Bobby Mackey’s Music World has been dubbed America’s most haunted honkytonk. The building dates back to the early 20th century and has been a home to a number of failed businesses before boots scooted across its dance floor. The unique building has ties to the mob, a murder, alleged suicides and even rumored satanic rituals. Employees and visitors alike have reported apparitions, strange sounds and unexplainable phenomena in the building, especially in the basement, which is home to a well some believe is a gateway to somewhere, or something, else. Is there something paranormal infesting this former slaughterhouse-turned-nightclub? That’s something paranormal investigators want to find out.

BOBBY MACKEY’S MUSIC WORLD
Despite the incredibly large number of historic and allegedly haunted locations in the world, finding the right people to share their experiences can be a challenge. I admit, before the interviews connected to this episode, I had not heard of Bobby Mackey’s Music World – the country’s most haunted honkytonk.

I am the first to admit that I should have known about this amazing location, especially since I’m doing this kind of work. But there are so many unique places to explore and discover, I’m happy to continuously pull back the curtain and dive into these places further.

This episode came about purely by accident. A friend of mine was connected to paranormal investigator Stephen Erkintalo via Facebook and encouraged me to reach out to him. I took his advice and was thrilled when Stephen returned my message and we dove right into paranormal investigations and historic locations.

After learning a bit about his unorthodox techniques used when investigating haunted locations, I asked Stephen about some of his favorite locations to visit in this space. He immediately brought up Bobby Mackey’s Music world and called the location his “paranormal home.”

We agreed on a time to connect for a formal interview and I started doing research the minute our conversation ended. Within minutes I was fully engrossed in an article written by Asher Elbein titled “Honky Tonk Haints” in The Bitter Southerner magazine.

The in-depth piece provided more information than all of my other research combined! On a whim I decided to email Asher. Within minutes we were in contact and scheduled our interview.

Both men were genuine, kind and full of knowledge about Bobby Mackey’s Music World and Bobby Mackey the man. Their combined investigations – one into the paranormal and one into the history and place itself – made for a perfect opportunity to share details of a unique location with listeners of Phantom History.

This episode was one of the first ones I recorded after nearly a year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the perfect relaunch space for me.

I love country music. I love anything paranormal. And when I get a chance to visit, I have no doubt that I’ll also love Bobby Mackey’s Music World.