Tombstones stick like jagged stumps from the overgrown weeds of Joplin, Mo.’s Peace Church Cemetery. An occasional plastic flower is placed on a grave, a colorful reminder that someone remembers the old tree-lined cemetery.
But the cemetery’s most famous resident gets no flowers. Serial killer Billy Cook was buried under the anonymity of night in an unmarked grave at this cemetery, and has since been hidden by history.
“Badman Bill Cook, mad dog killer of six persons” headlines a 1952 article from The Joplin Globe. He killed a family of five and a sixth random motorist during a cross-country spree of murders in 1951. Some have said they’ve seen the killer walking the grounds at night, a black shadow weaving through the trees. Some have reported strange lights. Still others have heard voices.
Billy Cook, the fifth of eight children, was born Dec. 23, 1928 in a windowless shack outside Joplin. He was abandoned at five years old by his father; a year later, his mother died. Cook grew up in relatives’ homes, foster homes, reform school, and prison.
Cook had been born with a growth over his right eye and, although the growth was later removed, his right eyelid always sagged, which earned him merciless teasing and is thought to have stoked his anger and his resentment toward his fellow man.
On Dec. 31, 1950, the Mossers – Carl, Thelma, and their three children – were on vacation from their home in Atwood, Ill., when they picked up a hitchhiking Cook. At gunpoint, Cook kidnapped the family and forced them to drive throughout the Southwest before taking them to Joplin and shooting them.
After dumping the Mosser family down an abandoned mine shaft, Cook drove west and kidnapped a sheriff’s deputy in Blythe, Calif. He then confessed to the murders. Cook dropped the deputy on the side of the road, and later murdered a traveling salesman from Seattle just to take his car. Police arrested Cook 600 miles south into Mexico.
The killer was sentenced in to 300 years in prision in 1951. According to a Time Magazine article, the prosecutor left the courtroom shouting, “the goddamdest travesty on justice, ever,” because Cook had not been sentenced to death.
Cook was later sentenced to death for the murder of the salesman. He was put to death in the gas chamber in San Quentin.
After 12,000 people viewed Cook’s body in Oklahoma, Cook was brought to Joplin. “Badman Bill Cook is buried at night in Peace Cemetery,” read the headline of a 1952 Joplin Globe story by reporter Gerald Wallace.
The graveside service under the cover of darkness was officiated by Rev. Dow Booe of nearby Galena and lasted 10 minutes. “Brief service held at night with aid of flashlights and lanterns before about 15 persons;” “Funeral cortege, consisting of four cars and hearse, moves to burial place over back roads,” the sub-headlines read. “Just as the graveside rites ended,” Wallace wrote, “the cry of a small child could be heard in the chill of the night air.”
So, does Cook’s lonely, pain-ridden ghost haunt Peace Church Cemetery?
Local paranormal groups have investigated the cemetery over the years and, although they haven’t turned up Billy Cook, they have measured strange magnetic fluctuations in the cemetery, according to a 2004 article in the Joplin Globe.
Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Spirit Attacks
Something uninvited resides in the house in Independence. Eighteen-year-old Michelle’s family has lived there for 12 years, and she knows it’s a spirit. It touches her.
“Before I go to sleep I can feel it,” Michelle said. “I look at my closet and I can tell when it’s going to happen.”
Michelle’s room sits over the furnace and is warm in the winter, unless the unseen thing is there.
“When I don’t feel the sprit, it’s all white walls and it’s warm. It feels warm,” she said. “Whenever it’s there, it feels cold, sharp and distant. It always comes from my closet, but I can’t see it.”
If she feels the presence early enough, she found noise will keep the spirit at bay.
“I turn on my radio. It doesn’t come when there’s sound on,” she said. “If it’s silent I feel it will come right before I go to sleep.”
This is when it attacks.
“I can’t move anything,” she said. “But my muscles (flex) because I’m fighting. The whole bed will be shaking because I’m fighting it and then it’s gone and I’m exhausted. I pass out.”
The attacks are known as “Old Hag Syndrome” because some people who experience them report seeing an angry old woman sitting on their chest during the attack.
Michelle’s attacks began too early for her to remember, but a few years ago they occurred as often as twice a week. Psychologists refer to these experiences as “sleep paralysis,” but Michelle said she isn’t suffering from a psychological manifestation – she knows the attacks are real.
“I used to think it’s a dream,” she said. “But it’s not.”
Although the spirit hasn’t attacked anyone else in the house – or has attacked Michelle anywhere other than in her room – an ominous feeling often follows her through certain parts of the house; her room, the back of the living room, the kitchen and the space directly below these in the basement.
