If you would have asked me a month ago if I pictured myself as a ghost hunter or had any interest going on a ghost hunt, I probably would have stared at you like a deer in headlights. Don’t get me wrong…I have a ton of friends who have always believed in ghosts and told the “tall tales” to me, while I sat listening to every single detail wondering how on Earth any of this could be true. Was I believer of ghosts or not? Until about a week ago, I would have been leaning towards the answer of “no”. Everything changed once I went on a ghost hunt at McInteer Villa in Atchison, Kansas. Everything.
While I was hosted to take the tour of everything haunted in Atchison, Kansas, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Ghost Hunt at the McInteer Villa in Atchison, Kansas
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of everything that happened at the McInteer Villa, it’s important to understand a little bit of history about this amazing and beautiful home.
Upon first entering the home, so much beauty meets the eye. The original flooring is found throughout and the home has 5 amazing fireplaces that make you want to snuggle up right next to them almost immediately. It’s hard to believe that this gorgeous home is haunted, and found in one of the most haunted towns in America…Atchison, Kansas.
The McInteer Villa was built in 1889, and still has much of this original historic aspects and touches. You can’t pass through a room without noticing the amount of woodwork and detail that was carefully planned and built. But…let’s be honest. The appeal of this home isn’t because of its beauty, it’s because of the ghosts and spirits that are trapped and lurking inside.
There are many theories about why the McInteer Villa is haunted. One is about “Goldie”. “Goldie” is one of the owners who died in the rocking chair that is still sitting in the exact same spot today is one ghost that many visitors have reported seeing. Not only did she pass away in this home, but her wake was also actually held in one of the living rooms as well. Is Goldie refusing to part ways with this beautiful home? Possibly…anything is possible.
(the room where Goldie’s wake was held inside the McInteer Villa)
Along with the sighting of Goldie, other strange happenings are quite frequent in the McInteer Villa. Doors slamming and opening on their own, footsteps loudly going up and down the back stairwell, lights turning off and on from the attic area, and the list goes on and on. Every report clearly points to the fact that there is “something” or some sort of spirit refusing to leave the home.
My experience and ghost hunt at the McInteer Villa
The current owner of the McInteer Villa was gracious enough to open up her home and allow me, Travel with Sara, and The Walking Tourists, plus our guide, to explore every aspect of her home.
Our mission? Uncertain besides that fact that I was amped up that we were on a ghost hunt. I entered the home much more of a believer than I was just 24 hours earlier, thanks to my experience the night before at The Sallie House, the most haunted house in America.
One of the first things that I noticed about this home was that it was HUGE. Over 5,000 square feet to be exact. I felt that the atmosphere was a bit…interesting in the home and begin to get antsy to explore.
Right away, we learned about “Goldie” and the history of the home. We then proceeded to head upstairs where the owner of the home instantly stated, “That’s odd, that door was closed and shut. I know for a fact.” But…my eyes were staring at a door that was wide open, not closed.
While I believed her, she was able to instantly back it up with a video. She has videos in most corners to be able to catch any type of paranormal activity. She pulled up the video and showed us the door, 100% closed. Then, my jaw dropped because you can actually hear her opening the door and greeting us into her home in the living room of the first floor since it caught the audio footage as well. While we were downstairs saying hello, the hall doorknob clicked and swing slowly open….100% by itself.
There was no one else in the home at this time, and the doorknob turned itself and opened. I witnessed it right in front of my eyes on the video.
Haunted house experience #1, check and noted. Never in my life had I experienced anything so raw and real. There is no way to dispute, debunk or have any other explanation besides that something or some ghost opened that door.
Reflection and Pose at the McInteer Villa
Our curiosity took us into the room where most of the “noise” has occurred. Our tour guide instantly turned on her EVP, and right away, we were detecting some sort of activity. Words were flowing rather quickly and the energy source was highlighting red letting us know that we weren’t alone.
Suddenly, the EVP started saying words like “reflection”, “capture” and “pose” in that order. Logically to us, that meant to start taking pictures using our camera’s and snapping pictures in the reflection of the mirror in the room.
If you’ve ever captured something in your picture, you don’t know it till you look back at them later. After taking several shots with my phone, I decided to scroll back through and see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary.
I literally had to catch my breath. I honestly have no way to explain what was captured in the view of this mirror beside the fact that “someone” wanted to make an appearance. If you look at the image below, you’ll see that there are what appears to be 2 different “people” in our photo that absolutely were not part of our group. One image is extremely clear and detailed of a man, while the other seems a little blurred but still resembles something that was trying to manifest in our picture. The only other person in the picture was the female tour guide, who is situated in front. The other two images? I have no idea who they belong to…..besides the spirits who were telling us to “pose” with them.
Haunted house experience #2. I’m doubting nothing now.
Other experiences at the McInteer Villa
My husband was sitting out in the hallway during this entire time and reported hearing a low-level voice as well. It seemed that the ghost (or ghosts) of McInteer Villa wanted us to know it was there.
During our time we also explored the attic area which is home to many different sightings and noises, as well as the basement. During our time in the basement, the EVP was going CRAZY saying a ton of different words and names as well. The basement is like a maze as well because there are so many different rooms to explore or try to connect with the ghosts.
Our time at McInteer Villa proved one thing to me. Ghosts and spirits do exist and will communicate in many different ways. Some want to be verbal, some don’t, and some appear to just be going on with their daily lives unaware that any of us are in or around their areas.
I highly encourage you to experience McInteer Villa in Atchison, Kansas on your own. If you love thrills and consider yourself a ghost hunter, you need to add this spooky and haunted house to your bucket list.
In fact, visiting the haunted town of Atchison, Kansas is prime time right now with all their events and tours that they have going on. You can book overnight tours at the McInteer Villa for yourself and your friends by clicking HERE. They are also hosting a National Ghost Hunting Weekend on September 28th and 29th where a haunted tour of the McInteer Villa is happening as well! Check it out here!
If you loved reading this detailed experience of our time at The McInteer Villa, don’t forget to check out our experiences at The Sallie House as well.
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