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Reported phenomena — as catalogued
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1910 Craftsman house near ASU where forks fly off tables and the original owners are said to still dance upstairs at 4 a.m.
850 S. Ash Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Full-service restaurant and bar; food and drink purchases. No separate admission.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor dining and bar accessible; upstairs dining room via staircase
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1910 · W.A. Moeur House — Tempe Historic Building · Moeur Family — Arizona Gubernatorial Connection · Continuous Commercial Operation Since 1973
William A. Moeur and his wife Mary built their home at the corner of Ninth and Ash in 1910, on a quiet residential block close to what was then the Arizona Territorial Normal School — later Arizona State University. William was an established figure in Tempe civic life, instrumental in organizing the town's first school board, and the family maintained the house as a private residence for nearly six decades.
William died in 1929, reportedly from a cerebral hemorrhage, near the fireplace on the ground floor. Mary continued living in the house through the 1940s and died in the upstairs bedroom of natural causes. After Mary's death, the house changed hands and briefly operated, according to local accounts, as a site of less reputable commerce before being converted into a restaurant in 1973 under the name Ninth and Ash. In 1986 it was sold again and rebranded as Casey Moore's Oyster House, an Irish pub and seafood restaurant that became one of the most recognized bars in the Phoenix metro area. Travel and Leisure magazine ranked it among America's most haunted bars.
William's brother Benjamin B. Moeur served as Arizona's Governor during the Depression years from 1933 to 1937 — a family connection that gives the otherwise modest residential structure an outsized place in state history. The building retains its original Craftsman-influenced exterior and has operated continuously as a restaurant for more than fifty years.
Sources
The haunting reports at Casey Moore's Oyster House divide into two distinct threads. The first involves William and Mary Moeur, the original owners, whose deaths in the house — William near the fireplace in 1929, Mary in the upstairs bedroom in the 1940s — anchor the most frequently reported activity. Staff arriving before dawn have described seeing a glowing light in the upstairs windows that, when investigated by police, had no physical source. The same upstairs space generates reports of forks launching off tables, furniture found rearranged from the night before, and lamps swaying without air movement. Apparitions of a man and woman, described in period dress and identified by witnesses as the Moeurs, have been reported dancing near the windows around 4 a.m.
The second thread involves a dark-haired woman seen in the kitchen area, attributed in local folklore to a woman named Sarah who was allegedly murdered during a period when the house reportedly operated as a bordello between the family era and its conversion to a restaurant. There is no documented historical record confirming this murder or the individual named Sarah; the story circulates through paranormal websites and oral tradition but lacks a verifiable primary source.
The restaurant has been covered by multiple news outlets for its haunted reputation. A glowing unexplained light in the upstairs windows was investigated by Tempe police on at least one occasion, with no source identified.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Casey Moore's operates as a full Irish pub and seafood restaurant Monday through Sunday. The upstairs dining room — converted from the Moeur family's original bedroom — is where staff and patrons most frequently report paranormal activity including furniture movement and apparitions of the original owners. Tables are available walk-in or by reservation.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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