The Golden Tiki in Las Vegas, Nevada
A Tiki Paradise With a Poltergeist Problem
Just off the neon roar of the Strip, tucked along Spring Mountain Road in Las Vegas’s Chinatown, The Golden Tiki feels like a secret portal. From the outside it is almost unassuming, but once you step in, you are surrounded by glowing portholes, tropical shrines, pirate treasure vibes, and enough carved faces staring from the shadows to make you double-check what you saw out of the corner of your eye.
People come for the rum drinks, the spectacle, and the pure escapism. But if you ask around long enough, you will hear another reason some guests keep coming back:
The Golden Tiki has a reputation for activity that goes way beyond themed décor.
A Modern Bar Built to Feel Like Old Vegas
The Golden Tiki opened in 2015, but it was designed as a love letter to Las Vegas’s classic tiki era, when places like Aku Aku at the Stardust were part of the city’s cocktail mythology. The bar openly nods to that lineage, with drinks and references that signal it is not just “tiki-inspired,” it is tiki-committed.
It is the kind of place where every object looks like it came with a story attached. Which, depending on who you ask, might be part of the problem.
The Golden Tiki’s haunted reputation got loud enough that Ghost Adventures investigated it, drawn by the steady stream of reports that sound like classic poltergeist territory: sudden disturbances, things shifting without explanation, and an uneasy feeling in certain areas of the room.
Whether you believe in paranormal TV or not, the fact that the bar is known for these stories tells you something important: people are having experiences here, and they are talking about them.
Paranormal Activity at The Golden Tiki
Plenty of haunted bars have one famous story. The Golden Tiki has clusters of stories, and what makes the reports compelling is that the details keep pointing back to the same zones inside the bar.
During my visit, I talked with Sharon (also known as Candy), and they shared some of the “most repeated” experiences guests and staff have reported.
Common claims include:
- The middle table in the back: one of the glass tabletops reportedly exploded without warning.
- The table all the way in the back: staff say objects have moved on their own, the kind of subtle shift that makes everyone stop and scan the room.
- A booth at the back of the bar: a couple took a photo when there “wasn’t anyone there,” and then immediately showed the staff because they believed they caught something in the picture.
- The bathrooms: people report
hearing someone in the bathroom when no one is there, including voices or movement in an otherwise empty space.
Any one of these stories could be explained away. Glass can fail. Photos can glitch. Sounds carry strangely in busy spaces. But taken together, the accounts create a pattern that feels familiar to anyone who has spent time collecting bar-haunting lore: repeat locations, repeat experiences, and a sense that something “shares the room.”
Why The Golden Tiki Belongs on America’s Most Haunted Bars
When we talk about haunted bars, we usually picture century-old saloons or buildings with a tragic backstory. The Golden Tiki is different. It is modern, but it is dense with lore, and the hauntings people report are the kind that feel immediate and physical.
What earns it a spot on America’s Most Haunted Bars is the consistency of the reports:
- Stories that keep returning to the same tables and corners, including the back of the room.
- Poltergeist-style activity, from unexplained movement to sudden breakage.
- Bathroom encounters that leave people questioning what they just heard.
And then there is the bar’s cabinet-of-curiosities side, where tiki fantasy blends into something darker. The Golden Tiki has even claimed that a portion of Aleister Crowley’s ashes is among the artifacts inside the bar. Add in the bar’s notorious mermaid oddity (the kind of thing you would expect to be fake, until you are standing there staring at it), and you get the perfect haunted-bar recipe: a place designed to feel like an escape, with just enough “what is that doing here?” energy to make you wonder what else came in with the décor.
Visiting The Golden Tiki
f you want to experience it for yourself, here is what to know:
- Location: 3939 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV
- Known for: elaborate tiki cocktails, immersive décor, Vegas tiki nostalgia
- Best time to visit for ghost vibes: late evening on a quieter night
- Ghost-hunting tip: if you can, sit near the back tables and pay attention to the “small stuff,” like objects shifting, unexplained sounds, or that feeling that someone is standing just out of view.
See it in person
The Golden Tiki is the kind of place where you can come for a drink and leave with a story, even if you did not expect one. And if you hear footsteps where there should be none, or voices behind a bathroom door that opens to an empty room… well, welcome to the club.
Because in Las Vegas, even paradise can be haunted.
