Fort Riley is considered one of the most haunted bases. There are several websites out there with ghost stories of Fort Riley. I will recap some of the stories here with the links to which I found them. Fort Riley really does have a fascinating history, especially due to its central location. The base has been here since before the Civil War and there are 4 original buildings left from the 1850's.
This is the best site i've found so far. It begins by talking about the history of the base and then leads into the ghost stories. You really have to know the history to understand the stories.
It is said that on the Artillery Parade Field a woman is seen walking across the field in chains. It has never been discovered who she was or why she was imprisoned like this.
A group of riders can be seen on the Cavalry Parade Field. One rider dismounts and the rest ride off. They stop at the intersection where General Custers house once was and it is believed that they were his escort. People who have seen these riders often experience them in different ways. Some are able to hear them but not see them and others are able to see them but not hear them.
The Custer House, which is now a museum on base, is one of the 4 original buildings left on base from the 1850's. It was previously Quarters 24. There have been reports of hearing what sounded like someone putting on a boot and stomping their foot down coming from upstairs and a teddy bear in a children's room moves to different locations during the night.
One of the most chilling stories I think is one about a young woman, engaged to be married, who died during the cholera epidemic on the base in the 1800's. She was alone in her house by the trolley station when she died. She was buried in her wedding dress by the bridge that crossed the creek near the trolley station. After her passing her fiance reported that many times she would show up at the front door demanding to be let in her house. On one occassion a maid that was ironing by a window looked up to see the woman staring in at her. She was so frightened that she threw the iron through the window. The Post Commander got so tired of all the disturbance that he paid to have an exorcism done and then had the house torn down completely in hopes of stopping the haunting. However, the woman's ghost is still seen around base, mostly near the old trolley station.
When we first moved here the neighbor told my husband that they had a ghost in their house. They said it was a little boy and their kids played with him. I guess they were scared because they said that they prayed over the house and the little boy went away. Sometimes when everyone is downstairs in our house, I hear what sounds like someone walking upstairs. Not the actual footsteps but the settling sound that an older house makes when someone is moving about. My husband heard it last night actually when he was doing the dishes. I'm not sure that there's anything in our house but it's interesting none the less.
This is just a handful of the ghost stories of Fort Riley. I hope you enjoyed them.
A wedding!
11 years ago
