Welcome To Atchison Ghosts
Atchison may not have the name recognition of Wichita or Kansas City, but its haunting tales of tragedy and terror imbue it with a unique notoriety. Is it this dark energy that calls upon the dead, summoning them to the Gothic manors and chilling abodes that now play host to Atchison’s most active specters?
Atchison’s House of Nightmares
As was common before large hospitals and crowded emergency rooms, Dr. Michael C. Finney split his time at home between his practice and his family. It was an arrangement that future owners of the cottage home would pay dearly for. Had young Sallie’s mother chosen a different doctor, then the infamous abode on North 2nd Street would have a different legacy, and poor Sallie would not have died in agony one horrible night.
Cringe as Atchison Ghosts unveils the horrid events that led to Sallie’s untimely demise at the hands of a careless doctor. The vivid storytelling will transport you to that chaotic night when a curable ailment led to blood pooled on the floor and a body drained of all life.
Sallie’s anguished spirit remains trapped on North 2nd Street. Once carefree and full of life, the young girl has transformed into a morose shadow. Or maybe it’s not Sallie at all, and something truly sinister has bound itself to the doctor’s former abode. Hear this story and more on a spirited stroll with Atchison Ghosts.
What Will I See?
Visit Atchison’s Most Haunted Locations, Including:
- Sallie House – Does the restless spirit of a life taken too soon haunt the house on North 2nd? Perhaps it’s a darkness from another realm, feeding off the energies of the living. Whatever haunts the Sallie House, it all seems to stem from one doctor’s fatal mistake.
- RavenHearse Manor – As if ripped from the pages of a Gothic horror novel, RavenHearse Manor is as haunted as it looks. The 19th-century property serves a unique purpose that may be directly tied to the Victorian-era specter that lurks its halls.
- Santa Fe Depot – Once a central railway hub, the Santa Fe Depot still ferries travelers, though they’re not of this realm. The spirit that lingers in the museum is a cautionary tale about tempting fate, and the price one pays for doing so often. An ominous shadow lingers in the museum, always waiting for the next freight.
The Watcher of the Theatre
There’s a certain theatrical quality to some hauntings, making the Theatre Atchison the perfect venue for its phantoms. Originally built as the First Church of Christ, Scientist, the Greek-styled building has served many purposes over the years. Maybe most influential to its aura was its stint as a community theater. Acting is driven by passion, and passion emits energy that ghosts can use to manifest.
Explore the history of the Theatre Atchison to piece together a past that may explain the specters who call the current Presbyterian Community Center home. Still used for live performances, the center welcomes many to its stage. Some people believe an unknown entertainer is one of the shadows occasionally giving stagehands a fright.
The aptly named “The Watcher” is a shadowy figure whose purpose remains unclear. Maybe it’s there for entertainment. Maybe it’s just waiting to find the perfect performer to join it on the other side.
Why is Atchison so Haunted?
The Tragedy of Hangman Bill
Bill wasn’t just a railroad worker, going through the motions of the day until it was time to return home. He was a personality, the type of individual coworkers gravitated to. He did have his quirks, though. Like hanging from the freight while it was being loaded or unloaded. Some workers took joy in his antics. Others feared the inevitable.
Hear the sorrowful end of Hangman Bill as Atchison Ghosts explores the inevitability of fate. Today, Hangman Bill is a permanent fixture of the old depot. Phantom footsteps echo through the building, as if poor Bill were still hard at work to give himself purpose. Some guests have even witnessed poltergeist activity, fitting antics for the prankster. Learn more about the hauntings of the Santa Fe Depot and more on a spine-chilling Atchison ghost tour.
Atchison’s Most Haunted
For a relatively small town, Atchison boasts a sizable population of spirits and specters. Take Jackson Park, where the forlorn spirit of a distressed teenage girl remains bound after taking her own life. Minutes away at Glick Mansion, the air is lighter thanks to the trickster specter who gets a kick out of teasing the living.
Founded by a monk said to have been saved by the Virgin Mary herself, Benedictine College is home to its own peculiar haunt. From locking a student in her closet to moving furniture in view of the living, the ghosts of Benedictine College have been all but welcoming. Then again, little is more unwelcoming than the cursed history of the Gargoyle House. Unsettled spirits lurk within the former home of B.P. Waggener, where creepy gargoyles are rumored to have taken a life.
If you want to guarantee yourself a haunted home, simply build it atop a former cemetery. That was the mistake made with the property at 1322 Maple Street, a veritable House of the Dead. At the core of the building’s devilish entities is Dirty Gerty, a World War II-era doll permeated with the grizzliest horrors of the conflict.
* This is a walking tour and we do not enter privately-owned buildings or private property *
