13 Nightmarish Places In Arkansas That You'd Do Well To Avoid
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J.B. VanDyke
Author
Arkansas is no stranger to strange occurrences, some more strange than others, and since it’s the season of spooks and specters and ghosts and ghouls, it’s time to discuss the places that will send chills down your spine. If you’re faint of heart or easily terrified by the otherworldly, I’m afraid I can’t recommend these adventures to you. If, however, thrills and chills are exactly your cup of ghastly tea, these 13 nightmarish places should go on your bucket list right away.
Please note, The Allen House is temporarily closed.
There’s more than one ghost story about Arkansas’s most haunted highway. Most of the stories revolve around a young girl dressed in a white dress, who appears to be in distress and asks for a ride home. When the unsuspecting motorist drops the girl at her home and approaches the door after girl has disappeared, the resident of the house will say the girl died years ago, but still tries to come home once a year.
Statues sometimes move around Mount Holly Cemetery all on their own, and that’s only one of the creepy happenings on the premises. Apparitions of long-dead ghosts dressed in period clothing haunt the tombstones, surrounded by bright lights and mist. Mount Holly Cemetery is located at 1200 South Broadway in Little Rock.
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The Cotter Bridge is an impressive structure all on its own, but some have had impressive otherworldly experiences there as well. Folks report a woman being chased by dogs across the bridge and ghostly children playing beneath it. The woman and the children are pretty spooky, but maybe the creepiest ghost residing near the bridge is the phantom baby who cries all night above the river. You’ll find the Cotter Bridge over the White River in the small town of Cotter.
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The Old Arsenal Building currently houses the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. There are a couple of spirits said to inhabit the building, and one of them is playful and likes to throw things from the top of the stairs. The other appears to be a solid man who melts away when approached. The Old Arsenal Building is located at 503 East 9th Street in Little Rock.
The Plum Bayou people built eighteen mounds before they disappeared from the area we now call the Toltec Mounds. Visitors to the state park claim to have seen ghostly apparitions of the Plum Bayou people, floating lights and orbs, and heard footsteps of unseen figures. You’ll find the Toltec Mounds 490 Toltec Mounds Road in Scott.
Many years ago, Andrew Springer was arrested for attacking a woman and held in the Powhatan Courthouse. He never made it to trial though. The family of the woman he’d attacked broke into the courthouse and hung him. Before he died, Springer declared that he’d haunt the courthouse forever, and that’s precisely what he seems to be doing. You can visit the courthouse at 31 2nd Street in Powhatan.
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Built in 1905 by Joe Lee Allen, the Allen House didn’t become haunted until his daughter, Ladelle, committed suicide around 1917 by drinking cyanide. The room was sealed off until 1986, when the new owners opened it and found the bottle of cyanide sitting on the closet shelf. Ladelle Allen is said to haunt the house, moaning in the night and stepping heavily on the wooden floors. You can find the ghost of Ladelle Allen at 705 North Main Street in Monticello.
This house’s historical significance begins with the Civil War. The Ouachita County Historical Society currently calls the building home, and they’ve heard the voice of a man telling them to "GET OUT." On another occasion, a photograph of a mirror revealed a man in a three piece suit standing in front of it, though the photographer was the only one in the room. You’ll find this haunted museum at 926 West Washington Street in Camden.
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In the Maple Hill Cemetery lies the grave of a man who was murdered in front of his beloved dog. Legend says the dog stayed on his master’s grave until he died too. Visitors say if you listen really closely when all is quiet among the tombs, you can still hear the ghostly dog panting. You'll find the cemetery at 1801 Holly Street in Helena-West Helena.
Pea Ridge is the perfect place to go if you aren’t afraid of phantom musket fire in the night. You may also experience an unseen presence following you around the park. The site of the Battle of Pea Ridge has so many stories of haunting that you may find yourself with the shivers just walking across that wide battlefield. You can commune with these wayward phantom soldiers at 15930 US-62 in Garfield.
In 1863, a girl was drowned in Lorance Creek. In the 1920s a company was drilling oil between the graveyard where she was buried and the creek. Workers report the screams of a woman as the drill met the earth. Some say you can still find her near the creek, wearing the white dress in which she was buried. Lorance Creek Natural Area is located in Pulaski County, near Little Rock.
Watch what you say on the shores of Faulkner Lake. Rumor has it that a mother and her baby were killed in a car accident on a bridge over the lake, and if you yell "Mama Lou come get me" three times, the mother will appear to drag you beneath the water. Faulkner Lake is located near North Little Rock.
The Gurdon Light is a popular local myth. There are many variations on the theme of a ghostly figure carrying a lantern along the tracks in Gurdon, the most popular being the tale of a miner looking for his long dead family. No matter what you believe about the light, it has been reported by many people, and science has yet to explain it. The town of Gurdon is located in Clark County.
For a trip through the scariest places in Arkansas, try this. If you want to read about true Arkansas stories that are way creepier than anything else, click here.
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