King's Tavern in Natchez, Mississippi, is the oldest standing building in the Natchez territory, built around 1789 as a way station at the end of the Natchez Trace. The tavern's haunted reputation took on new urgency in the 1930s when a renovation crew discovered three skeletons sealed within a brick wall. One was identified as a young woman, and a jeweled Spanish dagger was found lodged among her remains. Local legend identifies her as Madeline, the mistress of the tavern's original owner, Richard King, who may have been murdered by King's jealous wife. Since the discovery, employees and visitors have reported wine glasses shattering spontaneously, the sound of a baby crying in empty rooms, and cold spots that move through the tavern's oldest corridor. A rocking chair in the second-floor quarters has been witnessed rocking on its own by multiple witnesses. The restaurant featured on Ghost Adventures, where investigators recorded unexplained audio anomalies in the room where the skeletons were found. King's Tavern continues to operate as a restaurant, and paranormal encounters are considered routine by the staff.
