THE PARANORMAL WORLD DATABASE       NEBRASKA   ALLIANCE THEATER (ALLIANCE) BACKGROUND: Opened in 1937, but built in 1903 as the Charter Hotel, the Alliance Theater, located on Box Butte Avenue in Alliance, is an Art Moderne style movie house which is still operating today showing first-run films. It is shown as open in the 1945 Film Daily Yearbook, with seating for 869 and at that time operated by a subsidiary of Fox Theaters. PHENOMENA:  Theater employees have reported seeing shadowy figures, hearing footsteps running down the aisles, and a general feeling of uneasiness. Cleaners report bizarre sounds around the building in the overnight hours and the sounds of applause in an empty theater have been heard. That applause is perhaps reserved for a spirit named “Mary” who was said to be an actress who was killed on stage when a light fixture dropped on her and who is said to still walk the stage. ANTELOPE PARK (LINCOLN) BACKGROUND: A 143 acre park housing many visitor attractions and is open seven days a week from 6am to midnight. Located within the park is Hamann Rose Garden, which features many varieties of floribundas, grandifloras and hybrid tea roses as well as All-America Rose Selection (AARS) award-winning roses. As well as roses there are other plants and shrubs, a new pavilion and climbing rose exhibit, a fountain with a sculptured centerpiece and accessible walkways. Nearby visitors will also find the Sunken Gardens, which is listed as one of the top 300 gardens to visit in the United States and Canada. This is a 1.5 acre site located on 27th and Capitol Parkway and is open daily from 6am to 11pm with admission free. The main features of the garden include the serene Healing Garden, the Perennial Garden filled with hostas, viburnum and hydrangea and the Annual Garden with thousands of plants added each year by enthusiastic volunteers. Also featured at the park is Lincoln Children's Zoo, which is open from 10am to 5pm daily between April15th and October 15th. The zoo is home to more than exotic 300 animals and surrounded by botanical gardens with 400 species of plants. The nine acre site holds various mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and arachnids from around the world and offers visitors the opportunity to learn how to feed and look after animals. (www.city-data.com) PHENOMENA: Visitors report seeing ghostly figures walking across the field behind the caretaker’s house before disappearing into the forest behind it. People claim they feel their hair stand on end and the sensation of watched. ARGO HOTEL (CROFTON) BACKGROUND: Builder Nick Michaelis attended a Crofton town board meeting to inquire whether city leaders thought Crofton needed another lodging option. It already had one called the Castle Hotel. City leaders thought there ought to be another hotel for the busy railroad town and gave Michaelis the go-ahead for the project, volunteering to furnish water and sewer systems. By mid-March of 1912, he completed the two-story rectangular building with a red brick facade and a flat roof. It served mainly passengers and railroaders that traveled on a Chicago and Northwestern Railroad line that went through the town several times a day. The Argo was advertised as “a modern hotel with electricity” because many buildings at that time didn't have it, McDonald said. It cost $1 for a night of lodging and $1.50 for a meal. Sometime during the early 1960s, Dr. Charles Swift, a local physician, purchased the Argo for his private home and clinic. He divided the main level in half, turning one side into living quarters and the other into examining rooms. When he died in 1992, it sat empty. (www.omaha.com) PHENOMENA: There is a legend about bones being found in a wall during renovations in 1994 that were thought to be those of an infant. It was said the owner buried them in the basement, etc. but the truth is the bones were revealed to actually be that of a an animal. Nonetheless, the hotel does have its share of activity including: unexplained cold spots, doors that will close by themselves, glasses will shatter. lights flick on and off, pictures moving on their own, and on occasion, the sight of apparitions wandering the building. The most prominent spirit is that of “Alice” and staff and guests have reported seeing her in the basement, ostensibly searching her lost child. This may be tied into the false legend of the baby’s bones, though. It’s claimed that a portrait of Alice was discovered during renovations and while there is no image to be seen on the canvas, if one shines a light on it, the form of Alice suddenly appears. At one point, the owner claims to have come face to face with the spirit of a man about 6 feet tall who appeared to be wearing a hospital gown. ARROW HISTORIC HOTEL AND PUB (BROKEN BOW) BACKGROUND: The Arrow Hotel dates back to 1928 and is thought to be one of the most haunted hotels in Nebraska. Over the years it has changed hands frequently, but has always served as a hotel and restaurant. PHENOMENA: It’s been said a former owner died in the hotel and the staff have reported seeing his apparition going up and down the stairs leading to the kitchens and at times, greeting guests. Guests and employees have also reported several other apparitions that include a man with gray hair who wanders the hallways and lady with red hair that is alleged to be a witch who was buried in the local cemetery and is said to be rather flirtatious A male entity is said