Ozark Ghost Folklore

The Ozark people who live in Missouri and Arkansas were descended from pioneers who came West from the Southern Appalachians, at the beginning of the 19^th century.

They mostly came from British stock many of their families had lived in America since colonial days.

They had very minimal contact with the outer world for more than a hundred years. At the turn of the century--1900--they still were not influenced by the progress that shaped the rest of the country.

These “hillbillies” as they became known, clung to the old customs of their ancestors. Because of this their old songs, sayings and stories are still shared today.

Hand in hand with their traditional beliefs came a firm belief in superstitions and ghosts.

During pioneer times the old-time hillfolk would invite people to their cabins for the express purpose of swapping supernatural tales. In a society where people didn’t hold with “dancing” and “card playing” ghost stories were a cherished form of entertainment.

In my post entitled, Kentucky Ghostlore I share one version of a ghost story entitled Dividing Up the Dead often told in the Ozarks.

Many of the ghost stories told were not only scary but also humorous. Here is a prime example from 1899.

A Lost Relationship

A young man had been visiting his sweetheart. As he rode away from her gate at midnight, she called, “I’ll be with you all the way home.”

Soon he noticed something white floating in the air behind him. He kicked his horse into a trot, but the white object stayed close.

Just before he reached home the young man’s hat flew off, but he was too scared to stop and look for it.

Next morning he told his mother that the girl he was courting must be a witch. He announced that he intended to never see her again or have anything to do with her.

His sweetheart had no idea what was wrong. She wrote him several letters but never received a reply. A few months later she married and moved to Oklahoma.

The young man never saw her again. In the fall of that year, he was walking through the woods where he had lost his hat.

He spotted something sticking up out of the brambles with a roll of cotton attached to it. He spotted a familiar snakeskin hatband. It was his hat.

His sweetheart and her mother, on the last night he visited them had been carding cotton.

The long roll of cotton, streaming from his hat, was the “white thing” that had floated behind as he raced home.

Published 1947

The Crescent Hotel’s Ghosts Part ll

In The Crescent Hotel’s Quack Doctor Part I, I share the history of this hotel and the story of the quack doctor who bilked cancer patients out of millions of dollars. 

Sightings of this fake doctor's ghost and a nurse that worked for him are both seen at this fully restored hotel located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

There are many other ghosts seen at this hotel.

One apparition seen is that of a red-haired stonemason that the staff at the hotel calls, Michael. This ghost is said to be one of the original craftsmen who built the hotel in 1885. While working on the roof, Michael lost his footing and slipped. He fell to the second floor and was instantly killed.

Today the spot where he fell is Room# 218. This room is one of the active areas in the hotel. Michael is known to turn the room’s lights and television on and off, he also opens and closes the door. Loud knocks are also heard in this area.

One guest saw hands come out of the bathroom mirror, while others have heard the sounds of cries and someone falling from above. Other guests have been shaken awake by unseen hands. A frightened guest was seen running from the room quickly when he was later questioned he stated that he had seen blood on the walls in the room.

The Crystal Dining Room, a large 500-seat room in the hotel is very active. Over the years, many guests and staff have spotted ghosts wearing Victorian style clothing. These apparitions are seen dancing and socializing with others.

One 19^th century man is seen sitting at a table near a window. He has told witnesses that have approached him, “I saw the most beautiful woman here last night, and I am waiting for her to return.” This man is believed to be the ghost of a Dr. John Freemont Ellis who visited the hotel often during its glory days in the late 1800s.

One waitress working in this dining room spotted the image of a bride and groom in the room’s large mirror. When she turned, they were not there. She stated that the groom made eye contact with her, but when she looked again, his image just faded away.

The ghosts in the Crystal Room, like to move items. One Christmas, the staff, returned to the dining room to find that the Christmas Tree and wrapped packages that were placed under it had been moved to the other side of the room. Many of the chairs in the dining room had also been moved. They were found placed in a circle around this Christmas tree.

Yet another time the staff discovered all the dinner menus that had been left neatly stacked, the previous night were now scattered throughout the room.

In the dining room’s kitchen, a ghost of a young boy is seen skipping around. Pots and pans in this area are often found off their hooks without explanation.

Between 1908-1924, the old hotel was used for a woman’s college. One young student either was pushed or jumped to her death off a balcony.  Guests at the hotel today state they have heard her screams as she falls.

Another Victorian dressed gentleman is seen wearing a top hat near the bottom of the stairs in the hotel lobby. He has a full beard and mustache. His ghost is also seen sitting in the hotel’s bar area. When people attempt to talk to him, he doesn’t respond--instead, he just fades away.

One last ghost sighting is a waiter who is seen by guests carrying a tray of butter as he walks through the hotel’s hallways.

The Syfy show Ghost Hunters did an investigation of this hotel in 2005. They caught an image of a man on their thermal imaging camera. Here is one frame of what they captured.

The Crescent Hotel’s Quack Doctor Part I

This hotel designed by Isaac L. Taylor was built atop a mountain in 1885 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was touted as “America’s most luxurious resort hotel.” 

Its purpose was to cater to the many tourists who came to partake of the “healing waters” of the Ozarks. It had a 500-seat dining room, swimming pool, tennis courts, and beautiful gardens. The views from its terraces and rooms are spectacular.

At first, the hotel was a great success, but as time passed people slowly stopped coming to Eureka Springs realizing the healing waters in the area were not as effective as they were made out to be. The hotel no longer able to pay its bills closed.

By 1908, the former hotel was being used as a Women’s College, but by 1924 this school closed down finding student tuitions were not enough to sustain the upkeep on the large building. In 1930 a Junior College took ownership, but they sold the old hotel shortly afterward in 1934.