“My sister and I neither like the basement,” Michelle said. “She can’t go in the basement by herself. I feel creepy when I go to the basement, too, but I sing really loud when I go down there. I don’t know what it is, it’s like (there’s) somebody else. We have trouble going to sleep at night.”
Michelle and her sister Stephanie sometimes hear the faucets in the bathroom turn on and off and Stephanie has seen something in the yard.
“Stephanie knows there’s something,” Michelle said. “There’s flowers at the front of our house and she saw a little boy playing with flowers. Then he was gone.”
But inside the house, Michelle’s mother is the only person who’s seen anything strange – and she doesn’t talk about it.
“Mom knows there’s something,” Michelle said. “Everybody was in the front part of the house. She looked down the hall and all of a sudden she saw a tall dark man go from our bathroom to her room. She was sure it was Dad, but when she said his name he called from the other side of the house. ‘I think I saw a ghost,’ she said.”
Michelle thinks the figure her mother saw might be the thing that attacks her in her bedroom, but the attacks have disappeared since she’s gone to college. However, she’s worried about a younger sister, Danielle, who now lives in her room.
“It’s creepy,” she said. “My room is not natural.”
Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.
“Before I go to sleep I can feel it,” Michelle said. “I look at my closet and I can tell when it’s going to happen.”
Michelle’s room sits over the furnace and is warm in the winter, unless the unseen thing is there.
“When I don’t feel the sprit, it’s all white walls and it’s warm. It feels warm,” she said. “Whenever it’s there, it feels cold, sharp and distant. It always comes from my closet, but I can’t see it.”
If she feels the presence early enough, she found noise will keep the spirit at bay.
“I turn on my radio. It doesn’t come when there’s sound on,” she said. “If it’s silent I feel it will come right before I go to sleep.”
This is when it attacks.
“I can’t move anything,” she said. “But my muscles (flex) because I’m fighting. The whole bed will be shaking because I’m fighting it and then it’s gone and I’m exhausted. I pass out.”
The attacks are known as “Old Hag Syndrome” because some people who experience them report seeing an angry old woman sitting on their chest during the attack.
Michelle’s attacks began too early for her to remember, but a few years ago they occurred as often as twice a week. Psychologists refer to these experiences as “sleep paralysis,” but Michelle said she isn’t suffering from a psychological manifestation – she knows the attacks are real.
“I used to think it’s a dream,” she said. “But it’s not.”
Although the spirit hasn’t attacked anyone else in the house – or has attacked Michelle anywhere other than in her room – an ominous feeling often follows her through certain parts of the house; her room, the back of the living room, the kitchen and the space directly below these in the basement.
“My sister and I neither like the basement,” Michelle said. “She can’t go in the basement by herself. I feel creepy when I go to the basement, too, but I sing really loud when I go down there. I don’t know what it is, it’s like (there’s) somebody else. We have trouble going to sleep at night.”
Michelle and her sister Stephanie sometimes hear the faucets in the bathroom turn on and off and Stephanie has seen something in the yard.
“Stephanie knows there’s something,” Michelle said. “There’s flowers at the front of our house and she saw a little boy playing with flowers. Then he was gone.”
But inside the house, Michelle’s mother is the only person who’s seen anything strange – and she doesn’t talk about it.
“Mom knows there’s something,” Michelle said. “Everybody was in the front part of the house. She looked down the hall and all of a sudden she saw a tall dark man go from our bathroom to her room. She was sure it was Dad, but when she said his name he called from the other side of the house. ‘I think I saw a ghost,’ she said.”
Michelle thinks the figure her mother saw might be the thing that attacks her in her bedroom, but the attacks have disappeared since she’s gone to college. However, she’s worried about a younger sister, Danielle, who now lives in her room.
“It’s creepy,” she said. “My room is not natural.”
Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
An Encouter With Black-Eyed Kids
There’s something wrong with these children.
They approach quietly, yet boldly. They’re young, usually teens or slightly younger. They insist on coming inside your house to use the bathroom, the telephone or just for a drink of water. But for some reason you’re afraid. Why? They’re just kids. Then you notice their eyes – black, as if the pupil had poured over its banks. You don’t let them in – or do you?
Black-eyed kids. The term has floated across cyberspace since Jan. 16, 1998 when journalist Brian Bethel first posted his chilling encounter with overly-lucid children whose eyes were coal black; not a hint of iris, nor white.
And they scared the hell out of him.
The existence of these children has since become an Internet urban legend, but is it really just that? Maybe not.
