The Haunted Toad: Ghost in the Library (podcast)
The Haunted Toad
A Look Back at the Library and Introduction to the Next Series of Joplin Ghost Stories
The air has fallen into a crisp autumn cool that collects your breath in a cloud before you. Leaves have changed into fiery tones that spark the desire in us to bundle up with a scarf, maybe a beanie and some gloves and sip on something hot that keeps our fingers warm and tickles our noses with it’s steam. Coffee shops fill up with people like us, this is a beautiful time of year, and we love it!
Fall decor spills onto porches and store windows reminding everyone our favorite holidays are coming up. One holiday in particular has our full attention right now... Ghosts dancing on the low hanging branches of your neighbors yard might make you smile, and the skeleton holding a jack-o-lantern on that dimly lit porch might make you feel a little anxious and excited. Halloween is just around the corner and we are in the mood for some Spooky Stories to listen to.
So snuggle up safe and tight, grab a friend’s hand and listen closely, we are about to dive into some Spooky Stories about our hometown and the darker side of its history. Everything you’re about to hear is based on history of public record and personal testimonies from Joplin residents. *Just like you!*
In a previous episode of the Haunted Toad about the Connor Hotel, we heard from a Joplin librarian who shared some haunting experiences she had while working in the old library building downtown. She wasn’t the only one who noticed anything eerily unnerving there. Another young woman recently shared her experience as a child when her mother was a librarian there as well. Before we listen to her testimony, if you haven’t heard it yet, please listen to the Haunted Toad Episode about the Connor Hotel. You will learn the interesting history that might give you some context for the feelings described in this next clip.
Have you listened to it? Well, then, you were warned… here it is:
"As the child of a librarian it goes without saying that I spent hours upon hours reading the days away. I was able to go to work with my mother, who worked at the reference desk of the JPL, as long as I didn’t cause trouble, I stayed in the children’s area, and didn’t wander off with any strangers.
I was a good kid, I never strayed other than to go look in the “Post” library. It was filled with gorgeous antiques, something I had grown up around, and I could stare at them for hours and find new details.
There were very few occasions that I would actually go into the stacks where the non- fiction and fiction books were held. Mostly because there was nothing that would interest me there, but also because it was such an uneasy feeling there.
I remember walking towards the south side of the building, towards the back of the stacks. I watched as the letters of author last names and Dewey decimal letters passed by me, each one signaling where in the world of written tomes I was located. I remember being at the very last aisle, standing in between a tall bookshelf and the wall. It wasn’t particularly cramped, but it was heavy. Standing there, I remember feeling an enormous weight, like I was shrouded and surrounded in a hug that I didn’t want. Like a cloak had been draped over me. The overwhelming feeling to run would come over me, I couldn’t explain why. It wasn’t dark, fluorescent lights lit the area, but I had the heavy weight of a presence around me, like It kept the area from being fully illuminated.
It wasn’t until I heard the story of the hotel, the hotel that had collapsed in the same spot the library was built upon, that I actually began to believe that my experience was real, and I wasn’t crazy.
Whether the feeling was caused by a spirit, or a residual haunting of the building falling down has yet to be answered."
If you recall, the other librarian from our previous episode had experienced something in the same area of the library. To hear more, including an audio recording from the Paranormal Science Lab during an active investigation, find the link to the previous episode in the transcript to this one or go to joplintoad.com/hauntedjoplin.
In this episode of the Haunted Toad we will explore another part of Joplin, only a few blocks down from the old library building.
Murphysburg is one of the prettiest sections of Joplin, the houses are all distinctly different from one another and each of their owner’s history has a prominent presence all over town. You would probably recognize the names of the people who built these homes because they are also the names of some of the streets and parks here.
These are the names of the men who made it possible for Joplin to grow and thrive into its zenith, Boomtown days.
Joplin has gone to great lengths to preserve the older residences of this area, and while some have plaques on their lots to commemorate their historical presence, there are also some older houses with a history we may have forgotten, but they very much still cling to...
He lived in old Murphysburg in a nice house that had been standing on south Sergeant Ave. for around a century, although at the time of telling his story he had forgotten the year in which it was built.
The old house had been updated with modern features on the outside, yet there remained some fascinating and mysterious details of the interior that were unique in comparison to other places he had lived before.
They loved to entertain and walk their guests through the odd layout of their home, explaining the presence of some strange knick knacks that had come with the house. Like the red clay statue at the bottom of the stairwell, a bundle of long feathers in a short vase on the mantle, a single crystal hanging from the light fixture of the living room, and a lace doily hanging between panes of the center dining room window. They thought it was fun to think up reasons those items might have been left there. Perhaps the grizzly sculpted statue of the Native American warrior at the bottom of the steps was simply too heavy to move. Or it was left there to scare off nosey solicitors who might peek into their front porch windows, God knows they've had a few uninvited knocks at the door they pretended not to hear.
There wasn’t any reason to pay special attention to them, until one night, when the kids were back in town for the holidays. One morning during breakfast, the youngest of the family opened up about a dream they had their first night back. "It felt so real, I thought I was awake when I saw him…" The others chimed in with similar dreams, until everyone sat in silence, staring at one another.
Had they all had the same dream?
A lean and muscular looking shadow walked through the hallways almost silently, checking each room of the house with what looked like a spear in one hand. They had all seen him and assumed it was a dream because the shadow took the shape and demeanor of the statue but couldn’t possibly have been real…
They went on with holiday traditions that day, trying not to acknowledge the figure that usually remained still at the bottom of the steps.
That evening they went to bed, but had difficulty sleeping, every creak in the house seemed louder and more suspicious. Each troubled sleeper wondered if the native spirit would continue his rounds that evening.
In the morning, no one could report seeing anything unusual, but they all watched their step a little more carefully at the bottom of the stairs on their way down, and were more curious about the purpose of the other seemingly harmless items left in the house.
Some conclusions were made, and perhaps more mysteries were uncovered. In fact, there are more ghosts stories of Murphysburg to be explored, but they will have to wait for a future episode of the Haunted Toad.
For now, consider your own thoughts on these stories.
Do you think the young woman in the library felt the residual pressure from the falling Connor Hotel of decades past? Or was there a spirit there causing discomfort and confusion? Have you ever felt anything like that?
How about the dream on Sergeant Avenue? Was it just a baffling coincidence that they all happened to have the same one? Or was there something special about that statue?
What do you think?
We may never know for certain, but the questions can keep us up at night! So wrap yourself in your favorite blanket tonight and make sure your door is closed. You wouldn’t want to be woken by the shadow of the Sergeant house checking on your room...
The names have been left out to protect the privacy of the Joplinites who graciously shared their experiences for the curious listener.
Learn more about Murphysburg and get ready for the next episode of the Haunted Toad by checking out www.murphysburg.org and take a walking tour through the neighborhood to see some of the historic homes in the area you might hear about next.