Episode 55: Bobby Mackey's Music World

When you hear “most haunted nightclub in America”, many will instantly think of Bobby Mackey’s Music World. The original location in Wilder, Kentucky, has long been clouded in darkness. It began as a distillery and makeshift slaughterhouse, where countless cattle met their tragic end. But the horrors didn’t stop there. After the distillery closed, rumors came about that the land became a site for satanic rituals—some which included gruesome animal and even human sacrifices. Over the years, the area was marked by violent and horrific events—none more chilling than the beheading of a pregnant woman and the suicide of a dancer. In 1978, Bobby Mackey, a country music singer with dreams of owning a bar, purchased the building. Soon after the bar’s opening, Bobby’s wife Janet, the staff, and patrons began to experience unexplainable and sometimes violent occurrences. The hauntings that had plagued the property for decades seemed to have followed them into the bar. It’s said that the spirits of the past—and perhaps even demons—now roam Bobby Mackey’s Music World, scaring anyone who dares to enter, forever tethered to the land’s dark and haunted history. Did evil truly reside in the now demolished Bobby Mackey’s Music World?

 

Sources:

“The Ghosts of Bobby Mackey's” on Ghost City Tours (https://ghostcitytours.com/ghost-hunts/bobby-mackeys/haunted-bobby-mackeys/?srsltid=AfmBOorUiTXwKxTqIae9mEVG6F4QQN2bzKQpDCiJzbeMpQv-1d8U5hvl)

“RETRO FIND: Haunted nightclub with ‘portal to hell’ was scene of gruesome 19th century murder” by Eric Jones on WBAL TV on October 23, 2023 (https://www.wbaltv.com/article/bobby-mackey-s-haunted-retro/45598656)

“The Haunting History of Bobby Mackey’s: An Introduction” by Jess Tedrick on Medium on October 9, 2020 (https://tedrickje.medium.com/the-haunting-history-of-bobby-mackeys-an-introduction-279e523ff1cd)

“Honky-Tonk Haints” by Asher Elbein on The Bitter Southerner (https://bittersoutherner.com/honky-tonk-haints)

“Bobby Mackey’s Music World: A Haunting Blend of Music and Mystery” by Monica Reed on Beaver 100.3 FM on October 7, 2024 (https://beaver1003.com/mornings/bobby-mackeys-music-world-a-haunting-blend-of-music-and-mystery/)

“Original Bobby Mackey's building, home to haunted history, demolished” by Fletcher Reel on WLWT 5 on December 10, 2024 (https://www.wlwt.com/article/bobby-mackeys-bar-haunted-demolition-wilder-kentucky/63145724)

“Bobby Mackey's historic nightclub gets demolished. See it here” by Grace Tucker on The Cincinnati Enquirer on December 11, 2024 (https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2024/12/11/look-bobby-mackeys-historic-kentucky-nightclub-demolished/76890416007/)

https://wilderky.gov/

Bobby Mackey’s Music World on The Little House of Horrors (https://thelittlehouseofhorrors.com/bobby-mackeys-music-world/)

https://creepycincinnati.com/2012/01/28/rip-carl-lawson/

“Bobby Mackey's Music World” on Paranormal Lockdown Season 3, Episode 4 on Discovery+

“Bobby Mackey's Music World” on Portals to Hell Season 1, Episode 3 on Discovery+