‘What a pointless ghost!’: Jake and Spike question spooky Pike Place Market footage

A Pike Place Market shop’s security footage sparked a Halloween debate on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio: Were the shapes moving across the screen spirits, or simply bugs?

KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill leaned toward the less supernatural explanation, joking that The Raven’s Nest might be haunted by insects.

“What a pointless ghost!” Jake said.

The footage came from security cameras at the jewelry and antiques shop following a summertime break-in, according to Seattle Now & Then, which was published in The Seattle Times. Shop proprietor Conrad Steinbrueck interpreted the moving shapes as evidence of ghosts.

A believer meets a bug-shaped mystery

Spike opened the discussion by expressing an interest in the supernatural.

“I want to believe,” Spike said.

He also recalled living in what he described as a haunted home, saving the details for another pre-Halloween discussion.

But The Raven’s Nest footage did not convince him.

“Boy, they sure look like bugs,” Spike said.

Comparing the footage with insects he had seen on other security cameras, Spike joked about the apparent size and movement of these supposed spirits.

“If those are ghosts flying around, they’re tiny little ghosts with wings,” he said.

Jake offered another possibility.

“Is it possible that it is a ghost of a fly?” Jake said.

The hosts imagined a squashed insect returning to haunt the shop — less a terrifying apparition than an annoying gnat.

A family connection to the market’s survival

The Raven’s Nest has a family connection to the preservation of Pike Place Market.

Matthew Steinbrueck founded the shop, which is now operated by his son Conrad, according to Seattle Now & Then. Matthew’s father, architect Victor Steinbrueck, helped lead the campaign to protect the market from redevelopment. Voters approved its preservation in 1971.

Jake also praised the atmosphere of the historic space, describing his affection for its connection to bygone eras.

Neither host, however, treated that atmosphere as proof that the shapes on the security footage were ghosts.

A haunting with merchandising potential

Jake suggested the shop could embrace the hosts’ explanation, whether or not it agreed with them.

“I think they should lean into this,” Jake said.

His idea: ghost-bug T-shirts celebrating a shop supposedly haunted by insects.

For Spike, an openness to unexplained phenomena did not mean accepting every spooky video. For Jake, this particular mystery offered more comedy than chills.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3