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Pythian Castle is allegedly haunted by any number of ghosts and spirits. |
Pythian Castle
Pythian Castle was completed around 1913. Between then and the middle of the 20th century it served a number of purposes—not all of them very pleasant, says Kenneth Deel, a local demonologist with the Paranormal Task Force. Deel is a ghost and demon investigator, one who goes into a purportedly haunted place and determines the nature of the spirit before calling in an exorcist or ghost-busting outfit.
Deel has visited the mansion on four occasions, and says its history is important to understanding its haunting. Between 1913 and 1950 the castle served as a hospital, an orphanage, a Service Club (for military men) and an Army reserve station. He says EVP readings from the basement, where a tunnel was once used to move carts between the mansion and an outer laundry building, reveal a hulking, dark spirit—one that’s malevolent, due to possible abuse or torture of patients, orphans, and German POWs.
Other spirits in the house are not as sinister. Guests report seeing and hearing a number of spirits, including a boy and a girl in 1940s garb playing near the stairs, soldiers in uniform, and a ticket-taker named Jeff near the stage in the second-floor theater. Owner Tamera Finnochiaro says she and other guests have heard voices, felt presences, and witnessed ghosts ever since she bought the building.
—M.L.
Reader Comments:
I'm going to order this edition! It's great!
Just wanted to tip you that you have a paranormal investigation team right here in your backyard - Springfield Paranormal Research Group. Their founder - John Harris - has been researching here in SW MO all over the nation for over 10 years. He had been quoted in two books, been the guest on paranormal radio shows, credited on the documentary "Children of the Grave" for his work at Pythian Castle, and is well known for catching one of the best paranormal pictures at Wilson Creek Battlefield. So next time you do something on the paranormal, you may want to look him up.
John Harris - john@springfieldparanormal.net
http://www.springfieldparanormal.net/