A crumbling stone church and a lonely cemetery outside this tiny rural community are the focus of a terrifying legend. It is said that witches and occult groups use the old church for their dark rituals. A gnarled pine tree formerly stood in the cemetery until it was struck by lightning and cut down. The tree was allegedly used to hang witches in the 1800s. Stull reportedly has a strange history. Near a long-forgotten trail named “Devil’s Road,” a man accidentally set fire to his own son, killing him. Another man was found hanged from a tree by the side of the road. The main story, however, concerns a flight of stone stairs hidden in the woods near the church. According to legend, the entrance to the stairs opens up on Halloween and the Spring Equinox. Anyone unfortunate enough to locate and descend the stairs will find a gateway to Hell at the bottom. According to one bizarre report, “The devil reportedly makes a personal appearance in the cemetery on Halloween at midnight to visit the grave of a witch with whom the devil had a child. Their child is said to materialize in the surrounding woods, taking on the form of a werewolf.”
Hutchinson Public Library - Hutchinson, Kansas
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.
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