to frequent the hotel cigar room and a host of other strange phenomena that includes furniture that moves by itself, whispers, disembodied footsteps, loud bangs and assorted other weird noises. BAILEY HOUSE MUSEUM (BROWNVILLE) BACKGROUND:  The house was built post-Civil War by Union officer Captain Benson M. Bailey, who served with 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry. In 1860, his first wife and infant daughter died, leaving him with their three children William, Tilman and Elizabeth Florence. After the war, he married a woman from Tennessee and moved her and the children to Nebraska where he eventually became a successful river boat captain. Most of the historic homes in Brownsville were built before 1875. Around 1877, the Missouri River began to erode the shore, presenting a hazard to the homes built there. Bailey moved the home brick by brick to a safer location on Main Street, but moving there put them in proximity to a female neighbor who it’s said, but never proven, poisoned Bailey and his wife for reasons still unclear. One theory is that she was eager for his attention and sought to remove his wife from the picture, but when her advances were rebuffed, she poisoned Bailey as well out of spite. PHENOMENA: It’s thought by many that Capt. Bailey still haunts his former home and is a bit territorial in his ways by opening and closing doors, particularly the one leading to the room where his body was found propped up against it. He will also turn lights on and off and some neighbors and passersby report hearing the sound of a piano being played inside an empty house. His ghost has been seen as well by visitors and staff making the rounds of the house. BALL CEMETERY (SPRINGFIELD) BACKGROUND: It has its roots as a private family cemetery with the oldest grave marker dating to 1869 which predates the establishment of the cemetery. Among those buried in the cemetery is William "Rattle Snake Pete" Liddiard, described in 1938 and 1939 newspaper articles as "the famous former United States marshal, Springfield [NE] marshal and implement dealer, who left here to join Buffalo Bill, and later died on the west coast, was brought back to Ball Cemetery for burial. [He] was one of the colorful characters of the old west. He featured his famous bicycle handle bar mustache. But despite that failing, he was one of the fastest 'on the draw' of all the U.S. Marshals." PHENOMENA: The ghost of a tall man has been seen wandering through the cemetery at night. He’s said to be an aggressive entity who has been known to attack the living resulting in bruises on their arms and legs after a night time visit. It’s thought this could be “Rattlesnake Pete” taking out frustrations on visitors. It’s also said that the spirit of a woman named Mary Mumford haunts the graveyard as a woman’s laughter can often be heard and people report having their clothing tugged on. There are stories of headstones tipping over only to right themselves with no visible means of support. BARNARD PARK (FREMONT) BACKGROUND: The site of the Fremont’s Barnard Park was once a camp for Mormons seeking a place of rest along the Mormon Trail. Eventually it became Green Grove Cemetery which outgrew its limited plot and couldn't be extended, so the decision was made to move the town's cemetery to a plot of land west of town that couldn't be used for farming. The new graveyard was named Ridge Cemetery and dedicated in 1878. The bodies buried in Green Grove Cemetery were exhumed and moved to the new location that eventually became Barnard Park. PHENOMENA: Barnard Park’s most notorious spirit is the mother of a girl who allegedly died at the camp. Local legend says the spirit of the devastated mother can be seen crying as she walks the park late at night during the winter. The ghost of an older man has been seen sitting and lying on a park bench with many thinking he was a homeless man. These ghosts can best be seen during the winter months. Several houses that surround the park have been claimed as haunted as well. BLACKBIRD HILL (DECATUR) BACKGROUND: It was a traditional burial site of Omaha chiefs, including Blackbird. The site was visited by Lewis and Clark in 1804. It includes petroglyphs. It is on private land and is not open to the public. Urban legend alerrt >> According to a 1939 legend, on a fall day in the mid-eighteenth century, members of the Omaha tribe happened upon a white man wandering their territory who was "raving mad and nearly starved." The Omaha took the man to their medicine man, who nursed the man back to health. After regaining his strength and sanity, the man decided to return to his home in the eastern United States, but first told his benefactors the story of how he had fallen into such despair. The man had been shipwrecked for five years while returning from a business venture abroad. The girl whom he had planned to marry eventually lost hope that he would ever return and instead married the man's childhood friend. He set out to find her and by a stroke of luck, did so when he knocked on a door of a cabin on Blackbird Hill. She promised to leave with him the following day, but her husband flew into a rage and killed her, carried her to a cliff and threw her and himself off into the Missouri River. PHENOMENA: Even now, nothing will grow on the path that the husband took to walk his wife to the cliffs. What’s more, on October 17th every year, dozens of people have heard the woman’s screams on the top of that