The Four Most Haunted Spots in Oregon Wine Country
by Nicole Groessel
The Willamette Valley is well-known as one of the most favored grape-growing regions in the world. But the lush, rolling hills of wine country aren’t only popular with tipplers. The end of the Oregon Trail has a long and dark history that’s drawn paranormal enthusiasts from all over the world.
Drink with the dead at Argyle Winery
Known for its selection of award-winning sparkling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, Dundee’s Argyle Winery has a rambunctious ghost whose presence has been felt and heard by a number of employees. In 1908, Lena Elsie Imus committed suicide in the old City Hall building, in what would later become a tasting room. Staff have reported the scent of flowers and perfume, lights turning on and off by themselves, the sound of wine glasses shattering yet no fragments found and footsteps in a vacant upstairs room. A service technician was so shaken from his experience that he vowed never to return. But, overall, employees and locals believe Lena is a good, “gentle” spirit, even naming their Spirithouse Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in her honor. She’s buried alongside her parents and brothers at Pioneer Cemetery, where her headstone reads “Not Dead, But Gone Before.”