Ghostly Happenings in Kansas

Meet the Ghost of a Cowboy

The Beaumont House was built in 1979 and was at one time a popular stop for stagecoaches and pioneers traveling between Wichita and Fredonia.

According to legend, Zeke, a hotel worker, fell in love with a married guest, who was murdered by her husband. Since then, perhaps seeking this guest, Zeke haunts the inn. He has been seen as a transparent cowboy figure at the top of the staircase, in weathered boots and a dusty hat from his life in the Old West. Guests have seen him tipping his hat and flashing a crooked smile, then disappearing. The ghostly cowboy is also a prankster who likes to rearrange chairs, shoving them behind doors to block guests from entering or exiting. He sets off clock radios that begin blaring at full volume between 2 and 3 AM, waking people from their sleep.

Scary Haunted House

The Brown Mansion in Coffeyville is a fine landmark. It was build by wealthy industrialist William Pitzer Brown. The mansion has 16 rooms; unfortunately, the family suffered much heartbreak.

The Brown Family’s Losses

You can visit with the ghostly spirit of the original builder, W.P. Brown, in the living room and the library. When he is around, there is the smell of smoke.

His wife Nancy grieved over the deaths of their children, and her cries can be heard outside of her son Donald’s old bedroom on the third floor.

Their son Donald was 11 years old when he died from Type 1 diabetes in 1911. He was the only family member to die in the mansion. His ghost can be heard playing on the third floor with an occasional rustle or giggle.

Their daughter Violet survived to adulthood and inherited the mansion after the passing of her parents. When she could not care for the house, she sold it. Her ghostly spirit continues to keep dancing, which she loved to do and can be seen twirling on the third floor.

The family’s loyal servant Charlie, keeps to his old quarters in the basement and has been seen by the front door welcoming guests.

Within the Brown Mansion is much of the original furniture and décor. The third floor has a thick and heavy atmosphere. During the time when the mansion has been empty, neighbors have seen green lights flickering. The green glow has been associated with otherworldly phenomena in folklore.

Ghostly Spirits of John and Sarah

Built in 1858, the Garnett House is among the most haunted places in Kansas, being the site of violence and murder. It is a hotel where you could spend the night if you don’t mind experiencing some hauntings.

In the 1850s, a time known as Bleeding Kansas due to violent confrontations over proposed slavery in the state, abolitionist John Brown, a freedman and hotel worker, brutally murdered a local woman. He was found guilty and hung from the rafters. His ghostly spirit remains here in the attic where he once lived.

Sarah Potter was accused of poisoning her husband with arsenic and kept under house arrest at Garret House. One night she vanished. Later, after being apprehended, she stood trial, but she managed to escape justice. You can meet her ghost here as well.

Recent live-streamed paranormal investigations have heard weird whispers and seen shadow figures.

Meet the Ghostly Librarian Ida Holzapfel

Visit the Hutchinson Public Library, where staff members have reported seeing a shadowy figure under the stairs. An elderly woman with a cold, stern look. When a librarian tried speaking to the ghostly apparition, it disappeared.

One staff member had a haunted encounter working in the basement, when a woman appeared, chatting, but when a fellow librarian came up behind her, she disappeared. Keep an eye out for a gray-haired woman, Ida Hotzapfel, who likes to hang out at the library.

Ghostly Spirits

Take a visit to the Sallie House in Atchison. It is one of the most well-known haunted places in the state. Visitors and paranormal investigators come to meet a ghostly spirit known as Sallie. She roams the rooms and is supposedly the ghost of a young girl who died here. She wears a huge bow and is known to be playful and mischievous.

Another spirit is that of an old woman who fell to her death on the basement stairs. Her presence is marked by sadness and eerie silence.

A mysterious figure believed to have the mental capacity of a young child is spotted wandering the halls in quiet moments.

Those who visit have felt icy chills, heard footsteps in empty rooms, and have discovered they have unexplained scratches or bruises.