A hidden gem of a bar is in the basement of this classic Victorian home that was once occupied by one of Santa Monica’s most prominent families. Built in 1892 near Wilshire and Ocean, the entire house was moved in 1973 to its current location in the neighborhood of Ocean Park. Allegedly, its former deceased residents moved with it.

Photo from The Victorian's website.

Numerous eyewitnesses have reported the dark form of a man within the houses numerous rooms and hallways. Richard Carradine speculates this could be home’s original owner, Dr. George I. Kyte, a ranking member of the Southern California Masonic Lodge.

“Did that secret society conduct secret ceremonies within this innocuous-looking building’s walls?” he wonders. “Were men in dark, hooded robes practicing possibly pagan rituals in the same rooms where diners eat today?”

As was custom in his time, Kyte’s held the funeral ceremonies for his wife inside the home, which could also be the source of the haunting. But be careful who you ask about those stories.

Management working the first floor of the house, which is mainly used for wedding and special events, are wary of discussing any sort of supernatural activity in the house. But if you order a drink from the basement bar below, you may find a bartender more willing to share a tale of what they see and hear after closing.

If you’re looking for the Basement Bar, heed the L.A. Times instructions on finding it:

To find Basement Tavern, you’ll have to enter around back, pass by the wafting stench of trash bins, navigate alongside a loading dock and then descend down a flight of stairs near an open kitchen, “Goodfellas”-style, into the dimly-lighted cellar decorated with a taxidermied deer head, pine floors, exposed cast-iron piping (painted red), turn-of-the-century scales, dark green couches and an entire wall of chalkboard.

2640 Main Street, Santa Monica

Source: The Ghost Hunters of Urban Los Angeles