The Hutchinson Public Library was established in 1901 and is allegedly haunted by a former librarian named Ida Day. In life, Ida Day was famous for her seriousness and stoic demeanor, qualities that followed her beyond the grave. She is mainly spotted in the basement, particularly in the southwest corner, where phantom footsteps, cold spots, and whispers are experienced. In one disturbing encounter described by author Lisa Hefner Heitz, a stern old woman confronted a new librarian from the shadows below the stairs. When the librarian replied, the ghost dissolved into the darkness. Not every sighting is as frightening. According to one local resident, “They say that if you are in that library alone you can sometimes see her walking around, or looking and/or sorting books. They say that she is not harmful and she won’t bother you.”
Theorosa’s Bridge - Valley Center, Kansas
Officially known as the 109th Street Bridge, this concrete bridge spans Jester Creek in a rural area about three miles north of Valley Center (itself just north of Wichita). It is an early example of a “crybaby bridge.” The original bridge was wood, with iron trestles. That bridge burnt twice in the 1970s, and for many years the crossing was closed and overtaken by weeds and partygoers. There are several versions of the legend of Theorosa’s Bridge. In one, a party of pioneers was ambushed by Indians. The Indians carried off a child named Theorosa, and her mother, driven mad with grief, wandered the creek crying out for her baby. In another version, a woman named Theorosa gave birth to an illegitimate child and drowned it in the creek under the bridge. The baby’s cries can be heard to this day. A new bridge was constructed over Jester Creek in 1991, but tales of cold spots, ghostly shapes, disembodied cries, and unexplained car trouble remain.
St. Jacob’s Well - Clark County, Kansas
Located about 36 miles south of Dodge City in the Big Basin Prairie Reserve, St. Jacob’s Well is a deceptively quiet pool of water about 30 yards across and 18 feet deep. It is a sinkhole formed by centuries of eroding rock, and in the past, it was believed to be near bottomless. It is said that dozens of visitors have lowered weighted rope into its depths to try and find the bottom. According to Lisa Hefner Heitz, author of Haunted Kansas, its depth may have changed over the years, due to geological shifts. There are several legends attached to the well, including a spectral cowboy that was seen in the 1890s. The cowboy and his horse emitted “the most blood-curdlingest sound ever made on this here earth.” More than one body is believed to lie at the bottom of St. Jacob’s Well, including that of an Irishman named John Jordan, who disappeared in 1889. An old house, located near St. Jacob’s Well on the north rim of Big Basin, was also rumored to be haunted. Though abandoned, lights flashed in its windows on a nightly basis.
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery - Leavenworth, Kansas
Fort Leavenworth is the oldest continually operating military post west of the Mississippi River, and its cemetery has been in use since at least 1844. Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery was officially established in 1862 and contains the remains of over 20,000 United States soldiers. Oddly, the ghosts said to haunt this hallowed ground are not service men. One of the oldest legends concerns Catherine Sutter, an early pioneer whose children became lost in a winter storm while looking for firewood. Catherine searched in vain all winter long, before succumbing to pneumonia. Her ghost has been seen wandering the cemetery grounds, wearing a calico dress and black shawl. Sometimes she is holding a lantern, and other times only her voice can be heard calling out for her children. The other ghost is that of an American Indian named Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce. He was incarcerated at the fort in 1877, and his apparition has been seen in the cemetery.
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