St Andrew’s Inn

St. Andrew's Inn occupies a significant position within Chicago's paranormal folklore and paranormal tourism landscape. The establishment's history extends backward into the mid-twentieth century, when the structure served as the Edinburgh Castle Pub, a Scottish tavern that catered to patrons during the post-World War II era of American social development and urban entertainment culture. The pub's proprietor during this influential period was Frank Giff, a figure whose distinctive personality and behavioral patterns became integral to the subsequent haunting narrative that would define the location's paranormal reputation for decades.

Frank Giff was characterized in accounts of his life as an outgoing and personable businessman, known for his considerable hospitality skills and ability to make customers feel welcomed within his establishment. However, Giff harbored a notable vulnerability to alcohol—specifically vodka, which served as his preferred alcoholic beverage. Accounts describe him regularly consuming this spirit to the point of intoxication, often retiring to one of the booth seating areas to drink himself into states of profound inebriation. The pattern of his behavior—the social affability during business hours giving way to private consumption and diminished capacity—suggests an individual struggling with alcoholism during an era when such struggles were less openly discussed and treated than in contemporary society.

The circumstances of Frank Giff's death have become subject to multiple interpretations typical of folklore evolution around significant events. The most commonly repeated account suggests that Giff's wife Edna discovered him deceased in the morning following a night of excessive vodka consumption. The most frequently cited cause of death is alcohol poisoning, a terminal consequence of his consumption patterns. An alternative explanation offered in some versions proposes that Giff, in his intoxicated state, fell from one of the bar stools where he customarily sat, striking his head with sufficient force to cause fatal injury. Regardless of the precise mechanism, accounts emphasize the role of alcohol in his demise.

Following his death in the 1950s–1960s period, the establishment underwent transformation in both ownership and operational focus while maintaining its fundamental character as a tavern and social gathering space. The building eventually became known as St. Andrew's Inn, reflecting a shift in thematic orientation. It was during the period following this transition that paranormal phenomena associated with Frank Giff's continued presence allegedly began manifesting with increasing frequency and consistency.

The poltergeist-type activity reported concentrates heavily on objects in motion and electronic disturbances, consistent with entities attempting to communicate or exercise influence in environments where they formerly held agency and control. Glassware is reported to move autonomously, flying through the air with sufficient force to shatter against surfaces. Bottles of vodka and other alcoholic beverages vanish from secured locations, occasionally reappearing in unexpected places. The bar's cash register, positioned on a rotating lazy Susan mechanism, has been frequently reported to move of its own volition. Portable objects throughout the bar space are described as moving, sliding, or being displaced by unseen forces, with concentration of phenomena in drinking and socializing areas—particularly around the bar stools and booths where Giff spent his final years.

Accounts describe tactile contact with patrons, with individuals reporting sensations of unseen hands touching them, characteristically on knees or legs in a cool, caressing manner rather than aggressive contact. Some describe the touch as welcoming or friendly, suggesting the spirit's interactive impulses operate on a spectrum from benign to potentially inappropriate. The paranormal reputation, rather than proving detrimental to business operations, reportedly enhanced the establishment's commercial viability by attracting ghost tour groups and paranormal enthusiasts. The haunting became a recognized feature of Chicago's paranormal geography.