Podcast - The Ozarks Explored

The Landers is one of multiple theaters to have suffered a catastrophic fire in Springfield's history (the others being The Baldwin and the Grand Theater). Since then, many have rumored that the spirits of those lost in the fire have haunted the halls, balcony and costume closets. We're exploring this historic building and finding out just where these ghosts come from.

The Crescent Hotel and Spa is a popular tourist destination in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It's also widely regarded as one of the most haunted hotels in the nation. It's not hard to see why, with it's incredibly storied history.

All over the country you might find yourself regaled with tales of a local menace called the "Goatman". In the Ozarks, there's only one true Goatman and he's been haunting the rails above Pope Lick Creek for decades.

Back in the early '70s, a small Missouri town was rocked when three children told a harrowing story about their encounter with a giant, blood-soaked Bigfoot-esque creature in their own backyard. It was all anyone could talk about that summer, and the story, though weakened by time, survives to this day. 'fsq73zkt'

Drive by the century old Phelps Grove Park in the heart of Springfield, Missouri, and many say you can see the ghost of a woman, in what appears to be a wedding gown, standing beneath a stone bridge. Some say she died there, on her wedding day. But there's no record of such a tragedy occurring at the park. In this episode, we look at where this legend may come from, and how science explains why we see strange things to begin with.

Billionaire software entrepreneur Steven Huff started building a 72,000 square foot mansion in Highlandsville, Missouri sometime after 2008. Since then, it has become the source of much speculation and, naturally, conspiracy theory. What is the "Ozarks Conspiracy" that surrounds the enigmatic Pensmore home? And how enigmatic is it, really?

The internet is full of rumors about this horned, shaggy beast roaming the Ozark Mountains. But is it just a hoax? We're also talking about cryptozoology and why people believe in something even when it's been prove fake, false, or otherwise untrue.Thanks to Frank Norton for the artwork and audioBoom for their support of the show.

In 1971, William Blatty wrote a novel about a young girl that becomes demonically possessed. That novel was turned into the perennial horror classic The Exorcist. The subject matter was inspired true events; a young boy named Roland Doe was dispossessed of demons after several weeks of repeated exorcisms in St. Louis, Missouri. In this episode, we explore the mystery of ritual exorcism and what it says about how we perceive mental illness.

Near the border between Missouri and Oklahoma, down a dark, country road, locals have been reporting sightings of a mysterious ball of light floating above the ground, often moving and sometimes multiplying. These stories have been shared for more than a century, spawning numerous investigations and countless theories. However, no one can quite agree on what's actually out there, floating in the darkness.

Mark Twain National Forest covers large swathes of Southern Missouri. Among the nearly 1.5 million acres of land, a man from Tennessee believes the mythical Hall of Records is located beneath a platform mound. What exactly is the Hall of Records and why would they be in Missouri?

In this episode we talk about the legend of Molly Crenshaw and who she was versus whom she was believed to have been. I also talk about the relevance of witchcraft in the history of the region.Artwork by Frank Norton, music by Bare Wires, Circus Marcus, Farsical, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, and Stealing Orchestra.

The Baldknobbers is a decades old comedy revue performed in Branson, Missouri. This is not about those Baldknobbers. This episode is concerned with the Bald Knobbers of Taney County. This is a story of vigilantism in a post-war society, the dangers of blind authority, and the tragedy of legacy. Comment or message if there are any stories or legends about the Ozarks you would like to hear more about, and maybe I'll feature it in a future episode! Thanks to Frank Norton for the artwork and Clawhammer for the music.

In this episode, we look at the various persons of interest that surrounded the case of three missing women.Special thanks again to Frank Norton for the fantastic artwork he made for this episode.

After celebrating their High School graduation, Stacy McCall stayed over at her friend Suzie Streeter's home, with plans to join their friend Janelle Kirby on short trip to Branson the following morning. The next day, June 7th, 1992, Janelle came to the house on East Delmar after unsuccessfully trying to contact them. Expecting to find her friends had overslept, she instead found an eerily empty home. There were no signs of a struggle, three cars parked in the driveway, and a panicked Yorkie named Cinnamon. Stacy and Suzie, along with Suzie's mother Sherill Levitt, had inexplicably disappeared with virtually no indication as to why or how. They remain missing until this day, and the circumstances they led to their disappearance are shrouded in mystery and legend.

It's often rumored that the abandoned ruins near Lake Springfield, once known as Winoka Lodge, were also used as a camp site for Girl Scouts, and is the location of a grisly murder.  However, the Girl Scouts of America deny they have ever used that location for that purpose.  When did this legend begin? This week, we explore the history of Winoka Lodge and the horrifying truth within the legend of the Girl Scout murders. Permalink

Springlawn Farm, previously inhabited by the Sheedy family, mysteriously became the center of a nasty and particularly odd legend: the hired albino workers were the subjects of cruel experiments on the once illustrious farm. In our first episode, we look at the history of the farm itself and theorize where exactly this bizarre legend started. Permalink