A few years ago on a visit to SDC, I picked up a little booklet written by Franklin Capps, a miller at Sullivan's Mill. He claimed that Sullivan's Mill might be haunted! He said in his booklet "The Legend and History of Sullivan's Mill," that delivery men in the early hours of the day have heard a moaning and groaning sound. Capps claims one delivery man REFUSES to go in the mill alone at night. Have you ever experienced a weird feeling while inside the mill?
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I went to high school with Kelly Trimble, whose dad, Mark, once owned Shepherd of the Hills Homestead. While eating lunch at high school in 1979 or 1980, Kelly told me and some friends that workers at the farm have often spotted a Confederate soldier on horseback in the Inspiration Point area and at the Old Mill Theater where the pageant takes place. In fact, the ghostly soldier story is also reported in Dennis William Hauck's book titled "Haunted Places The National Directory."
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When my family first moved to the Branson area in 1978, my parents looked around for a good house to rent. One of the first places they looked at was the old Merriam family home at Rockaway Beach. The Merriam's developed Rockaway. They built a fine stone house with an oriental looking roof. It would have almost certainly have been called a mansion when built in the 1920's. My brother and I were excited about the prospect of moving into the house. It had a large, wooded lot, an old stone goldfish pond in the back yard, a sweeping bluff view of Lake Taneycomo, and two cabins. My brother and I conspired to talk our parents into letting each of us have one of the little cabins as our own, while mom, dad, and little sister lived in the big house. Mom said she would never live in the house. When she and dad took a tour of the place with the real estate guy, mom said she could not get over the feeling that someone was watching her as she walked through the big house. She was so creeped out, she cut the tour of the place short, and got in the car to go! Could it be that Mr. and Mrs. Merriam NEVER LEFT THEIR HOUSE???
Have you or your family ever experienced anything "paranormal" in the Branson area? There are several other ghost stories about the area I could tell you. A woman allegedly haunts the Devil's Pool area south of town. That's where the Big Cedar Lodge is today. Make a posting if you have had a weird or unusual experience, I'd love to read it.