Normal Baker

In 1937, Norman Baker, a quack doctor who was a con man, bought the building. He reopened the building as a cancer hospital and a health resort. 

He advertised that the combination of the area’s healing waters in conjunction with his “miracle elixirs” could cure cancer without unnecessary tests or surgery.

Cancer patients from all over the country flocked to “Bakers Hospital” to be cured. Unfortunately, Baker was not a real doctor--in fact in 1936, he had been arrested in Iowa for practicing medicine without a license. The Federal authorities becoming aware of his false claims swooped down and arrested him in 1939 on a charge of mail fraud.

“It is said he had each patient write home three times asking for more and more money.”

Baker was also mailing his “miracle elixir” around the country--it was estimated that he had conned 4 million dollars out of desperate cancer patients over the years that he ran Baker Hospital. He served five years in Leavenworth and then moved to Florida where he died in 1958.

He had not cured one patient--instead he managed to shorten the life span of many.

After this, new investors from Chicago bought the quack doctor's hospital and started to restore it, but in 1967 a fire destroyed most of the 4^th story and south wing.

By 1997, when a couple, Marty and Elisa Roenigk purchased the hotel stating they were going to restore the Crescent Hotel to its original glory, not many people in Eureka Springs believed them. 

But within 5 years, and with millions of dollars, they did precisely this. It has been over 100 years since the hotel’s original opening, and the Crescent shines once more.

Today the Crescent Hotel is a popular tourist destination in the Ozarks. An added attraction is the hotel’s large assortment of ghosts.

Norman Baker’s apparition has been seen. Witnesses have spotted him wearing a white linen suit and a brightly colored shirt. He is seen in the hotel’s recreation room in the basement-- it is here where he coaxed patients to write home to request money. 

His ghost is also seen on the 1st-floor stairway. When old photos are shown of Baker, these witnesses state he is the man they saw.

Another ghost is believed to be a staff nurse that worked at the hospital. She is seen in the middle of the night wearing all white on the hotel’s 3^rd floor. Her ghost is seen pushing a gurney on this floor with a deceased patient. Many witnesses stated that she just disappears as she reaches the end of the hall.

Other witnesses have not seen her but heard the gurney’s squeaky wheels as it passed their rooms late at night.

These sightings also fit in with the hotel’s history. Dr. Baker kept a morgue in the basement--and deceased patients were always moved in the middle of the night from their rooms so others would not see them. The hotel still displays the morgue’s autopsy table and freezer.   

Another ghost seen connected to this time is one of Dr. Baker’s unfortunate patients. The hotel’s cleaning staff sees this female ghost. They describe her as a shy elderly woman, oddly dressed, who calls herself “Theodora.” She approaches these staff members, and politely introduces herself then she vanishes right in front of them.

The laundry room on the 3^rd floor is also said to be active. The washers and dryers turn on in the middle of the night without cause.

In Part ll of this post entitled, The Crescent Hotel’s GhostsPart II I share more stories about the ghosts seen at this grand old hotel.

The Cursed and Haunted Desha County Courthouse

Desha County Courthouse, located in a remote part of southeastern Arkansas, has experienced an odd phenomenon with its clock. 

It is said the bells do not ring at the right time because of a ghost known as  “Willard.” Willard has haunted the courthouse for over 100 years. 

While alive, Willard was accused and convicted of a crime that he professed he did not do. Since his execution, the courthouse clock and bells have been cursed.

In December of 2008, just three minutes before noon, the bell atop the old Desha Courthouse rang only once. The bells were supposed to ring 12 times--the one time it did ring was three minutes early. 

Judge Mark McElroy told a reporter and photographer that witnessed the malfunction that Willard, the courthouse’s ghost was evidently angry again. But this was nothing new for the clock has never worked properly since Willard’s death at the turn of the century.

Willard story began between 1899 and 1903, when a man lost money gambling in an Arkansas City hotel took revenge by setting fire to this hotel and several others in the area. They all burned to the ground. 

Willard was captured and convicted of these arsons. He was then sentenced to hang at the courthouse. Willard proclaimed until his death that he was innocent.

Dee Fowler whose grandmother served on the jury that convicted Willard of the crime states that her grandmother heard Willard tell those who watched his execution:

“I will curse the new E. Howard clock that sits atop this courthouse.“ Willard went on to state: “I am not guilty and to prove my innocence, this clock will never keep the correct time again.”

Some witnesses stated that the clock stopped when Willard died. 

Judge McElroy on the bench since 1993, told a reporter that interviewed him that the clock has never appropriately worked since that time.

One night, several years before this interview, the bells rang through the night, keeping the residents awake for hours, before the judge could arrive and shut them off.

In the 1970s, the town decided to run the clock off electricity rather than weights, hoping this would solve the problem. It didn’t. 

In more recent years, the town brought in a clock expert from Florida who changed out the old parts with new ones. But it appears the clock remains cursed.

Judge McElroy and many of his staff who work at the historic courthouse feel strongly that a ghost roams its halls. 

Many have heard doors slamming and footsteps in areas where no one can be found. 

Desha County clerk, Beth McMahan states that even the clocks on the staff’s phones malfunction. The dates on their phones often reflect one day behind, and when people try to fix this--they find their efforts futile.

Frustrated, McElroy has even considered options to try and undo the curse. 

The town has considered bringing in someone who can get rid of the ghost, and McElroy has proposed holding a “mock trial” where they would undo Willard’s conviction of guilt in the arsons. 

But these ideas have been tabled, and it appears Willard’s ghost still does not rest in peace.