hill. BUFFALO BILL RANCH (NORTH PLATTE) BACKGROUND: The ranch was established in 1878 with an initial purchase of 160 acres south of the Union Pacific tracks by William (Buffalo Bill) Cody. The 4,000 acre ranch was sold in 1911 and has been under the management of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission since 1964. In 1877 Cody contacted Major Frank North, the leader of the Pawnee Scouts, who was living in Sidney, Nebraska. Cody founded the Cody-North Partnership with the North brothers to form a cattle business. North found land along the Dismal River, 65 miles north of North Platte, on which cattle could graze and a ranch could be built. Cody continued touring his “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” show while North purchased cattle at the north end of the Texas cattle trail, near Ogallala, Nebraska. North hired cowboys to help operate the ranch while Cody was on tour. The original two-story house was built in 1886 for Al and Julia Goodman. Al and Julia Goodman are Cody's sister and brother-in-law who managed the ranch. PHENOMENA: It’s said the spirit of Buffalo Bill visits a few places in the area, including his home - called “Scout’s Rest Ranch” - and the nearby Irma’s Hotel. According to reports, his fondness for children sometimes manifests by them shaking invisible hands or related contact with a man they picked out when looking at Bill’s photograph. Tour guides and staff are well aware of his presence with the sounds of footsteps heading upstairs and across the second floor. Christmas decorations placed on a dresser in his old room have been found on the floor the following morning. He will lock and unlock doors as he pleases and in the past, during a significant flood, moved his favorite leather recliner to the front door where it was seen rocking all morning by a park superintendent. THE CAPTAIN MERIWEATHER LEWIS (BROWNVILLE) BACKGROUND: Built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Captain Meriwether Lewis was launched on December 12, 1931 while only half-complete by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps completed construction the following year. This side-wheel steam paddle dredge was operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help channel the Missouri River and to maintain it as a navigable waterway. In 1976, Captain Meriwether Lewis was given to the Nebraska State Historical Society and moved to Brownville one year later. It was dry-berthed along the Missouri River where it remains today. The dredge is one of the few surviving examples of its type built to control flooding and improve navigation along the nation's rivers. PHENOMENA: Staff and visitors have reported phantom footsteps, whispers and voices coming from darkened areas of the ship and the feeling of a constant presence accompanying them. There is a spirit that is said to sit on the edge of a piano and passersby report hearing old-time piano music coming from inside. CENTENNIAL HALL (VALENTINE) BACKGROUND: Centennial Hall, Valentine’s Historical landmark built in 1897 and now the oldest standing high school building in the state of Nebraska, houses a heritage museum of area historical artifacts. The ornate style of architecture reveals the past and will likely never be revived in today’s structures as the cost of the fine craftsmanship in construction would be prohibitive. The museum has twelve rooms, each with a different theme, including the Hallock Bell collection with over 1,700 bells, the Days of Yesteryear room, the Military room, and many more. PHENOMENA: There is legend that states that back in 1944 a girl died after someone poisoned the reed from her clarinet (there is an alternative story that she accidentally swallowed it and choked). Soon after her death, faculty members claimed to see her ghost in the hallways with an accompanying feeling of general sickness. Now that it is a museum, music has been heard emanating from the music room that has not contained any musical instruments for a great many years. CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL (OMAHA) BACKGROUND: On November 10, 1859, Omaha Central High School began as Omaha High School in the Nebraska Territory capitol building. In 1869, after the territorial government was removed from Omaha, the capitol building was donated to the City of Omaha by the Nebraska state government for educational use only. In 1870, it was demolished. In 1872, it was replaced by a four-story building that hosted kindergarten through twelfth grades. In 1900, a new building was begun that encircled the second school, which was dismantled by 1912. Kindergarten through eighth grade were moved to the neighboring Central Elementary School. A gym was added to Central in 1930, and this building is still in use today. PHENOMENA: It’s said that mysterious cold spots are encountered in the main hall of the building. There are reports of a disembodied voice that acknowledges the presence of visitors, faculty and students by simply saying they “know they (you) are here”. It’s also said a former custodian haunts his former place of employment as sounds of someone sweeping the floor has been heard in the main hall and the wheels of a custodial cart are sometimes heard traveling across floors. There is also the spirit of a possible former Dean of Students whose apparition comes in the form of a white mist that floats across the floor near the Dean’s Office and other times it’s seen as a shadowy