The Story Behind This Desolate Kansas Ghost Town Is Beyond Eerie

If you have yet to figure it out, we here at Only in Kansas love a good ghost town. Whether they seem quiet and serene or just plain dark and eerie, there is something fascinating about these abandoned places. Did you know that there are more than 6,000 ghost towns in Kansas? Most of them are long, long gone, without so much as a brick remaining, but others are in much better shape. One of the dark and eerier ghost towns that comes to mind is that of Elmdale KS, captured here by Flickr user cloudcricket.

Welcome to Elmdale; a Chase County town that is currently home to 55 residents and a grocery store.

Established in 1859, Elmdale was once an important hub for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, even receiving a relocated post from the town of Middle Creek.

The early 20th century brought several exciting changes to the town, including its official incorporation in 1904 and the opening of the highly anticipated Camp Wood YMCA in 1916.

Unfortunately, with all the good that came to town (including the opening of businesses, churches, and schools) came some bad, beginning with the Great Flood of 1951, which destroyed several of the town's homes and buildings...

...followed by the closing of the town's schools in 1967.

Elmdale was unable to bounce back after these instances and continued to gradually decline over the next several decades.

"Elmdale is a four-block ghost town in the middle of Kansas. About 20 percent of the houses seem to be inhabited. The rest seem to be haunted," stated photographer Craig Cloutier.

"In the next town over, Cottonwood Falls, we overheard someone say that they were looking for a new priest in Elmdale. We didn't stick around long enough to find out what happened to the old priest. We also didn't spend a lot of time taking photos, since the zombies were on our tail and we were headed for Diamond Springs."

Embark on a guided walking tour of Elmdale by YouTuber Rick & Deb's Awesome Adventures:

Explore even more ghost towns by taking our awesome (and a little eerie) Kansas ghost towns road trip. What will you discover along the way? You never know until you get out and explore!