Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
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Beneath the lively streets of Portland, Oregon lies a dark and eerie underworld — a hidden labyrinth of brick-lined tunnels, secret trapdoors, and crumbling passageways known as the Shanghai Tunnels. Once part of a bustling system that connected the city’s waterfront saloons and hotels to the Willamette River docks, these tunnels were the backdrop for one of the most sinister and chilling chapters in Portland’s history.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Portland was considered one of the most dangerous port cities in the United States. It was during this time that the practice of shanghaiing — the kidnapping of men to serve as forced labor aboard ships — reached terrifying heights. Unsuspecting victims were often drugged or knocked unconscious in local bars, then dropped through trapdoors into the tunnels below. There, they were held in underground holding cells, sometimes for days, before being dragged through the tunnels to the docks and sold to ship captains as unpaid crew for long voyages across the Pacific.
Women were not safe either. Tales of sex trafficking, brothels, and illegal gambling dens lurk in the oral histories of the tunnels, adding layers of darkness to an already disturbing past. The air underground is damp and stale, and the silence is broken only by the echo of your own footsteps. Some say it’s also broken by ghostly whispers.
Paranormal investigators and curious tourists alike have reported spine-tingling encounters in the tunnels: disembodied voices, the sounds of chains dragging along the floor, sudden temperature drops, and shadow figures lurking just out of sight. Some claim to have felt tugging at their clothes, as if unseen hands were trying to pull them deeper into the darkness. Others report an overwhelming feeling of dread or nausea, as though the walls themselves are heavy with suffering.
One of the most well-known spirits said to haunt the tunnels is that of a man named Sam, a supposed shanghai victim who never made it out. He’s often seen in one of the old holding cells, his presence marked by flickering lights and cold spots. Visitors also report hearing faint cries for help, or footsteps following close behind — only to turn and find no one there.
Today, sections of the tunnels are open to the public via guided tours that delve into Portland’s seedy and supernatural past. But be warned — the stories aren’t for the faint of heart, and the tunnels themselves, even with lights and guides, remain deeply unsettling. The past may be buried, but in Portland’s underbelly, it’s far from forgotten.