figure that waves at students through an office window. CLARKSON OPERA HOUSE (CLARKSON) BACKGROUND: The building of the Opera House commenced in 1915 and on September 1915 the corner stone was laid. Since then the Clarkson Opera House was the scene of many a dance, home talent play, school program, basketball game, and many other gatherings. Movies were shown in the early days and in the year 1930 the first talkie movies were presented to the public under the management of Peter Zak and Edward Makousky. In April of 1931 a cooling system was installed. In 1936 new movie equipment was purchased in order to improve the facilities for movie goers. The Clarkson Opera House was the scene of many school activities including operettas, class plays, up until the new modern high school was constructed (1952). All of those activities are now held in the Clarkson High School auditorium. Many famous dance orchestras made their appearances for various dances sponsored by the local groups such as the Annual Gypsy Dances sponsored by the local JCD Lodge, Thanksgiving Balls sponsored by the local Fire Department, regular dances put on by the ZCBJ and wedding dances. On December 1st, 1958 the Clarkson Opera House was leased by the local Lions Club and they continue to offer movies, this being one of the few movie houses in this area. Many public gatherings are still held here and will continue to be held due to the civic minded business men of Clarkson. PHENOMENA: There are long-standing claims of paranormal activity in the building that include the sounds of disembodied laughter, strange cold spots and odd tapping coming from various areas of the building. There have also been reports of full-bodied apparitions in earlier period clothing. CORNERSTONE MANSION BED & BREAKFAST (OMAHA) BACKGROUND: The Offutt mansion was built in 1894 as a wedding gift from Casper and Anna Yost to their only daughter Bertha who married former Kentucky politician Charles Offutt in 1892. They had three children; two boys and a girl. In 1898, Charles fell ill with a degenerative condition and took his life by shooting himself in the head. The middle son, Jarvis, died in combat in WWI. Offutt Air Force Base was named in his honor. After Bertha’s death, the mansion was converted into apartments. The Cornerstone Mansion has been sold to the St. Barnabas Parish and is no longer a Bed & Breakfast. PHENOMENA: There are reports of a ghostly. mischievous young man and that of either Casper Yost or Charles Offutt haunting the mansion. Oddly, both have been seen sitting in the same ricking chair in the parlor. Disembodied footsteps in the night are often heard and it’s been said whomever the spirits are are not fond of various festivities held there and make that known to attendees and staff by throwing or breaking items on those occasions. A carriage house on the property is also said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity and for that reason was no longer rented out. The ghost of a woman named Emily who was allegedly beaten to death by her chauffeur husband is said to be responsible for the disturbances there which focus mainly on male guests. FERGUSON HOUSE (LINCOLN) BACKGROUND: The Ferguson House in downtown Lincoln was constructed as a private residence by William Henry and Myrtle Ferguson between 1909 and 1911. William Henry Ferguson came to Nebraska in 1879 by covered wagon. He married Myrtle Likes of Aurora, Nebraska on Sept. 20, 1887. Ferguson helped introduce winter wheat and alfalfa to Nebraska as cash crops and became owner of 85-90 grain elevators and farms with over 6,000 acres. Mr. Ferguson died in 1937. Owned by the State of Nebraska since 1961, the Ferguson House has had many uses over the years. Today, the Nebraska Environmental Trust is the latest occupant of the historic property. Locating the Trust office at the house allows for the protection and renovation of the property for generations to come. PHENOMENA: Many staff members over the years have reported seeing shadowy figures near the back staircase. According to Mark Brohman, director of the Environmental Trust, most accounts of paranormal activity happened during the 1970s. People would come to work in the early morning and realize their desks were completely amiss. Another account is that of a woman with a white apron and a blue collar was seen carrying laundry near the staircase. Tenants have also complained in the past of strange electrical anomalies. (www.dailynebraskan.com) FOREST LAWN CEMETERY CHAPEL (OMAHA BACKGROUND: It was established in 1885 when the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association was donated 100 acres in northwest of the city. In 1886, the first interment in the cemetery was the donor of the land, John H. Brackin. Forest Lawn is Omaha's largest cemetery and the burial location of many of Omaha's second generation of leadership. Before Forest Lawn Cemetery was founded, the northwest corner of the property was used as a Potter's Field for poor people and people whose identities were not known. It was used from at least the 1880s through the 1960s. Soon after Forest Lawn was opened, Omaha's pioneer burying place, Prospect Hill Cemetery, stopped being used. Shortly thereafter Prospect Hill's owner, Byron Reed, sold it to Forest Lawn in the 1890s. PHENOMENA: Visitors have reported a large shadowy mass moving in the basement and aggressive voices ordering them to get out. Investigators have had sensations of