Below is a story of black-eyed kids from an anonymous reader of “From the Shadows.” I’ll call him “Bill.”
Bill was driving through Afton, Okla., a town in the northwestern part of the state on historic Route 66 just south of the Will Rogers Turnpike, when he stopped to see some old friends.
“I saw they had a new dog; a very stout dachshund,” Bill said. “I asked them about it and Michael said, ‘The weird kids left her when they left town.’”
Bill asked Michael and his wife about these “weird kids.” They told him a group of young people had knocked on their door and begged to come in and talk. The “weird kids” were driving an old van, but Michael thought it was in good shape because it didn't make noise.
“However, he and his wife felt uneasy and didn't let them in,” Bill said. A few of the kids left the van and walked the dachshund Michael and his wife ended up with. “But they didn’t seem too attached to (the dog).”
Bill asked Michael if these young people were Mormons.
“Hell, no,” Michael said. “They didn't dress right and they were junkies."
"Junkies?" Bill asked.
"Yeah,” Michael said. “Their pupils were huge."
The kids’ eyes were solid black. Looking into their eyes was like staring into a void.
Turned away at the door, the black-eyed kids eventually left, to the relief of Michael and his wife. Some time later, Michael saw the dachshund wandering around town, felt sorry for it, and brought it home. Michael and his wife are thankful the black-eyed kids never returned for it.
Michael’s story has disturbed Bill ever since.
“ (Jan. 18), a friend was talking about dark forces on the move and mentioned black-eyed kids,” Bill said. “I Googled it and a chill went up my spine.”
Bill contacted Michael about the information he’d found on these entities, but, like many who’ve encountered these black-eyed kids, Michael and his wife just want to forget meeting them. Their experience was terrifying.
“They don't want anything to do with an investigation,” Bill said, “or have their name made public, or really have anything to do with any further conversation about black-eyed kids.”
Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.
They approach quietly, yet boldly. They’re young, usually teens or slightly younger. They insist on coming inside your house to use the bathroom, the telephone or just for a drink of water. But for some reason you’re afraid. Why? They’re just kids. Then you notice their eyes – black, as if the pupil had poured over its banks. You don’t let them in – or do you?
Black-eyed kids. The term has floated across cyberspace since Jan. 16, 1998 when journalist Brian Bethel first posted his chilling encounter with overly-lucid children whose eyes were coal black; not a hint of iris, nor white.
And they scared the hell out of him.
The existence of these children has since become an Internet urban legend, but is it really just that? Maybe not.
Below is a story of black-eyed kids from an anonymous reader of “From the Shadows.” I’ll call him “Bill.”
Bill was driving through Afton, Okla., a town in the northwestern part of the state on historic Route 66 just south of the Will Rogers Turnpike, when he stopped to see some old friends.
“I saw they had a new dog; a very stout dachshund,” Bill said. “I asked them about it and Michael said, ‘The weird kids left her when they left town.’”
Bill asked Michael and his wife about these “weird kids.” They told him a group of young people had knocked on their door and begged to come in and talk. The “weird kids” were driving an old van, but Michael thought it was in good shape because it didn't make noise.
“However, he and his wife felt uneasy and didn't let them in,” Bill said. A few of the kids left the van and walked the dachshund Michael and his wife ended up with. “But they didn’t seem too attached to (the dog).”
Bill asked Michael if these young people were Mormons.
“Hell, no,” Michael said. “They didn't dress right and they were junkies."
"Junkies?" Bill asked.
"Yeah,” Michael said. “Their pupils were huge."
The kids’ eyes were solid black. Looking into their eyes was like staring into a void.
Turned away at the door, the black-eyed kids eventually left, to the relief of Michael and his wife. Some time later, Michael saw the dachshund wandering around town, felt sorry for it, and brought it home. Michael and his wife are thankful the black-eyed kids never returned for it.
Michael’s story has disturbed Bill ever since.
“ (Jan. 18), a friend was talking about dark forces on the move and mentioned black-eyed kids,” Bill said. “I Googled it and a chill went up my spine.”
Bill contacted Michael about the information he’d found on these entities, but, like many who’ve encountered these black-eyed kids, Michael and his wife just want to forget meeting them. Their experience was terrifying.
“They don't want anything to do with an investigation,” Bill said, “or have their name made public, or really have anything to do with any further conversation about black-eyed kids.”
Copyright 2009 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt c/o The Examiner, 410 S. Liberty, Independence, Mo. 64050, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s book of ghost stories, “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” is here. Order online at: tsup.truman.edu, www.amazon.com, or visit Jason’s Web site at www.jasonoffutt.com.
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