The much-loved Titlow Tavern and Grille at 92 West Main Street in Uniontown, Pennsylvania is known for many things. Italian pizza, rotisserie chicken, sushi, top notch dining in the Grille, a great selection of beers, good music, the historical and welcoming atmosphere, and a rich, varied history.

When my friends’ (Jeff and John May) parents, Jeanie and Charlie May bought the Titlow Hotel, we were teenagers. John had just gotten his license and to the Titlow we went. We were 16 or 17 and we walked right into a bar full of elderly, shot and beer drinking men. It was evening. They were telling stories to Charlie May, who smiled when he saw us, a smile that is sorely missed.

I knew nothing of the Titlow or the area’s history at this that beyond what I knew about the changes Ohiopyle was going through.

Over the years, I got to know a few of the old timers who lived and drank at the Titlow. The upper floors were apartments, and they gave the Titlow business from 7am to closing time.

To understand the tenacity, talent and elbow grease it has taken for the Mays to turn what was a wino hotel during the early seventies into today’s Titlow Tavern & Grille, you maybe had to be there. There was a hallway between the tavern and the Fireside Room at the time and the restrooms smelled indescribably putrid. I ALWAYS had to put my hand over my nose and mouth when running through the side door past the men’s room.

The May’s decided that they wanted to bring the Titlow back to its earlier glory and they did George Titlow proud. I say all this to get to a point (hopefully).

George Titlow bought the Frost House in 1905 and acquired its first liquor license for the enterprise. He solicited Coal and Steel Barons and they invested in the Titlow Hotel. George also bought the Lingo Block adjacent to the Frost House on the west side. He extended the building upward four floors and back to Peter Street. His grand opening on May 16, 1906 brought 1500 guests between 5 and 11pm. It was the most luxurious hotel in the region. George sold the hotel during prohibition saying that he could not run a hotel without spirits.

So, when the May’s bought the Titlow Hotel, in the early 1970’s, it had accumulated over 60 years of history. Sixty years of people passing away on occasion in the hotel rooms and apartments. Jeff can even recall a hanging there around 1975. A man came downstairs and asked Charlie May for money for a quart of beer saying if he didn’t get it he would kill himself. He was refused. He went upstairs and hanged himself from the transom above the door in his apartment!

Through the years, people who have worked and lived at the Titlow have had "experiences" that they consider paranormal. One longtime employee, whose mother worked there when she was growing up, refused to go back to the second floor for some time after one particular scare.

On a Saturday night in August, 2008, I met Jeff, 2 of my family members, and the Peace of Mind Paranormal Society, in front of the Titlow. I had told Jeff about my upcoming book, Haunted Laurel Highlands, and he wanted the building to be investigated. He had paranormal groups come through the building before, but had never had much results. Armed with their high tech equipment, Jeff showed the group around the first floor and basement, and sent them with me to tour the upper floors.

I will not go into detail here about the results of the investigation, but yes, the Titlow seems haunted to me. We have images, electronic voice recordings, and many of us had individual experiences throughout the evening. I had taken my own new digital recorder with me and used it all night. This was the first time I had used it and was not even sure I knew how. During the 6 hours we investigated, I roamed the upper floors, asking the spirits questions. I never heard answers that night, but I have FIVE answers on the recorder. Oh yes, I do. I got a chill all over just typing that!

Another indisputable thing that happened was this. Most of the team was in the Titlow Grille dining room while others explored the basement. As Don, the head of the group, spoke, asking the spirits for a sign, my nephew , who was facing me and the kitchen door, yelled, "The stove popped on! The middle one first. Look!" The pilot lights of 4 of the gas stove’s burners had shot up to 3 inches - all with multiple flames. We brought in a few of the staff who, along with Jeff, acknowledged that that was definitely not "normal." The pilot lights stayed that way for some time. Who is running that stove, eh? There is much more to tell, but don’t just go there to be near those happy spirits. They are happy. Two of them told me so on my recorder!