HAUNTED LAWRENCE

It does not seem controversial to say that the haunted house is the
quintessential ghostly locale. Tales of abandoned abodes possessed by
the souls of previous occupants have long fascinated those interested in the
possibility of life after death, from the ancient Romans to the Victorian
English. The citizens of Lawrence are not exempt.
In the past, there have been numerous reports of haunted houses in the
city. Unfortunately, many of these structures are either no longer in existence
or their addresses were not recorded, making them all but impossible to
locate. Luckily, a few of these haunted houses caused enough interest in the
town for local newspapers to consider them worthy of articles. One of the
first examples of these articles can be found in the June 12, 1885 issue of the
Lawrence Daily Journal. According to the paper:
Lawrence has a haunted house, and yesterday a man was so exercised over
the matter that he went into one of our hotels and wanted to bet $10 that
there was no man in the house he could point out. An employee of the
Journal being at hand and not being afraid to have a seance [sic] with
the airy beings of the other world took it up. After mature deliberation the
gentleman of the first part concluded to withdraw and gave up $2 to get
out of the bet.
After the paper broke the news, the whole town was in a state of
excitement, and soon, people began speculating as to the nature of the
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house. Four days later, the newspaper related the experience of three
intrepid youths who decided to journey into the cursed structure:
Last evening three young men visited the haunted house. They had matches
and were very bold at first as related to a Journal reporter but were greatly
surprised when they saw an apparition. One of them fired at it three times
but without any effect. They retired in good order but some what [sic]
surprised. The place is creating quite an excitement in the neighborhood
where it is situated.
For many weeks, the building continued to attract the attention of—as
the Lawrence Daily Journal put it—the “more credulous,” and myriad stories
about the house and its supposed ethereal inhabitants circulated among the
townsfolk. But as with all novelties, interest in the building began to dwindle.
The final story concerning this house was published by the Lawrence Daily
Journal on June 21, 1885. Unfortunately, it contributed nothing of substance
and devolved into an (unintentionally humorous) ad for clothing, reading:
“The haunted house is creating quite an excitement, but not as much as Abe
Levy’s reasonable prices on hats, Summer Underwear, Ties [etc.] at 103.”
A curious reader might wonder what became of the house. The
unsatisfying answer is that no one seems to know, as after June 1885, the
historical record goes quiet. Given that the newspaper never provided an
exact location for the building, as well as the fact that Lawrence has changed
considerably since 1885, it is hard—if not impossible—to pinpoint where the
house was located. With this being said, later newspaper articles published
by the Lawrence Daily Journal in the 1800s do refer to haunted houses in the
fifth and sixth wards in North Lawrence, as well as on Kentucky Street. It is
conceivable that one of these houses was the same as the one discussed in
June 1885 articles, but this is entirely conjectural.
Around twenty-two years later, in 1907, the Lawrence Daily Journal ran
another story about “a haunted house in this town that has baffled many
people.” This article included a supposed backstory for the haunting:
No one seems to know when [the house] became haunted or what caused
it. Possibly the mystery can be solved. A man recalls a tragedy in this very
house which he says accounts for the wierd [sic] sounds.
Years ago when the town was not here, Indian huts were scattered along
the banks of the Kaw [i.e. the Kansas River]. But one was more
pretensious [sic] than the other and when the white men came this house
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was passed over to them. There was in the crowd a man of strong physique
and forceful character. He was a good trader but after a time he began to
let his inclination to make money get the better of his scruples. He became
an outlaw, at first in a decent sort of way but later the worst this territory
had seen. This man was of good family and after a time went east and
married. His wife, happy, came west with him to make her home. He had
not told her what his business really was and when she learned by degrees
she was horrified. Her love turned to hatred. One night after a big raid
wherein murder had been committed she waited until he was asleep and
then went into his room and killed him. She then realized what she had done
and sought to hide the body. She walked all over the house looking for a safe
place, peering here, there and everywhere. Finally daylight was coming and
she had to carry it to the cellar.
To this time night is made hideous in that house. There is the restless
walking about, the stomping as if to look for a hiding place and finally an
ugly falling down stairs as the dead body is carried to the cellar. The old
house has long since been torn down but the spirit of this decided woman
haunts the new house and families live there only when they have to do so.
The woman tramps night after night in her vain search for a hiding place
for the body. What is the sense of this? No one in Lawrence knows yet
practically everyone in Lawrence knows of the house to which this refers.
Alas, the Lawrence Daily Journal once again did not provide the location of
this haunted house. As a result, we may never know where it was located or
if there was any truth to the rumor