Haunted places in Southwest Missouri

 

Clara Brodeur, Co-Editor

“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself,” quoted from Charles Dickens. Similar to, “Don’t knock it until you try it”, there are things that should not be dismissed as fake until proven to be, or at least given a chance.

There are plenty of different ways to celebrate Halloween, from trick-or-treating to going to spook houses. While those can only be done around Halloween, there is one way that to celebrate that can also be done year-round. Whether you are already an avid explorer, or you just wanted to get started, I have found several places in the four state area that have some pretty strong claims of being haunted.

The first of which goes by many names, the Joplin Spooklight is what my group of friends had referenced it as, so it just stuck. Rather than one specific spot, there was a road, Oklahoma East 50 and S 705 Rd, that we parked on and waited.

spook-lightsWhat we experienced was what was to be expected from that area, we had seen the orbs of light moving, they started out white and just kind of hovering. When we did not leave, they came back, but red and darting around violently. There were two possible explanations for the lights, one was the lights from the highway nearby, but the more paranormal one was that there were Native American spirits still on this part of the land.

Aside from the spooklights, I have very limited experience with the paranormal. One place that many people agree to be haunted is Peace Church Cemetery, also in Joplin, MO. Many people have been buried there, but the most notorious is Billy Cook, a murderer of six people on his way across the states, starting in California. There have been many by people who have visited of seeing apparitions, having things thrown at them, and even receiving some scratches.

Some places, there is a specific time during which is the best to go ghost hunting. One of those is Oak Hill Cemetery, in Galena, OK. There is rumored to be a witch buried there, and if you go during the witching hour, 3:33 a.m., you will be able to hear voices and other strange sounds and see ghostly figures.

Not all haunted places are scary, the Walnut Street Inn, located in Springfield, MO, is said to be haunted a seemingly harmless ghost. The Inn has three buildings, and in one of the Main House’s six rooms, the Rosen Room, there has been sightings of the ghost of an elderly woman, just wandering about the room and hallways.

“I believe in ghosts, because I’ve experienced the craziness of it,” stated Beth Smith, Early Childhood Education major. Whether you believe, if you choose to visit any of these places, be careful. The general visiting time for ghost adventures are at night, and not only the paranormal are out at night.