HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Montclair's 1930s neighborhood bar, home to the 'Death Chair' where a beloved basketball coach died during Super Bowl XVI — and where bartenders report footsteps from an empty second floor.
134-138 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ 07042
Research updated September 2026
Age
21+
Cost
Free
Bar prices apply. No admission fee.
Access
Limited Access
Older bar building with two floors and a staircase; the ground floor has two doors accessible from the Valley Road sidewalk; no elevator.
Equipment
Photos OK
Montclair neighborhood institution since the 1930s · Site of Frank 'Finn' Tracey's 1982 death · Seton Hall Prep basketball history · Subject of documented paranormal investigation (2013)
Tierney's Tavern at 134-138 Valley Road in Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey, has operated as a family-owned neighborhood bar since 1934, when the Tierney family made the current location their home (the family had lived there since the 1890s). Montclair's historic preservation plan dates the current tavern building to 1955, built as an extension of the circa-1900 home at 134 Valley Road; an earlier Tierney's tavern, built in 1913, stood across the street at 137 Valley Road. The tavern became a fixture in the Montclair community over subsequent decades, occupying a building whose second floor has generated some of its more persistent unexplained reports.
The bar's local legend centers on Frank 'Finn' Tracey, who is documented as a pioneering coach at Seton Hall Prep — a Catholic high school in South Orange, New Jersey — where he helped establish the school's basketball program. According to the Montclair Local's 2013 reporting, Tracey was a regular at Tierney's and was seated in his customary spot near the jukebox when he suffered a fatal heart attack during Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982. The seat became known locally as the 'Death Chair.'
Following Tracey's death, bartenders and staff began reporting unexplained phenomena: footsteps audible on the empty second floor, shadow figures seen in the downstairs bar area, and the sound of bottle caps tinkling when the bar was otherwise quiet. The accounts accumulated over the thirty years between Tracey's death and the 2013 paranormal investigation.
In August 2013, Bearfort Paranormal — a New Jersey-based investigation group — conducted an overnight investigation at Tierney's, which was covered by both Montclair Local and Baristanet. The investigation produced audio and other data that the group cited in their report, though definitive evidence was not claimed.
Sources
The phenomena at Tierney's Tavern have been reported by bartenders and staff consistently since the early 1980s. Footsteps on the second floor — heard when no one is upstairs — are the most commonly reported experience. Staff describe the sound as deliberate and unhurried, as if someone were walking the length of the upper room.
Downstairs, witnesses have described seeing shadow figures in the bar area, peripheral shapes that do not correspond to any patron or staff member present. The tinkling of bottle caps has been heard in the downstairs bar when the area is otherwise quiet — a specific and odd detail that appears in multiple accounts.
The 2013 Bearfort Paranormal investigation, documented in reports filed by the group and covered by Montclair Local and Baristanet, was conducted overnight. John Tobia of Bearfort Paranormal led the investigation. The group's August 2013 report noted anomalous audio recordings and equipment responses during their session in the upstairs room.
Whether the activity is connected specifically to Finn Tracey or to some earlier history of the building is not established. Tracey's death was from natural causes and occurred in public; his association with the 'Death Chair' reflects the community's affection for him as much as any dark legacy.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Where this legend is told
Tierney's Tavern is an active neighborhood bar. The 'Death Chair' — the seat near the jukebox where Frank 'Finn' Tracey reportedly suffered a fatal heart attack during Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982 — remains in place. Staff and regular customers are familiar with the bar's haunted reputation and the Bearfort Paranormal investigation conducted in August 2013.
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