Entry No. 18 — the Columbus file — filed under: haunted
Char Bar
Operating out of an 1847 building that once served as a funeral parlor, this legendary dive bar's basement was once street-level and is rumored to have hosted Abraham Lincoln's body for a quick funeral procession touch-up. The basement is notoriously haunted, featuring a keyless piano that allegedly plays itself and a bricked-in doorway that once led to old subterranean tunnels.
The story
Long before 439 North High Street served cheap draft beer, it operated as an 1847 mortuary [1.1.5]. When Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train rolled into Columbus on April 29, 1865, on its long trek back to Springfield, the President’s body had been traveling for over a week. Local history holds that before Lincoln laid in state at the Ohio Statehouse rotunda, his casket made a brief stop at this exact funeral parlor for an emergency cosmetic touch-up.
If you wander into the basement today, you are actually standing on 19th-century ground level. City engineers later elevated High Street to carry traffic over the railroad tracks of old Union Station, effectively burying the building's original first floor. Look closely at the basement masonry and you can spot the bricked-in frame where the original front entrance once opened directly onto the street, along with sealed passages that once connected to subterranean city tunnels.
That underground layer is where the bar's eerie reputation lives. Tucked into the basement hallway near the restrooms sits a battered, keyless upright piano. Bartenders and closing-shift staff have long sworn that the instrument occasionally plays its own ghostly notes late at night in an empty room, keeping the mortuary's spirit alive beneath High Street.
What it's like
Expect a no-nonsense dive bar with low overhead lighting, pool tables, darts, and a tiny back patio pinned against a parking garage. Walk up to the bar and order their notoriously potent Long Island Iced Tea—it arrives fast, cheap, and strong enough to reset your evening plans. The real trick is taking your drink down the carpeted stairs into the dim basement: you'll pass the silent, keyless piano in the corridor, squeeze past the pastel-painted restrooms, and hunt for the brick outline of the original 1800s street door.
The move: Grab one of their notoriously strong Long Island Iced Teas, then head down to the basement to check out the creepy, keyless piano and look for the bricked-in frame of the original street-level door.
- 📍 Short North / Downtown
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 439 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Sacred Palm — Pair Char Bar's haunted mortuary history with a trip down the street to enter a hidden tropical tiki lounge concealed behind a walk-in freezer door.
- Sotto Terra at The Sanctuary — Continue your tour of subterranean hideaways by heading 0.4 miles away to this gothic basement lounge beneath a former 19th-century church.
- Christian Spiritualist Temple — Connect Char Bar's 1860s funeral train history with Columbus's authentic 19th-century Spiritualist heritage less than a mile away.
- Apt B — Follow up a dive-bar Long Island with a hidden cocktail tucked behind a false kitchen wall in the Short North.
Good to know
Did Abraham Lincoln's body actually come through here?
According to local historical lore, when Lincoln's funeral train stopped in Columbus in April 1865, his body was briefly brought to this 1847 mortuary for embalming touch-ups before laying in state at the Ohio Statehouse.
Why does the basement have a bricked-up doorway?
The current basement was originally the building's street-level entrance. High Street was raised in the 19th century to clear Union Station's train tracks, burying the original first floor and sealing off underground tunnels.
Is the piano downstairs really haunted?
The broken, keyless piano sitting in the basement hallway is a legendary fixture; staff and regulars claim to have heard keyless piano notes coming from it late at night.
What drink is Char Bar famous for?
Char Bar is locally famous for its remarkably strong and cheap Long Island Iced Teas.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: stepoutcolumbus.com · 614now.com · scoundrelsfieldguide.com · thelantern.com
last checked: 2026-07-21