the many pianos throughout the bar.
Most of the hauntings take place on the second floor - namely in the Briar Suite, but not all. The ghost of a woman is well known in the women's restroom in the piano bar. She flickers lights, and is heard moaning. Staff has also recently been seeing the full body apparation of a man in his 40's dressed in a black suit. The ghosts here like to open, close, and shake doors and cabinets, and footsteps are heard constantly in the basement and throughout the second floor. Glasses have been known to slide off the bar, dishes and decorative pieces have been thrown to the floor, slamming them to the ground breaking into a million pieces. Workers in the kitchen have even heard a constant coughing sound while working alone. Whoever it is, they're certainly not shy.
Present for Investigation...Russell, Bobby, Angelka, Jo Ann, Vanessa, & Joey. The investigation was conducted over two nights after the bar closed leaving us completely alone. We focused mainly on the upstairs setting up static IR cameras along the windows where the child spirit has been seen, and down a long hallway Sean, one of the managers, told us he doesn't feel comfortable in. Not to ignore the rest of the bar we also set up a static IR camera in the first floor piano bar. All cameras were viewed remotely and reviewed for visual and audible evidence. Equpped with audio recorders teams were split in pairs to cover the large area of the bar. The second floor banquet area is much larger than appears. Initially Angelka and Jo Ann were hearing voices while conducting an EVP session in a hallway between the main bar area and the banquet area. They were able to hear the voices with their ears and through audio equipment. A definite energy could be felt in the Briar's Suite, typically one of the most packed areas of the bar on the weekends. The room felt heavy and despite a loud air-conditioning unit, supplied several noises. At one point Russell & Jo Ann heard whispers coming from just outside the Briar's door. It almost seemed as if the spirits were watching them, commenting on what was going on, as the noises were heard all around them...until one spirit was brave enough to come up and touch them. A couple shadows were seen throughout the night, mainly in the lounge area of The Promenade--a location we later discovered is also a hotbed of activity. The two most compelling pieces of evidence from the night were recorded on Angelka's audio recorder. A loud EVP of footsteps is definite Class A, and sounds almost too good to be true. The footsteps are loud in nature and are in response to Gel's question. shortly thereafter as most of us had left the Briar's Suite, Vanessa started hearing the piano play. Just a note here or there at first, until she and Angleka rushed to the room, threw open the door near the piano, and heard one final chord before the piano went silent.