Haunted Springfield, Missouri

Haunted America

by Sherry Jones, Edward L. Underwood, Karen J. Underwood

Echoes of a dynamic history still linger in Springfield, Missouri. The town square was the scene of a Civil War battle, a Wild Bill Hickok shootout and a tragic 1906 lynching. From the phantom landlord of Jefferson Avenue to the spectral bride of Grove Park Bridge, meet figures from the town’s past that continue to mystify its present. Pore over reports of supernatural activity at Drury College and the Landers Theater and investigate a bounty of bizarre, sensational rumors from the surrounding countryside in this collection of Springfield ghost lore.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Emilee · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were probably a few little bits of historical facts, but overall it seemed very flowery and fabricated. It's not a long book, so if you have absolutely nothing else to read and are up for some random somewhat entertaining stories then this would work. I was super disappointed.

[Cari · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mid-Missourian and lover of all things paranormal, I was pretty excited when I found Haunted Springfield, Missouri in Kindle Unlimited while searching for ghost stories. Underwood highlights several different local legends and reported hauntings across the town of Springfield; at locations such as a Civil War battlefield, several different universities, retirement homes, the old town square, etc. I was actually really surprised that the Pythian Castle (one of the more popular paranormal locations in the state) wasn't featured in the book, but based on things I've seen/read about that place, it could probably fill a whole book. My favorite of the stories was probably the one about Wild Bill Hickock's shoot-out in the town square back in 1865. I'm a big fan of Ghost Adventures and they presumably made contact with Wild Bill during their investigation of Deadwood (the site of his murder) so it felt like a familiar spirit (although it was Hickock who did the killing in Springfield).

Overall, I thought this was pretty solid storytelling and a spooky read about some of the tragic events of Springfield, Missouri, that have left permanent spiritual stains on the town.

[Danny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Expected so much more! Drury "Music Man" story does not match with Drury's website. The book states that the play was done in 1980. This webpage
http://www.drury.edu/theatre/Drury-Th... states that the musical "Music Man" was last performed in 1963-1964.As a lifelong area resident, I don't remember hearing anything about this story in the news. The Branson chapter has several geographic errors. Branson and Taney County has been moved "North" of Springfield. Great book idea, just expected it to be executed much better. A collection of very vague random stories.

[Cheri Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was fair!

This was a decent book. Not all that interesting. I found myself skipping through the last 7 or 8 chapters. It just didn't hold my attention like the books that told alot of history and hauntings combined. Most of these are ghost stories and very little on actual hauntings. It was basically ok, though.

[Misty Lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a simple read, good for passing the time. Reads more as a commentary with less ghostly accounts than I expected. Some portions seemed like the authors were really reaching for something to add that proved a spot was haunted without anything to really back it up.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunted Springfield, Missouri by Edward L. Underwood is part of the Haunted America series. It really wasn't so much about haunting ,as it was about ghosts-- or ghostly presence. I was interested in this book because we lived there in the early 1980s, but I do not remember anyone talking about the hauntings or the ghosts. The horrible acts on the Square were brought to our attention, though. This was a decent read, but not quite what I was looking for. Middle grade or YA readers would really enjoy this.

[Snow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a scientist and I love facts,solid dates and names, pictures of records or info about sources. Sadly this book was very short on all of these things. Good storytelling