Tremeear - Missouris haunted Route 66: ghosts along the Mother Road

The Route 66 Paranormal Alliance (PAL) team stands beneath the haunted bridge at Phelps Grove Park in Springfield, Missouri. From left: Dean Pestana, author Janice Tremeear, Charlene Wells, Jeanna Barker, Alicia Holder, Andrew Muller. Not pictured: Ken Brewer. Courtesy of Steve May.

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2010 by Janice Tremeear

All rights reserved

Front cover image: Vintage postcard of Missouris Route 66. Courtesy of the author.

First published 2010

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.422.7

Tremeear, Janice

Missouris haunted Route 66 : ghosts along the Mother Road / Janice Tremeear.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-041-6

1. Ghosts--Missouri. 2. Ghosts--United States Highway 66. 3. Haunted places--Missouri. 4. Haunted places--United States Highway 66. 5. Folklore--Missouri. 6. Folklore--United States Highway 66. 7. Missouri--History, Local. 8. United States Highway 66--History, Local. I. Title.

BF1472.U6T76 2010

133.109778--dc22

2010031405

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For my family. All of you.

My mom, Thelma Rice, survived two husbands, heart trouble and a small stroke this past spring that had us fearing wed lose her, too. Twenty years my senior, her mind is still agile and sharp. I love you, Mom. I want to be as strong as you are when I grow up.

Robert and Pat Routt, my brother and sisterthey followed me on our wild childhood adventures out on the farm and have lived to tell about it. Jumping from the hayloft and having the wits scared out of us over Jack the Giant Killer brought us closer together and just a tad bit crazier.

My children: the most special people in the world and my hearts joy.

Jennifer, Charlene and Nathaniel often find themselves sucked into my schemes and love me anyway. You are my world, and Im so proud of you.

My grandchildren: Geoffrey, Madison, Tonia and Ericaa brand spanking new, innocent generation for me to corrupt with granny evilness or spoil them with love. They are the lights of my soul.

Extended family includes the members of Route 66 PAL. We have bonded in trust and friendship and have one anothers back in sometimes physically dangerous situations. Theyve cheered me on every step of the way during this project.

My belly dance sisters of Project Vagabond and Gypsy Sol whove put up with my being distracted at rehearsals and put me through the paces, making me sweat out the stiffness of too much computer time and the frustration of deadlines. These twelve strong, magnificent women have proven this many females can gather several times a week and travel in cramped situations without resorting to the predatory nature that TV and movies portray as female nature. I consider myself blessed to be a part of your journey.

My soul mate, Deanhe believes in me. He supports me and puts up with my love of anime and RPGs. He joins me on my crazed missions, or perhaps with his pirate nature hes abducted me into his world and I just havent realized it yet. Thanks sweetheart!

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks go out to many people for their part in making this book happen: Route 66 Paranormal Alliance, Alicia Holder, Andrew Muller, Jeanna Barker, Charlene Wells, Ken Brewer and Dean Pestana. The team encouraged me from the beginning and helped with gathering information.

Thanks Jeanna for your research and the drawing of Rachel.

Charlene spent hours getting me stories not found elsewhere and writing them down for me.

Dean was there, in all ways possible, driving with me to sites, taking pictures, scanning photos, tagging photo captions and digging for the tale on Goatmans Grave, the one story everybody knew but no one seemed to know the exact location. He brought me tea and rubbed the knots from my sore shoulders after I hunkered over the keyboard for hours. Hes the one whos had to put up with me when Ive gotten growly.

Thanks to Visnja McCullar for her experience at the Daniel Boone Village.

Thank you Jason of SNIPE for the Goatmans Grave accounts.

To Pat Brown Bailey for use of her story and photo of the Springfield National Cemetery.

To Tammy Preston for the MSU storiestogether, Tammy and Charlene provided me with the wonderful Killer Squirrels legend I had to include for being one of the most unusual bits of haunted lore youll come across.

Thanks Robert Preston for converting the stories to PDF files so my computer would open it.

Dan and Sherri Terry: Dan is Spookstalker, a former police officer with several paranormal investigations and books to his credit. The Terrys sent me information on their findings at Harney Mansion, Tri County Truck Stop and Prosperity Bed and Breakfast.

Steve May for his photography of Route 66 PAL at Phelps Grove Park by the haunted bridge.

My editor Ben Gibson for contacting ushe asked if I thought there were enough tales of haunted locations along Route 66 to make a book. I answered, Heck theres enough ghost stories here in Springfield to make a book. And so it began.

Bill and Chris Bryant for allowing Route 66 PAL to be the first group to discover the haunted Rack It, and Chriss story on the Joplin Spook Light.

Tamara Finocchiaro and Tim Piland for the history and tour of the wonderful Pythian Castle. Tamara is a gracious hostess, and Tims accounts of the happenings in the castle would inspire a movie.

Thank you, Philip and Christopher Booth and Spooked TV, for the Children of the Grave footage and information on Zombie Road and Pythian Castle. Your photos are awesome. As busy as the Booth Brothers are within the filmmaking industry, they are always cordial and accessible. Love ya guys! Namaste.

Avoa, for allowing me to take up a semipermanent residence on her computer.

INTRODUCTION

Route 66 has an illustrious history. In 1921, Missourians passed the Centennial Road Law to link all of the states county seats. Before, Americas highways were poorly labeled. Travel was extremely difficult and often dangerous.

To solve this problem, a road numbering and naming system was devised. The plan was to have major highways running north to south be marked in odd numbers, with east to west highways ending in the number zero. One major highway, Missouri State Road 14, linked the county seats from St. Louis to Joplin.

State Road 14 was to become part of Highway 60, which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, passing through several midwestern states, including Missouri. Kentucky objected; the state leaders demanded a major highway be numbered with a zero even though no transcontinental roads passed through the state. Kentucky wanted the highway between Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Springfield, Missouri, to be numbered Highway 60, with the section of the road to Chicago to be numbered Highway 62. The Bureau of Public Roads agreed.