2526 E. 17th Ave,
Spokane, Washington

If you were to write a fictional ghost story rife with cliches, with secret passageways, a mysterious death, a legend of buried treasure and ghostly screams coming from a dark and empty house, then the Hahn Mansion might serve as a wonderful source of inspiration. In fact, you wouldn't have to make it all that "fictional". I'm still researching the house, and I hope to have the opportunity to investigate it further. Here's what I know so far...

The story begins in 1916. After the death of her husband, a woman named Sarah Hecla-Smith had the three-story house built at a cost of $75,000. Nothing really spectacular happened until the house was bought by Rudolph A. Hahn in 1924

Hahn was one of those "Road To Wellville" types. He was a painter and barber by profession, yet he made his fortune as a "Doctor" (he wasn't licensed). The type of Doctor commonly seen around the turn-of-the-century who would administer electro-therapy as a cure for cancer. He made most of his money, though, performing abortions for wealthy women. This he did in the basement of the house, the "gutters" carved in the floor to facilitate the draining of blood are still visible in the basement floor. Hahn was also known for his eccentric behavior. He was often seen walking the streets of downtown wearing a nice suit, with a pair of bedroom slippers. There were wild parties, fights with his wife Sylvia, and neighbors. Even during the prohibition era, the drunken antics of Hahn were legendary. On one occasion, he was so drunk he drove his car into the swimming pool. To make sure there wouldn't be a repeat of this, he had the pool filled in. In the late 1920's to the early 1930's, Hahn devloped an obsession with radio, so intense was his love of it that he hung large speakers around his house, which would blare the merry melodies of KFPY well into the wee hours of the morning. It took a court order to put a stop to this.

His marriage to Sylvia was hardly idyllic. There were screaming fights, which often escalated into fisticuffs. One particualr slobberknocker left Mr. Hahn nursing three broken ribs. They had divorced once, and then re-married. They almost divorced a second time, but reconciled. One night in May of 1940 his wife supposedly decided she'd had enough. Police found her body on the bedroom floor. She had died of a gunshot wound to the head. It's rumored that she wound up missing her brain, and would lay alone on the bedroom room floor slowly bleeding to death. The death was ruled a suicide, but some harbored a suspicion that Hahn himself had either pulled the trigger, or had hired someone to do it for him.

In 1945, at age 80, Hahn was convicted of manslaughter in the death of a young woman on whom he'd performed an abortion. He was fined $1000 and given probation. He was forced to sell his home. He moved into the New Madison Apartments.

On August 6th, 1946 Rudolph Hahn was found dead in his apartment, a bayonet sunk deep into his chest. One Delbert Visger was arrested and confessed to killing Hahn during a robbery. The house sat empty during most of the 60's and 70's, and during that time, there were reports of screams eminating from the decaying old house. The house was eventually bought and restored. The first people to live in the house after it's restoration told stories of yelling and fighting coming from the downstairs, when no one was down there. Sometimes more cheerful voices would echo from the empty dining room or living room, sounding to one former tenant "like a big party". Dark shapes have been seen moving along the walls, and one former tenant reported seeing a woman standing at the top of the stairs... only to disappear after a few seconds. There are also reports of doors slamming and windows opening seemingly on their own, and - possibly worst of all - a blood stain that would appear on the bedroom carpet. No amount of scrubbing would remove it, it would later vanish, only to be seen again in time .

The house has changed owners 3 times since 1994. It's currently inhabited. No word on whether or not the current residents have had any strange happenings in the house. .