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| True Kansas Ghost Stories
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Sentinel Hill
hays, Kansas
In 1867, Elizabeth Polly, wife of Ephriam Polly, was the hospital matron at the Fort Hays hospital during the cholera epidemic. She was in charge of helping sick and dying soldiers cope with the disease and the fact that they were going to die. In the evening she would often walk to a hill on the south of the fort, now known as Sentinel Hill. It was here where she found some comfort and spiritual healing. Elizabeth, in 1867 contracted the disease herself and she told her husband that she wanted to be buried at the top of the hill she had visited many times. Because of all the rocks it was not possible to make a grave for her so she was buried at the base of the hill. In 1967 there was a monument placed at the top of the hill in her memory. Even in death Elizabeth still visits the hill. Many people have reported seeing her spirit wearing and blue dress and bonnet. There have also been reports that she appears as a glowing blue mist. She has become known as the “Blue Light Lady.”
Beaumont Hotel
Beaumont, Kansas
Edwin Russell established the historic Beaumont Hotel in the beautiful scenic Flint Hills of Kansas in 1879. It was first used as a stagecoach station and stopping place for travelers from Fredonia and Wichita. Guests included cattle barons from Texas and Oklahoma and the elite of the Frisco Railroad. It was used as headquarters for those who shipped or brought cattle in to eat. There was also a brothel operating out of the hotel. The wife would entertain men upstairs and the husband would handle all the business downstairs. One of the clients at the brothel was a young cowboy who the wife became smitten with. The husband was not too happy about the relationship the wife and the cowboy developed so the husband shot and killed him. There have been reports by staff and guests that the cowboy is now haunting the old hotel. Loud thumping can be heard on the stairs and on the top floor of the hotel. Guests have reported chairs being moved in rooms and alarms clocks that sound off all hours of the night. Staff members have even reported seeing the apparition of the cowboy.
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River. Col. Henry Leavenworth, with the officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Regiment from Jefferson Barracks at St. Louis, Mo., established Fort Leavenworth in 1827. In 1839, Col. S. W. Kearney marched against the Cherokees with 10 companies of dragoons, the largest U.S. mounted force ever assembled. Throughout the war with Mexico, Fort Leavenworth was the outfitting post for the Army of the West. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Camp Lincoln was established on post as a reception and training station for Kansas volunteers. News of the approach of Confederate Gen. Sterling Price prompted construction of Fort Sully, a series of earthworks for artillery emplacements on Hancock Hill, overlooking what is now the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. The United States Disciplinary Barracks was established in 1875. The fort's first Catholic Church was built in 1871, and was later replaced by St. Ignatius Chapel in 1889. St. Ignatius Chapel was destroyed by fire in December 2001. The first Protestant chapel, Memorial Chapel, was built by prison labor in 1878 of stone quarried on post. In 1985, the Harold K. Johnson wing was added to house the Combined Arms and Services Staff School. The Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is one of the first 12 national cemeteries established by Abraham Lincoln on July 17, 1862. Veterans since the War of 1812 have been laid to rest in the cemetery. One veteran of the War of 1812 is the cemetery's most famous occupant, Col. Henry Leavenworth, who gave his name to the fort, the town, the county and the cemetery. There is a lot of history at Fort Leavenworth and also a lot of ghosts. The first haunting is by the ghost of Catherine Sutler. Catherine, her husband and her two children stopped at the Fort on their way to Oregon in the late 1800s to visit friends. The morning after their arrival the children, named Ethan and Mary, went to collect firewood but did not return. For three days their parents along with other residents of the Fort searched for the children but were unable to locate them. It was believed that they were dead, possibly washed away by the river. Catherine refused to give up the search and for months she could be seen searching for her children both day and night. Eventually Catherine contracted pneumonia and died. In the spring her husband left the Fort and returned home. Not long after his arrival in Indiana, he received a message that his children were alive. The children had, in fact, been swept in to the river but they were rescued a little ways up by a band of Indians. The children were cared for during the winter months and then were returned to the Fort when spring broke. The children were returned to their father but their mother, Catherine, stayed behind. It is told that she can still be seen wandering the fort with a lantern in search of her two children. She can even be heard calling out to them. Father Fred is another ghost that haunts the Fort. In the 1870s the original church and rectory burned down taken the life of young Father Fred. A house was built on the old church grounds. Residents of the house throughout the years have claimed to see the apparition of a priest wandering the building. They say he appears mostly on the stairs and in the kitchen but has also appeared in the dining room and has even been captured in photographs. The Rookery at the Fort is believed to be the oldest and the most haunted house in all of Kansas. The building is believed to be haunted by several ghosts. The most famous and terrifying ghost is that of a woman with long hair and fingernails who lunges toward people as they make their way through the house. Other people have reported seeing the apparition of an old lady sitting in the corner of a room, the apparition of a little girl, and the apparition of an old man who would wake them as they tried to sleep. Many people have also reported seeing the ghost of General George Armstrong Custer on numerous occasions. The officer’s quarters is believed to be haunted by the ghost of an old man with a goatee. It is reported that his face appeared in the fireplace and lingered even as the fire burned out. He has also been spotted in the bathroom shaving and in one of the bedrooms. People have reported extremely loud footsteps on the stairs, loud banging throughout the house, frigid cold spots, and doors slamming shut on their own.
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