Friday, July 31, 2009

Fort Riley Ghost Stories

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.

3 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh! Spooky! Isn't that interesting that other military bases have a haunted history too.

    Ali

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  2. I would think that most military bases would have some type of history given that they are old enough to have existed through major conflicts and stuff. Maybe i'll do some research on other bases too.

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  3. My husband was stationed there and when my parents came to visit I finally got to visit the museums. My dad was having troubles breathing about half way through the Old Post Hospital Museum which is where they treated the soldiers for the flu pandemic in the early 1900's, at Custer House my mom and I could see that someone was sitting on the feather mattress in a closed room, and my dad found a spindle in the stair case where a young boy caught his leg while sliding down the banister, and broke his arm. My dad made it out side and collapsed in the Cavalry Field across the street in tears and holding his forearm. I went back one time after that and I saw the soldier again in the main bedroom or Custer House. I would love to go back again.

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