Evansville has more haunted hot spots than just Willard Library.   Did you know Gerst Haus has its own ghost stories, too?

Evansville Ghost Stories

One thing about me is that I will never say no to a good ghost story.  I'm always fascinated when I hear stories about things that can't be explained.  In the Evansville area, there's no doubt that the most well-known urban legend is of Willard Library's Grey Lady.   Recently, I was searching to see if there were any other haunted places in Evansville, and that's when I learned that the Gerst Haus is reportedly haunted.

READ MORE: Check Out The Legend of Evansville's Most Notorious Ghostly Lady 

Serving Up Haunted Hops and German Cuisine at Gerst Haus

The Gerst Haus has been a popular Franklin Street restaurant since it opened in 1999.  Evansville’s roots run deep in German culture, so a restaurant serving up German cuisine is right at home here.   Beyond serving traditional German food, the Gerst Haus also has a huge craft beer selection.   Gerst is a place my friends and I frequent, so I was surprised when I learned that not only does Gerst serve good food, but the restaurant also serves up some spooky ghost stories!

 The Haunting of Gerst Haus

According to Historic Evansville, the building that is now Gerst Haus was built in 1890 and originally opened as a wholesale grocer, but in the 1920s became  Heldt & Voelker Hardware. Historic Evansville credits Heldt and Voelker's love of vintage qualities as a big part of why much of the historic aspects of this building are still intact.  With a building this old, there are surely some interesting legends surrounding those walls.

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In Indiana On Tap's highlight of Gerst Haus, they say that in the basement of Gerst, there have been reports of people seeing a workman in "dungarees."  Now, I'm not a dunagaree expert, but I believe that's a fancy word for overalls, so I'm picturing like 1930s-era Charlie Chaplin in those striped overalls.  They also say that children can sometimes be heard laughing and playing around the building, even when the building is empty (besides, of course, the person reporting hearing the kids).

There's also a fascinating article I found from the Courier & Press where they did a deep dive on the haunted legends surrounding Gerst Haus and even spoke to the manager who reported all kinds of interesting and unexplainable experiences from working at the restaurant.  You can check out that full deep dive, here.

So, have you ever experienced anything eerie while at Gerst Haus?   Any spectral spaetzal?  Knocking Knackwurst? Spirited schnitzel? Okay, sorry, I'll stop.