nausea and tingling feelings when entering. There are are claims of hair pulling and being pushed down stairs. FORT SIDNEY MUSEUM (SIDNEY) BACKGROUND: The 37th Infantry Regiment established "Sidney Station" at a point midway between the Platte Rivers, where the modern community of Sidney, Nebraska, now stands. Initially the installation was a block house on a bluff with soldiers residing in tents nearby. That Spring, Fort Sedgewick, Colorado, was abandoned and the wooden buildings moved by mule train to a location beneath the bluffs and on the Lodgepole creek. This new garrison was named Sidney Barracks and would remain so until 1879, when it was designated Fort Sidney. The Union Pacific railroad eventually arrived and the fort was a trail head for the Sidney-Black Hills Trail to the gold prospecting and mining areas of the Dakotas. The Greenwood Stage Station was a stagecoach stop on the trail. The trail crossed the North Platte River at Camp Clarke Bridge Site. The Fort Sidney Complex is a museum of the remaining fort buildings. PHENOMENA: The wife of a young officer broke her neck in a fall down the stairs in 1885 and it’s said her spirit haunts this location today. After her fatal accident, her husband had the stairs boarded up but the sounds of footsteps and a subsequent fall were nonetheless heard. The stairs were eventually found and restored although they remain unaccessible but the sounds that emanate from them remain. HANNAH’S GRAVE (PLATSMOUTH) BACKGROUND: According to local legend, Hannah was a 16-year-old girl in the 1800s who became pregnant. Her parents, displeased, delivered the baby at home and promptly drowned it in the Missouri River, telling Hannah the baby had been stillborn. Poor Hannah died of a broken heart shortly thereafter and was buried in a nearby field. PHENOMENA: Urban legend alert >> People have reported experiencing the ghost of a woman who is searching for her child. She has been heard crying out for her child according to reports. It has been observed that snow never touches the spot where this woman is buried. Reports of a ghostly light that resembles a lantern floating through the night. (http://hauntin.gs) HASTINGS COLLEGE (HASTINGS) BACKGROUND: The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Hastings College has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission's North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1916. The college's first building was McCormick Hall, constructed in 1883 and still in use today. PHENOMENA: Hastings College is known to have two ghosts. The first is the spirit of Hayes Fuhr, for whom the Fuhr Hall of Music is named. He was one of the first music professors on campus. He appears as an apparition, or sometimes as a floating orb of light. He's known to play pranks on students, making banging noises and turning lights on and off. Many music students say they've had experiences with him, especially after making mistakes during practice sessions on stage. The other ghost on campus is Clara Altman, the namesake of Altman Hall. She is said to protect the residents, and is known to play pranks such as turning radios on and off. (www.theodysseyonline.com) MUSEUM OF SHADOWS (PLATSMOUTH) BACKGROUND: In 1880 there was an empty lot with a creek that ran through where this building sits today. Some of the creek's stones where used to construct the basement walls, including quartz. In 1881 The first business in this location was a saloon and brothel stationary, cigar shop, pharmacist, dentist, doctors office opened its doors on the 1st and second level along with several men that did embalming. Nate & Kaleigh Raterman who are experienced paranormal investigators founded and became the curators of The Museum of Shadows. They take volatile objects of all kinds into their museum. All donations are put into quarantine to be sure the objects are haunted by benign spirits. The items that have nasty, negative spirits attached to them, are put in a storage locker. (ghost.hauntedhouses.com) PHENOMENA: Among the reported activity here, there are disembodied voices of both a young girl and an elderly man, the cries of a young boy that emanate from the weapon that was used to take his life, the sounds of little girls giggling that originate from dolls inside the museum, lights that go on and off by themselves and items filmed rolling across the floor. Visitors have claimed to have been touched by invisible hands. MYSTERY MANOR (OMAHA) BACKGROUND: Built in 1887, this once magnificent dwelling was the home of William and Greta Hall. The meeting place of the elite of Omaha, it was dubbed Hall Manor by those who frequented its confines. The happy times ended on October 23, 1929 when the stock market crashed. By the end of the day William Hall, his vast fortune gone, was a broken man… and quite insane! Late that night, in a blinding rage of madness, he took his ax from its place in the shed and attacked his dear Greta, chopping her body into pieces until his frenzy had abated. The next morning, realizing with horror what he had done, he carefully placed his wife’s remains in a shallow grave in the front yard of her beloved Manor. A week later, Greta's brother John Martin avenged his sister's brutal murder by hacking up his former brother-in-law with the same ax. He reunited the couple in that shallow grave. The next night, Halloween, John Martin’s body was found at the grave site with the ax embedded in his skull. PHENOMENA: It has been widely rumored that the ghost of William Hall still wanders these halls every October waiting for strangers to come so that he might resume his terrible vengeance upon any soul who enters his home.   (http://www.mysterymanoromaha.org) NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOL (LINCOLN) BACKGROUND: On February 20, 1919, the Nebraska Legislature passed House Roll 3 which established a Capitol Commission to oversee construction of a new statehouse. The commission organized the following day and consisted of the governor, the state engineer, and three commissioners appointed by the governor: William E. Hardy (Lincoln), Walter W. Head (Omaha), and William H. Thompson (Grand Island). House Roll 3 also established a special property tax to fund a capitol construction levy and declared that the cost of the capitol was not to exceed $5 million. Throughout construction of the capitol, the legislature extended the levy and ultimately raised the spending limit to $10 million. The Nebraska State Constitution limits state indebtedness, so most state projects must be funded on a "pay-as-you-go" basis. The State of Nebraska funded the capitol under the same principles, and the final cost, $9,800,449.07, was completely paid when the Capitol Commission dissolved in 1935. PHENOMENA: There are many stories of a ghostly Nebraska inmate who fell to his death when stringing lights at the top of the dome and now haunts the building. There are other rumors that the building is stationed on an ancient Native American burial ground and that a man fell to his death on a poorly made staircase. NEVILLE CENTER (NORTH PLATTE) BACKGROUND:  The building was originally constructed as the Fox Theater in 1929 as part of William Fox’s early theater chain. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the Fox West Coast Theater Corporation retrofitted many existing theaters of the silent film era with sound equipment for talking motion pictures. The theater in North Platte was the first in Nebraska to be designed and built to standards Fox established for the “talkies.” The Fox Theater was financed and constructed by Keith Neville and Alex Beck, owners of the North Platte Realty Company. Neville, a native of North Platte, was a prominent businessman and civic leader in the community, who served two years as governor of Nebraska (1917–1919). (https://sah-archipedia.org) PHENOMENA: There is a legend that an old vaudeville actor fell to his death from the balcony and that is now - along with the lighting booth - one of the more haunted areas of the building. Patrons and staff have felt unusual cold spots with some reporting shadowy figures in the balcony. Patrons claim to have felt friendly hands on them as they enter as if welcoming them. O’HANLON HOUSE (OMAHA) BACKGROUND: The O’Hanlon House is currently owned and utilized by A.R.C.H. Halfway House. The A.R.C.H. Halfway House is for men who are recovering from alcoholism. PHENOMENA: John and Bridget O'Hanlon moved into their home in a quiet neighborhood of Omaha in 1887. It was not long after that strange things began to happen in the house. It usually began with a rapping at the front door. Whenever the residents would go to look and see who was knocking, there was never anyone there. Soon, the polite rapping turned into a steady pounding, a sound that seemed as if someone was trying to break down the door. It could sometimes be so intense that it would shake the walls of the house. The pounding was followed by more disconcerting events. Soon, the door would be flung open as if someone had managed to break it open with the incessant knocking. Disembodied footsteps were heard in the hallway, the parlor, the kitchen and every room in the house until it vibrated with the sounds of marching feet. Then the screaming and moaning began... an eerie wailing that came from the cellar beneath the house. Dishes flew from the cabinets, chairs flew across the room and total chaos ruled the house. Needless to say, the O'Hanlons were a little shook up by this. They had moved into the house, despite the rumors that had circulated about the place... stories that indeed seemed to be true. Their new house was haunted! Legend had it that a peddler had been murdered there years before and his body secreted somewhere in the cellar. Five years before, when repairs were being made on the place, a human skeleton had been discovered. Shortly after this body was disturbed, the footsteps began and after that, few families stayed in the house for very long. Workmen who had been hired by John O'Hanlon quit after working there for only one day. The place was haunted, they said, although John refused to believe it until he and Bridget moved in. Needless to say, they moved out after a very short time in their new home. (www.prairieghosts.com) OLDE MAIN STREET INN (CHADRON) BACKGROUND: The Olde Main Street Inn was built in 1890 and originally called the Hotel Chadron. The Hotel Chadron was built in 1890 by Peter and Margaret O’Hanlon, after their previous hotel, the Chadron House, was destroyed by fire. This hotel is known for its use as General Nelson Miles headquarters when he investigated the tragic events at Wounded Knee in 1890-1891, describing those events as “The most abominable criminal military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children”. (www.hauntedbarguide.com) PHENOMENA: The Olde Main Street Inn is reported to be haunted by two entities. They are called Jack