MYTHS AND LEGENDS ABOUND IN BOOTHEEL

Daily Dunklin Democrat

KENNETT, Mo. Combine Friday the 13th with a full moon and you have a recipe for ghost stories.

Dunklin County holds documented, mysterious occurrences. People have discussed the legends of this county for some time. In Kennett alone, several homes are said to be haunted. Outside of Campbell, there are rumors of a ghost that roams a road looking for his father and a witch's grave. In White Oak, there is a hangman's tree. Hornersville is the home of Major Ray, who's spirit is said to wander the town. The Senath light is out on a county road not far from Crybaby's Bridge and another hangman's tree. Strange things have also been sighted in many different graveyards in the area.

Several residents in the area claim that their homes possess spirits or ghosts. "We have a generally quiet town, but people do not know about the things that go on in my house," one homeowner said. "I have never believed in spirits or ghosts until I moved into this house." Several people in Kennett believe something in their house that is unexplainable. "Sometimes things just move around on their own and sometimes in the middle of the night a door will slam really loud," another resident stated.

Swarming with spirits

A county road between Senath and Hornersville holds a stump of what used to be a hanging tree and is believed to also be swarming with spirits. "You can sometimes see ghosts of people who were hanged there. It has to be a still night and you have to be very quiet to see them," said an area teenager. Residents of the area say that there is nothing there and kids just use that excuse to just go parking.

The Senath light is the best known phenomenon in the area. People come from other states just to try to get a glimpse. The theory is that you park on a certain county road and turn off your engine and lights and wait. "The light will only appear sometimes, not every time that someone is there. I have seen it several times, but some people think that I'm nuts," a Senath native said.

Some people do not believe in the light, but many do. People still frequent the spot to see what they can see.

Not far from the light, there is a bridge that is called "Crybaby's Bridge." Rumor has it that if you park on the bridge and stay quiet, you can hear a baby crying.

White Oak is the site of an old hanging tree. Residents say that they can sometimes hear a crowd cheering for a person about to be hanged.

Major Ray was a little person. He and his wife were natives of Hornersville and are buried there. Sometimes, citizens say that they catch a glimpse of him walking his dog, Tige, around the neighborhood where he once lived.

A wandering boy

High school teen-agers have said that there is a road outside of Campbell that a little boy wanders. "He was killed during the Civil War and now he is looking for his parents." a high school student said.

There have been several encounters of the child a car sometimes goes right through him. "I was driving home and all of a sudden I saw what I thought was a child in front of my car. I tried to stop to keep from hitting him, but couldn't. At first, I knew I hadn't hit anything but I was sure that I saw a child in the road. I looked back and he was still standing there, just looking around," one Campbell resident explained.

There are also rumors of a ghost train that traveled down a set of tracks through Campbell. Legend says that an old train caught on fire and wrecked, killing all of the passengers. "Sometimes, I can still hear the screeching of the train trying to stop," another resident said.

Many graveyards are said to be the grounds for lost spirits. In one particular graveyard outside of Campbell, there is an old witches grave. It is said that anyone who nears her grave will see her rising from the ground to escape her tomb.

A graveyard in Kennett is said to have many unexplained phenomena including a mystery that your headlights shine off of a tombstone and reveal the face of Jesus.

Many soldiers died in the region during the Civil War. Some people say that they catch a glimpse of an old Confederate soldier looking for his troop.