History & local legend
McGillin’s Olde Ale House has served Philadelphia from Drury Street since 1860. Its ghost tradition is associated with Catherine “Ma” McGillin, one of the tavern’s original owners, who is imagined as maintaining an interest in the business she helped establish.
In a 2017 interview reported by PhillyVoice, general manager Christopher Mullens Jr. described flickering lights, objects moving, and pots apparently flying without an obvious cause. He said people at the bar attributed such incidents to Ma McGillin.
