Pitchers and Pints Brew House - Pineville, LA (The Woman in Black)

3231 Hwy 28 East

Pineville, LA 71360

31.334041,-92.390666

            One of the most popular hangout spots in the Pineville area is the Pitchers and Pints Brew House. The city is in short supply of watering holes since the restrictions of being a “dry city” have been recently lifted. Still, the Brew House is a great place for a quick beer and a game of pool. Prior to the building being a bar, it was known as Sister’s Restaurant and was owned by the parents of my co-founder and long-time friend, Brandon Thomas. Prior to being a successful restaurant, this place was host to many businesses such as a floral shop, veterinary clinic, insurance office and a furniture store. The building was originally a private residence, built sometime in the 1960’s. During this time, the original owner was conducting bull-dozing work near the home when a freak accident caused a tree limb to fall off the dozer, decapitating him!
            Prior to knowing Brandon, I had frequented the restaurant as the food was quite good. Once I met Brandon in 2005, he would not only tell me that the restaurant belonged to his family, which would now enable me to get some great free food, but also that the restaurant had long been rumored as being haunted. As we were just starting out with Louisiana Spirits, we would often use the restaurant as our training grounds, along with many of the local cemeteries. I was always more fond of investigating here as it was climate-controlled, spider-free and we had an endless supply of food at our disposal! In addition to all those perks, the restaurant did have its fair share of activity. On numerous occasions, we would be alone in the building and we could hear stacks of plates in the kitchen start to rattle as if they were moving on their own.

            The main resident haunting here is a young woman in a long black dress. For years, she has been seen wandering through the kitchen and dining area. Many who have seen her have described her as having long black hair, often appearing as if she is soaking wet. Cooks and waitresses have quit upon seeing her. In one memorable encounter, a new employee was using the restroom. As she sat in one of the bathroom stalls, she noticed the latch lift up and unlock on its own. The poor girl sprung from off the toilet and bolted out of the restroom with her pants still around her knees! She would never return to the restaurant again. Several guests had also reported seeing this woman walking by and mysteriously passing through the wall. On several occasions the alarm system had been activated, and when cleared, the alarm company stated that the system detected a "human figure.” When police arrived, they would find no one in the building and no signs of attempted entry were detected.
            Once we had established Louisiana Spirits and acquired some legitimate investigators, we would return to the restaurant to investigate. We would turn to the help of our friends, a husband and wife duo, who were both legitimate sensitives and could accurately detect the presence of a spirit in a given location. As I have mentioned, we have used one or both of these individuals when visiting the Deridder Gothic Jail and the Old Defosse Home. Without giving them any history of the location or of the descriptions of the entity, we brought our friends to the restaurant to see what they could detect. They quickly picked up on a strong female presence radiating from the seating area, back to the dry food storage area. A slight detection of a young girl was also felt, but it was determined she wasn't a permanent fixture. When our friend was asked to give a description of the woman, she was observed wearing a long dark dress and appeared to be soaking wet! I would say that is a pretty accurate description by any accounts!
            Further research of the property taught us that to the rear of the restaurant, only a couple hundred feet, was a small body of water known as Bayou Maria. The water is merely a stream by today’s accounts but during the nineteenth century, Bayou Maria was one of the major channels of water in the area, allowing merchants and travelers alike to easily maneuver through the city, through the Bayou Maria Basin, ultimately emerging into the mighty Red River, which could take individuals anywhere in the state. Consider Bayou Maria as a back alley way if comparing to a major street system. It is unknowing as to what sorts of dastardly acts may or may not have taken place along these backwaters but the odds are definitely there.
            Without telling our sensitive friends about this discovery, we would return for a nighttime visit of the restaurant and we would once again, bring them along. Early into the investigation, we entered the dry food storage area, which was where our friends first sighted the woman in black. We noticed a drop in temperature, followed by a brief EMF spike. At his time, one of our sensitives was able to obtain a visual of the young woman. The eye contact was very brief, but she was able to get a little more detail. From her recollection, the young woman’s name was Charlotte and she had drowned in nearby waters. Like I said, our friends knew nothing of the history nor did they know about the now near-extinct body of water to the rear of the building. I have always had my doubts about people who claim they are sensitive, as there are many charlatans out there. However, such as with this case, when people are able to give you such a detailed report of something that you know they knew nothing about, you cannot help but be fascinated. Charlotte then quickly retreated, not being encountered the rest of the night. Throughout the remainder of the investigation, things would stay quite calm.
            Today, as the music blares and patrons enjoy a few beers over a game of pool or darts, they are either too busy or too inebriated to notice any strange events at the bar. However, this does not mean that the hauntings have subsided. On several occasions, we have spoken with the new owners of the building and they have indeed confirmed that they, as well as fellow co-workers, have had unexplainable experiences during late hours when customers have left for the night. When asked where the ghostly encounters were mostly experienced, they all said the back portion of the kitchen area, which was the dry food storage area during the times as a restaurant. When also asked, “What

Description theorizing why ghosts appear to
travel through objects without acknowledgement
of their surroundings.

did you see?”, we were not surprised to hear the description of a woman with long black hair wearing a long black dress. After we asked if the woman appeared to be wet, the manager promptly asked, “How did you know!?” 
            In my opinion, I feel that the resident haunting, Charlotte, is simply a residual energy of a tragic event that took place here years ago. Either accidental or intentional, her death involved water in some way or another, whether she drowned or her body was disposed of here. The fact that she seemed to be contained primarily in the area where the dried food storage area was in, is not an uncommon event, especially with a residual haunting. With this type of energy, they are unaware of their surroundings. This portion of the building was added on in later years and it is uncertain as to what stood here prior to the remodeling. Another good example of this is when a spirit is witnessed walking through a home’s wall or they are only seen from the waist on up, as if they are walking ground level on a raised home. Further research would show that the home either had walls or additional rooms added or the spirit is attached to a previous home that was built on the ground. The residual energy is obviously unaware of the renovations, as they are simply etchings in time. They aimlessly roam around, reliving their past lives, not acknowledging any refurbishments such as new walls or elevated floors.