With Halloween quickly approaching, high school student who have outgrown trick-or-treating are left with few activity options. They could attend a costume party, host a scary movie marathon or visit a staged haunted houses.
Or they could visit “real” haunted houses.
Kansas is home to several (allegedly) haunted cities and structures. Several of those infamous houses are in Atchison, but a few are closer to home. If you’re still looking for something to do on Halloween night, check out these places.
Ogg Bridge
Location: By Shawnee Mission Park, south of Midland Drive on the west side of I-435 Shawnee
A boy who lived near Ogg Road committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree by the Ogg Road bridge. The next day, the boy’s brother found his body. His brother then hung himself next to the boy. It is said that if someone is on the road at night they can see the brothers, hear strange noises or witness bizarre occurrences.
Stonewall Inn
Location: 10242 Pflumm Road, Lenexa
According to the legend, the manager puts away the tables and stacks the chairs at the end of the night to clean up for the next day, and then return to his office to finish work. It is said that when he comes back out, the tables and chairs are back in their business hours positions, moved by an unknown suspect.
Stull Cemetery
Location: Stull, about 10 miles outside of Lawrence
Often called a gateway to hell, Stull Cemetery is named as one of the most infamous haunted towns. The cemetery lies on the land of the remains of a church torn down in 2002. Claimed to be home to the devil’s son’s grave and visited by the devil himself on Halloween and the spring equinox, hundreds of people make their way to this small Kansas town from all over the country.
Atchison
Location: Atchison, Kan.
Math teacher Randi Platko originally visited Atchison for a shopping trip, but ended up going on the ghost tour.
“I had seen the Travel Channel special on Atchison. I remember them saying that if you take pictures you can see orbs,” Platko said.
Platko saw these “orbs,” commonly thought to represent ghostly spirits, at Sallie’s, a house where a 6-year-old girl was killed during a surgery gone wrong.
Encounters with Sallie have been said to included harmless pranks, like turning on and off electrical appliances to vicious attacks on residents (mostly males) by scratching them. From the time of the first attack, she became known as “Scratching Sallie”.
“When I took a picture there were two orbs: one blue and one white,” Platko said. “It made me believe that Atchison is haunted.”
Other stops on the tour include: the Waggener House, supposedly cursed by the devil for a deal gone wrong; Jackson Park, haunted by a young woman named Molly who was found hanging dead in a tree the day after her prom; Benedictine College, frequented by the spirits of the monks who founded the institution, as well as a baby that was born on the premises and then died right after; the Theatre Atchison, home to an “unearthly” spirit that troubles the guests and workers of the former church-turned-theatre; the Santa Fe Depot, famous for “Hangman Bill,” a railroad worker who was known for hanging from freight cars, a pastime that ended up killing him. Now, the depot is the visitor information center, museum and Chamber of Commerce offices for the town.
Platko would recommend the tour to students and their families. “It’s fun for all ages,” Platko said. “It was very friendly and not horribly terrifying.”
Information from: www.legendsofamerica.com, atchisonkansas.net, ghosthauntings.org