and Anna due to their resemblance to two family members of previous owners. “Uncle Jack” was a prankster in life and the ghost residing at the Olde Main Street Inn seems to have a penchant for pranks, moving objects, slamming doors, and making disembodied sounds of footsteps on the stairs. A couple who had stayed in the hotel had placed a glass of water on their bed side table. When they woke up the following morning, the glass had been moved to a different corner in the room. The other ghost comes in the form of an apparition of a woman in a red dress who looks like Jack’s sister Anna. PLATTE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM (COLUMBUS) BACKGROUND:  Frederick Krause started building the mansion on June 14, 1882, and it was completed on May 8, 1883. He was a friend of Missouri Governor Silas Woodson of St. Joseph, Missouri, who sent Krause to Prussia, his homeland, as the Missouri representative to the World's Fair in 1879. During this time, while visiting the governor in Jefferson City, Missouri, he became so impressed with the class and architectural style of the governor's mansion that he decided to built his own "city dwelling" as a mini-replica. Mr. and Mrs. Krause raised a son and six daughters in the home. The youngest child was born there in December 1882, when the home was only half competed. Mr. Krause died in 1894 and Mrs. Krause lived there until she sold the home in 1917 and moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, to live with a daughter. While living there, Mrs. Krause entertained her friends during the long winter afternoons with quilting bees in the dining room. Mr. Thomas Perry, Sr., was just going out of office as sheriff when he bought the home for $4,000. The Perry family owned the home for 56 years. A daughter, Miss Jenny Perry, lived in the home all of her adult life.  In November of 1976, word was received that the late Ben Ferrel had left a trust to the two organizations. The amount was $37,000 for the purpose of buying or building a museum or meeting place to be located in Platte City, Missouri, in memory of his mother and sister. The location most desired was a beautiful Federal Empire Victorian brick mini- mansion located at 221 Oak Street in Platte City. (http://www.museumsusa.org) PHENOMENA: There are reports of shadowy figures in the building and regular visitors to the property claim to hear unexplained, disembodied voices heard coming out of empty rooms on occasion. SEVEN SISTERS ROAD (NEBRASKA CITY) BACKGROUND: Urban legend alert >> A few miles south of Nebraska City, there lies a group of hills that is subject of one of the most gruesome haunted legends known in the state. As the story goes, over a century ago man who lived in the area along with his family which consisted of seven sisters. One day for some unknown reason, whether deranged or there was some sort of family quarrel and the man went berserk, he led each of his sisters in turn to a separate hill near their home and hung each one from a tree until they were dead. PHENOMENA: There are multiple claims of frightening activity on and around the road. One is of a 6 foot creature in the woods with red eyes, resembling a wolf that walks upright who stalks hunters, hikers and passersby. Legend has it that one night th beast ran after a group of teenagers and grabbed their car when they tried to drive away, stopping it in place. It grabbed one of the young men and threw him into a ditch. There are sounds of blood-curdling screams that originate from the woods, headlights that inexplicably dim when driving by, speedometers that stop working and windows rolling up and down on their own. It’s been said the sound of bells can be heard and witnesses report seeing shadowy figures roaming the area. People have also reported the grisly site of bodies hanging from the trees which is said to be linked to the murders of the seven sisters that ostensibly took place there. SPEAKEASY (HOLDREGE) BACKGROUND: The Speakeasy’s history pre-dates Prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s. Once a post office and general store, the brick building on Poly Line Road between Holdrege and Wilcox was built around 1880 and the bleached wood façade seems straight out of an Old West film. Ryan Puls, owner and head chef, has a history with the Speakeasy, too. His parents purchased the restaurant in 1980 and he grew up in the restaurant. Continuing in the family business wasn’t his plan; after graduating from Holdrege High School, he chose to enroll in the Art Institute of Seattle. But, even when he was studying music recording and business, he kept eyeing the culinary program. (http://www.holdregechamber.com) PHENOMENA: The resident spirit here is called “Faceless Fred” and as for who he was, he is said to have run the general store that was once here. Some accounts have him a rather shy individual while others claim he was a whiskey maker and a philanderer with the general store actually being a road house. It’s said a general named Joseph Hooker (!) came through town accompanied by a host of prostitutes and Fred ended up in an affair with one. When his wife discovered this, it’s said she cut off all or most of his face and buried his body either in the road or in the well outside the store. His ghost is said to travel back and forth between the two places which takes him right through the Speakeasy. One night a bartender was closing and reported a man dressed in a flannel shirt and