The Shanghai Tunnels are a notorious place, located deep
underneath the streets of Portland, Oregon. Many of the businesses that are in
Portland are connected by the tunnels and have openings to the tunnels in the
basements of the buildings. There tunnels are a mysteriously haunting place. It
is said in, The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels
in Portland, Oregon, the art of shanghaiing occurred in these tunnels
dating all the way back to the 1850’s and ended somewhere around the 1940’s.
This article also states that Shanghaiing was the act of stealing men that
would wander around in the tunnels at night, or would enjoy a few or more
drinks at that bars that are above the tunnels, many of these men would be
taken and sold to ship owners. The owners of these ships would pick out
“able-bodied men” and use them on their ships as slaves (The Portland
Underground FAQ).
According to, The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon, unfortunately,
not all of the people stolen in the tunnels were male, some of them were
females, sold as prostitutes to work on the ships one of which is a woman named
Nina is said to haunt the tunnels underneath “Old Town Pizza.”
It is said by locals that Nina was a prostitute who was drugged one night and
thrown down the shaft to the tunnels. This fall was fatal, and now it is said
her ghost haunts the tunnels and the scent of perfume still lingers in the air
(The Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon). In fact, there is a carving
that says “Nina” into the brick in one of the passageways said to have been
there since the tunnels were first used for shanghaiing (Haunt in Shanghai
Tunnels Portland). According to, The
Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon, she is not the only ghost
that is said to haunt these tunnels,
“Many individuals who walk the tunnels in Portland have stated that
they have heard moans, talking, screaming, and even the sound of crying. While
it is believed that many of these sounds may be a result of the energy expelled
in the area, and may be residual based hauntings, there are many who firmly
believe that these are the sounds of truly intelligent hauntings. The opinion
is carried that these intelligent hauntings realize that they have been trapped
in the tunnels and because most do not know how they got into the tunnels to
start with, they have a difficult time finding their way out.”
This is possible with the belief in ghosts, and
the supernatural. I believe that many people might experience more supernatural
occurrences with the belief in ghosts. Is it possible that ghosts exist, or are
people simply seeing something that they chalk up to the belief in ghosts? In
the article, Poll: Majority Belief in
Ghosts, when asked if people believe in ghosts 48% of people said yes,
while 45% said no, this shows that more people believe in the supernatural.
This could, perhaps, explain why people take tours of these tunnels.
 |
| A collection of boots found in the tunnels taken from the Ghost Adventures visit. |
Today, tours are given in the tunnels by a
number of tour groups. This leaves me to question the beliefs of many people;
perhaps they take tours because they like to be scared, they are a skeptic, or
a true believer. As you walk through the tunnels I can imagine what it was like
back in the 1900’s, filled with a musty smells, with hints of alcohol and
perfume. You could possible hear the moans of the soon to be sailors, and the
prostitutes. Many people believe that if you walked through these tunnels
during this time period you would not see any of this, in fact, many believe
shanghaiing did not exist at all (Mellema). This is left to be decided by the
individual, but I believe once experiencing the eeriness of these tunnels one
cannot help but form an opinion.
Works Cited:
Alfano,
Sean. "Poll: Majority Believe In Ghosts." CBSNews. CBS
Interactive, 11 Feb. 2009. Web.
14 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500160_162-994766.html>
"Ghost
Adventures: Shanghai Tunnels Pictures." Travel
Channel. Travel Channel, n.d. Web. 19
Oct. 2012.
<http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/ghost-adventures/photos/ghost-adventures-shanghai-tunnels-pictures>.
"Haunt
in Shanghai Tunnels Portland, Or 97201 Portland,
OREGON Multnomah Haunt." Haunt in
Shanghai Tunnels Portland, Or 97201 Portland, OREGON Multnomah Haunt. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. <http://www.strangeusa.com/Viewlocation.aspx?id=8136>
The
Haunted Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, Oregon." The Haunted
Shanghai Tunnels In Portland,
Oregon.
Haunted Places to Go, 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.haunted-places-to-go.com/shanghai-tunnels.html>
Mellema,
Valerie. "Portland Underground: The Shanghai
Tunnels."
Portland Underground: The
Shanghai Tunnels.
Legends of America, 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/or-shanghai.html>
"The
Portland Underground FAQ." The Secrets of the Tunnels. N.p., n.d. Web. 16
Oct. 2012. <http://shanghaitunnels.info/>
"Shanghai
Tunnels." Spooky Places.
N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.
<http://spookyplaces.us/place/shanghai-tunnels-portland-oregon/>.
Links for Further Research:
Portland
Walking Tours
This
site gives more information on booking tours through the Shanghai Tunnels.
Oregon. Com
This
article gives extra information on the Shanghai Tunnels and extra pictures.
News
Channel 8 Shanghai Tunnels reveal Portland's sinister history
This
article gives a brief history of the Shanghai Tunnels and what occurred here.
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