Hometown Haunts

I’ve had a fascination with haunted places all my life. I’ve watched countless episodes of Ghost Hunters, and there’s no telling how many different countdowns of the world’s scariest places I’ve watched. Each location seems so different and interesting, and I can’t help but make mental notes to try to visit them if I get the chance. (Be on the lookout for my own personal list of the haunted places I hope to visit!)

Growing up, the places on television seemed so exotic, far away, and unreachable. So I looked to my hometown for enough haunts to whet my appetite. A few friends and I would go out to the most ‘haunted’ places we could find, and we would do our own mini-investigation. We’d take pictures, use a tape recorder to try to catch EVPs….and usually one of us would get spooked and we’d drive away quickly. But, hey, at least we tried, right?

There aren’t really all that many super-haunted locations in and around Lebanon, MO, at least as far as I know. But here are some of the most legendary ones that my friends and I used to explore:

Lonesome Hill Cemetery: I know, I know. Cemeteries are kind of a lame thing to “investigate.” But, hey, when I was in high school, everyone and their brother had heard the creepy stories about this place, and wanted to check it out. This was one of the first supposedly-haunted places I ever visited, and I was proud of myself for not being too scared. There is a large gate at the front, which is kind of intimidating. Some say they’ve parked their car just inside the gate, only to find that it wouldn’t start again until they pushed it off of the cemetery property. Plus, the large, somewhat-rusty archway is a bit spooky, too.

It’s a fairly large old cemetery, basically just a stone’s throw from I-44. It’s surrounded by woods, and people have told stories about seeing strange mists come out from behind trees. There’s one section of the cemetery, at the very back, that is said to be the final resting place of some witches. There are a few grave stones that are separated from the rest by a black chain, and these are supposedly ones where witches are buried. According to myth, it’s bad luck to unhook the chain.

Wilson Cemetery: This one was very difficult for us to find. It took us probably three or four months of on-again off-again researching to find the actual location. We had heard many people talking about scary things happening out there (like mists coming out of the woods, strange voices, etc.) so we naturally wanted to find it. It’s a good distance outside of town, and it takes about twenty minutes of driving on a maze of dirt roads to actually get there. It’s definitely a creepy place—it’s basically an abandoned family plot dating back to the mid-1800s—but I’m not convinced it’s haunted. It doesn’t really seem to have a caretaker, so the grass is often higher than the grave markers. Plus, it’s in the middle of nowhere, so maybe that’s why the legends have grown.

A couple of pics I took while at Wilson Cemetery. Those "orbs" in the first pic?
Just dust, most likely.

The Conway Mansion: Okay, so that’s just what we called it. But it’s an interesting little place. It’s just outside of Conway, MO, and it’s pretty much just a large old farmhouse, but many people claim to have spotted ghosties there. Granted, those people were probably trespassing, and in all likelihood drunk. I’ve never seen anything there, but I may try to look up the history of the property in more depth at some point.

Decaturville Mansion: This one was also a little hard to find. It’s between Lebanon and Camdenton, located a couple miles off of the main highway on a gravel road. I’ve only seen it in daylight, but it’s a bit spooky. It’s a rickety-looking old home, and has slave quarters. It was owned by a couple of sisters, according to legend, and is just one of those places I didn’t feel comfortable being near.

Crybaby Hollow: This area near Crocker is said to be haunted by the spirit of a crying baby. Other versions of the legend say it’s haunted by the ghost of a mother who lost her child. It’s basically just a valley on a narrow country road, and there is a small bridge. Some say that if you park your car on the bridge and put it in neutral, the car will rock and maybe get small handprints on it. We tried this, but honestly didn’t experience anything. The spookiest thing was that just after we put it in neutral, a car popped over the hill behind us.

A picture that Abyss Paranormal took before investigating Crybaby Hollow

Maybe these locations aren’t exactly brimming with paranormal activity. In all likelihood, their relative seclusion and slight creepiness is why so many legends came about. But, I spent countless hours at these places with my friends, and they kept my passion for the paranormal ignited. I’d like to think that maybe someday, even after I’ve investigated legitimately haunted places, the memories of my hometown haunts will still be with me.