Ghost Story from a Mid-Missouri Farm

Mid-Missouri is full of ghost stories. Many areas in mid-Missouri were home to Native Americans. As settlers moved west, Native Americans were moved from their homelands. One thing they left behind were burial and tribal sacred grounds. Mid-Missouri was also settled very early in our nation's history. These two facts lead to many areas in mid-Missouri being believed to be haunted. My wife's family home is one of those areas. When asked to public a personal ghost story, I did not need to look far. I asked my wife to recount her experiences.

Any ghost story is better with some background. My wife's family home is located in Hallsville, Missouri. Hallsville is a small community about 30 miles outside of Columbia, Missouri. Currently, her parents own about 40 acres of farm land. When growing up, they lived in a small four room farmhouse. The home had stood for many years. Her parents purchased the home in the 1960s.

While growing up, my wife's parents often told their children about their homes other inhabitants. They recounted many stories about odd happenings around the home. The incident began shortly after they purchased the property. My wife's parents recounted hearing doors closing, furniture being moved, people talking, and radios playing. Her parents had even named the ghost "George".

My wife and her brother did not think much of their parent's stories. They knew that their father enjoyed ghost stories and playing small pranks on the kids. Her brother and her chalked these stories up to their parents trying to scare them. However, future events would change their points of view.

When the incidents began happening to her, my wife's opinion started to change. My wife described when her attitude first changed, "My mother told us about the time her and I both were sick with pneumonia and she actually saw "George". Mom was in bed and she actually saw "George". Mom was in bed asleep when she a woke to "the most god awful smell. It smelt like rotten flesh." When mom rolled over and looked, she said she saw "George". She described him as an older man in dishoveled clothes with a worried look on his face. Mom stated that she looked away in a second and when she looked back, "George" was gone."

My wife's experience with "George" continued for many years. My wife continued her story, "After this incident, "George" did not really bother the family. He did small things like move eyeglasses, move knickknacks, and terrorize the dogs and cats. As I grew older, "George" seemed to become attached to me and left the rest of the family alone. There were times growing up that "George" would appear in just a second to me, especially if I was doing something I was not supposed to do like staying up past bedtime or watching a TV show late at night that I was not allowed to watch. When "George" did this he would appear in an all white form and just sit looking at me. When this happened I knew I better get my butt back to bed and stay there.

The one major incident happened in 1993. This was the year that we had major flooding in Missouri. The ceiling in my parents' bedroom collapsed due to a leak in the roof. The insulation became waterlogged. My parents had to have the roof repaired and the ceiling repaired. The night the repairs were done I was getting ready for bed. As soon as I got into bed I had one of my pictures from the other side of the room come flying at me. Fortunately, the picture missed me. I was mad and told "George" about it. This was one time I did not get in trouble for cussing. After this incident "George" left me alone. "George" began rocking in the rocking chair in the living room.

Until the day my parents had the old house torn down, anytime I went to my parents house, I felt like something or someone was watching me. My parents had the old house torn down over a year ago. When the new house was completed the new house. So far it seems that "George" stayed with the old house."

Many people doubt that ghosts exist. They require an explanation for any unusual event. However, my father-in-law points to many facts that support a potential haunting. The former inhabitant had passed away in the home. In the 19^th century, the property had been home to Native Americans. Over the years, many Native American artifacts were found on the property. When working the farm, he had found many Indian arrow heads. When digging the basement, for their new home, pieces of pottery were also found. Whether the old home had a ghost or not may never be proven; however, these experiences to provide fodder for anyone's imagination.