overalls entered the bar area and ordered a whiskey. When the bartender turned, there was no one there, but the description of the man fit the one in the painting of Fred that hangs in the elevator lobby. He also makes his presence known by hurling pots and pans or by following attractive young waitresses around during the day. TEMPLE THEATER (LINCOLN) BACKGROUND: In 1904, ground was broken on the corner of 12th and R Streets., and much to the dismay of many University of Nebraska- Lincoln administrators of the time, work began on a three-story brick building that would become the Temple Building. Originally designed as a "social and religious building," the Temple housed a band room, a spa with kitchen, a banquet hall and a locker room. It was the predecessor to the modern day Student Union. John D. Rockefeller, who had donated $66,666.67, two-thirds of Temple's cost, insisted that one of the building's major social functions be to house a theater. When the curtains opened for the first production in 1908, George Bernard Shaw's "You Never Can Tell", UNL became the fourth university in the country to have a functioning theater program. PHENOMENA: It’s believed one of the ghosts is that of the late theater department head, Dallas Williams, who died in 1971 from a heart attack. He was known to be eccentric at times, especially when teaching. All who believe in Dallas’s ghost haunting the halls of the Temple Building generally feel like he is a friendly presence — almost parental in a way. Many in the department either believe in these presences or have experienced some run-in with the ghosts who inhabit the building. A student was said to have fallen to his death in the 1940s from the overhead rigging during a production of MacBeth. His apparition is known to appear during Shakespeare presentations. A ghostly young girl is also said to reside here along with a dancing ghost who has been heard practicing their dance steps. http://www.dailynebraskan.com WAYNE STATE COLLEGE (WAYNE) BACKGROUND: The college opened as a State Normal School in 1910 after the State purchased the private Nebraska Normal College (established 1891). The State Normal College became State Normal School and Teacher's College in 1921. This was changed to Nebraska State Teachers College at Wayne in 1949 and the present name was adopted in 1963 PHENOMENA: It is said a former student named “Cora” who committed suicide in a Neihardt Hall dorm basement still haunts the college with people reporting odd cold spots, the feeling of a cold touch on their shoulders as well as Cora’s full-bodied apparition. The ghost of a little girl who was allegedly electrocuted by bare wires while chasing after a ball has been seen chasing that same ball in the tunnel that connects the dorms. The school theater is said to be haunted by a mischievous ghost who enjoys messing with lights, moving chairs and manipulating objects that float through the air. WHEAT GROWERS HOTEL (KIMBALL) BACKGROUND: In December of 1918, over 200 people attended the opening of the elegant Wheat Gorwers Hotel, where they dined and danced. It was the show place of Western Nebraska at the time and said to be the finest hotel between Omaha and Denver. Frank Cunningham was one of the largest wheat growers in the state and he used his hotel to celebrate the crop. From the bricked-in name on the side and the front of the building, to the inlaid shock of wheat on the tiled lobby to the mural of the threshing scene by Andy Borgeson, Sr. over the lobby, wheat is noted in the building. The basement was one huge ballroom and saw some of Kimball’s most elaborate parties during the period following World War I. The 86 rooms of the hotel were very modern for their time, with plumbing, electricity, and steam heat. The cost of the building was $100,000 – a very large sum for 1918. As people began traveling more by car, there was no need for a hotel near the rail road. Eventually, no passenger trains traveled through Kimball and the once elaborate, elegant hotel has been replaced by the modern convenient motels. In 1988 the hotel was closed. PHENOMENA: It’s said a woman was somehow trapped in a tunnel that linked the hotel and a local speakeasy for several days without food and water and eventually died there below the hotel. Passersby have reported for years the sight of a woman appearing in a top-floor window. The hotel has been closed for some time now and is currently for sale, yet the ghostly young female remains in clear sight. At times she’s been known to leap from closets, terrifying people and seems to be intent on scaring people away. WHITE HOUSE APARTMENTS (OMAHA) BACKGROUND: This was likely a Victorian home and was built in the late 1890s or very early 1900s. As a large Italian population grew, the building was converted into a much-needed hospital. It was next turned into apartment buildings for students attending local universities and today it is the same for art students and professional artists as well as recent graduates just starting out on their own. PHENOMENA: There is a ghostly woman seen dressed in a white gown that reportedly floats about the halls of the building. She welcomes people to the place in the lobby area by flashing a smile and then disappearing into thin air. There is also a host of “corner of the eye” phenomena where people see shadow figures in their peripheral vision. BACK TO TO PARANORMAL DATABASE
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