Sitting right next to the train tracks, it makes sense that Kate’s of Smithtown, a small bar in Long Island, New York, is one of the most haunted bars in the city, with a number of tragedies and a past in bootlegging.

Before it became a popular Irish pub, the area was a hospital that was rebuilt into a hotel that tragically burned down in 1909. By the 1920s, a new establishment was built on the site, a hotel that operated as a speakeasy during Prohibition and attracted some colorful characters.

According to Brian Karppinen, the owner of Katie’s, they get a frequent spectral visitor — Charlie Klein, a former local bootlegger who was the previous owner of the hotel that burned down. After some digging, Karppinen discovered that Klein took his own life in 1933 for fear of imprisonment after selling a drink to an IRS agent.

Inside ‘haunted’ abandoned mansion that belonged to one of America’s richest men

Spookiest states mapped as ghost sightings and unexplained mysteries haunt America

The Mirror visited Kate’s during the current spooky season to gauge the vibes in hopes of catching the ghost for a potential true crime piece. Though that didn’t quite work out, Kate’s ended up being a must-see historic spot.

Despite it’s history, Kate’s has a modern feel. Though the train tracks and establishments around have been developed, the area has largely kept the same layout, and that entire corner has kept its rich history of mob crimes, historic institutions, and raging fire deaths that have kept it a place of interest.

Karppinen claims the bar is frequented by a “gaggle of ghosts.” Staff members have witnessed flying glasses, and customers have reported seeing ghostly reflections in the mirrors in an interview with Newsday. And he also claims that once the ghost ‘saved’ him from falling.

But like many other sites around the country, the spectral stories come with the history. Tragedy first struck when the Trainor Hotel, which previously stood on the site, burned down in December 1909, possibly claiming a few lives.

A smaller version of Katies of Smithtown was built on the old foundation of the New York hotel, initially serving railroad passengers before expanding into a bar.

Carl “Charlie” Klein, who co-owned the hotel destroyed by fire in 1909 bounced back by establishing a service station for train passengers. This venture eventually expanded into a full-fledged bar and speakeasy during the roaring ’20s.

As the bartender, Charlie ensured a steady supply of his preferred tipple, beer, along with other alcoholic delights, sourcing them from mob connections who trafficked in booze.

To avoid arrest for running his illicit establishment, which was on the FBI’s radar, he turned informant, providing the agency with names of gangsters masquerading as federal agents, leading to numerous arrests. This was a risky move that often ended in a bloody way for snitches.

In a twist of fate, Charlie dodged a mob hit but met his downfall at the hands of an IRS agent right as Prohibition was ending. The agent’s request for a drink led to Charlie’s arrest, a prospect he couldn’t bear.

Facing jail time, the loss of his livelihood, and separation from his family, Charlie sadly took his own life. Though, the bar owner claims he never really left.

According to Newsweek, a short while after Karppinen bought Katies, he had a strange accident. While trying to fix the emergency door handle at the top of the stairs, it suddenly broke off, causing him to fall.

What could’ve been a tragic accident was prevented, Karappinen says, when “I felt something push me on my back forward, to keep me from falling.” So, to the owners, Charlie’s a benevolent haunter they don’t mind.

According to the experts at HauntedHouses.com, it is “believed that those who perish in fires may become attached to the land and return to inhabit any structure rebuilt on the original property, often attempting to carry on with their former jobs or activities.” Several spirits believed to frequent the location may have perished in the hotel fire.

Inside USA’s ‘most haunted city’ stalked by a dead bride, a British soldier and Blackbeard

Couple urged to move house after they make chilling discovery in attic

It’s said that those who perished here continue to haunt the property. Employees and patrons report spectral figures dressed in 19th-century attire wandering the bar, glasses flying off tables, and unexplained noises.

There are multiple accounts of encounters in the women’s restroom, where toilet seats have been reported to lift and bang when no one is present – though I didn’t experience any of that on a lively night filled with singing and dancing from a local Irish kids’ dance troup and a performance from local folk musicians.

There have also been reports of phantom footsteps echoing from the main bar floor while people are in the basement.

The bar gained notoriety when it was featured on the TV show Paranormal State in 2007. It later appeared on the Long Island Oddities website and the Long Island Paranormal Investigators website in 2008.

DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.