Knob Noster Hill

Knob Noster, Mo

Located on Highway 50, about fifty miles east of Kansas City. The names is taken from a Latin word meaning “our knob” There are stories of a great tribal battle fought on the hill. Following the battle, the tribes formed mounds as either a monument or a burial site for warriors slain during the battle. Others claim that an Indian treasure, the main portion of it gold, was carried to the mounds and buried. To this day, many claim the area is haunted by the spirits of Indians guarding the gold. Another legend involves a wagon train that was ambushed by Osagian Indians in 1825. They disappeared without a trace and the gold was never found. Many believe they were killed for stealing the treasure from the mounds. To this day, people claim to hear the sounds of people screaming and Indians yelling war cries. But the most famous ghost is that of the old hermit.

This dour, unfriendly man lived on the hills and would only descend to the town for groceries and other essentials. He was not well-liked and had a mean disposition. People generally avoided him when he came to town. He often sent his slave into town, which greatly relieved the townspeople because he was a pleasant man to talk to. Eventually, the slave stopped coming and the old hermit resumed his trips to town. The townspeople figured he beat his slave to death, but were too frightened of him to ask. One night a violent storm hit the area several of the townspeople saw a bobbing lantern light descending from the hill. A flash of light illuminated the hill the hermit as he headed toward the safety of the town. After the next flash of lightning, the lantern light disappeared. The next day some of the braver citizens ascended up the hill to check on the hermit. They found him dead, lying on the ground with a frozen look of terror on his face. He was still clutching his lantern. Today the local townsfolk say that in a raging storm, you can see the ghostly lantern light of the hermit bobbing and swaying down the hill.

Port Cape Girardeau

Cape Girardeau, Mo

Port Cape Girardeau Restaurant and Lounge in Warehouse Row is housed in a circa-1860 warehouse. It is haunted by an unknown female ghost nicknamed Belle. The bartender who named her said that she showed him she liked the name he gave her. A few days after he thought up the name, a bell in the downstairs hall began ringing by itself. Belle’s apparition has been seen in a 19th-century long dress, and she also has made noises and footsteps noticed by customers and staff. Orbs have appeared here as well, even showing up in photographs.

Big Chief Roadhouse

Wildwood, Mo

Also known as Big Chief Dakota Grill. Located on old Manchester Road, which runs south of new Manchester Road. Most of the activity has centered around the second story dining room. Weird vibes and uneasy feelings are the most common paranormal activity. Customers don’t like to eat up there after their first time.

                                                       A Little History

Big Chief Roadhouse has a celebrated history dating back to 1929. It was built by William Clay Pierce of the Pierce-Pennant Oil Company as part of the Big Chief Highway Hotel to help weary travelers on Route 66. At one time, Big Chief was one of the largest tourists cabin courts in Missouri. Over the years, the Big Chief has gone through many changes. After Route 66 was diverted into what is now Interstate 44, Big Chief lost many of its customers and soon closed. The cabins fell into disrepair an were soon demolished. In the mid 1990’s, the building opened up as a restaurant again. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, the Big Chief is one of the few surviving full-service restaurants left on Missouri Route 66 and provides a feel for roadside stops during the 1930’s.

It is rumored Al Capone made a few stops here to eat. So it’s possible that there a few hauntings associated with him.

 

 

Harding University

Searcy, Arkansas

The ghost is referred to as “Galloway Gertie,” because Harding was called Galloway College for Women when Gertrude attended. Galloway was one of the finest institutions in the South, and Gertrude was a music major.

The story goes as follows. One night Gertrude was returning to her dorm from a date. She told him good night and headed upstairs to her room in Gooden Hall. She heard a noise inside the elevator and went to check it out and somehow fell to her death. It’s said that a blood curdling scream woke the other girls up and one saw a dark form rushing from the scene, but foul play was never proven. Gertie was wearing a white, lacy gown, as women of the time usually did for a date, when she fell. Some stories say she was buried in this gown. It wasn’t too long after Gertrude’s death that students starting seeing a blonde in a lacy gown in the elevator shaft or in the halls. Some even claimed they could hear the swishing of her gown as she walked the halls while they tried to sleep.

Harding acquired Galloway in 1934. Gooden Hall was demolished in 1951. The Harding Administration Building is now where Gooden Hall used to be. The kicker is that they used the bricks from Gooden Hall to build the Pattie Cobb women’s residence hall and the Claude Rogers Lee Music Center. Gertie liked the music center.

Students reported that they could hear a faint piano playing softly, or catch glimpses of her white gown and hear the swished of her walking past. Legend says a group of boys decided to spend the night in the music center to prove Gertie didn’t exist. They were locked in by security, and security checked the building to make sure nobody else was in it. Soon after they were left alone, they started to hear the mysterious piano. Frightened, they called security, but before security could come they mustered the bravery to check it out. As they got nearer to the sound, the playing stopped and no one else was found in the building.

The old Lee building is no longer used as a music building, since the Reynolds building was built. There are no more pianos in the building. Gertie sightings have decreased, but she’s still around.

Hazel Ridge Cemetery

Brunswick, Mo

Located in Chariton County, it sits off a rural blacktop highway, and at the end of a tree-shrouded gravel road. There is many odd phenomenon associated with this cemetery. Some believe the trees and gravestones shift throughout. The ghost of a young girl called Rose is rumored to haunt here as well. She is known to have followed several people home. Some have even picked up an EVP of her singing “Ring around the rosies.”