The state of Missouri is rich in so much history, but sometimes that history holds a haunted past. Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, for example, was once known as the bloodiest 47 acres in the United States. And not to be macabre, but there are more stories like that around. About two hours southwest of Jefferson City, lies one of the state’s most haunted small towns. Come along as we explore the many things to do in Potosi, Missouri.
Potosi, Missouri may seem like a typical rural town with a population of just over 2,000.
Moses Austin, Potosi's founding father, is believed to have built this shop sometime around 1798. However, it was 1932 when the store, now turned into a house, would experience its first tragedy. F.J. Flynn died of a self-inflicted wound while living there.
Paranormal investigations are on-going at the store. Visitors have reported being scratched or hearing voices. Judy Myers, a sensitive investigator with Missouri Paranormal Research, said she picked up on several spirits, including an abused child running away and a man who hung himself.
The store can be found at South Missouri Street & West Jefferson Street in Potosi.
Next up, the cemetery. The source of this haunting coincidentally has roots back to the town's founding father. Moses Austin was initially buried in Hazel Run Mines, however he was dug up and moved to the cemetery in Potosi.
The individuals who transported his body noted that after seven years, his coffin had disintegrated, but his body remained in an almost perfect petrified state with only his nose and fingers missing. After being reentered into the Potosi Cemetery, one of several haunted cemeteries in the state, Moses grave was later found dug up with the new coffin lid open. It's rumored that the culprits were the towns-people who had been curious of what they had heard about his preserved body. Regardless, many believe Austin has not been able to fully rest in peace since then.
This is the place of burial for victims of the town's most brutal attack.
Potosi experienced its most violent crime in 1870 when three men trespassed into the Lapine family home and murdered the entire family. They first shot the adults, then chopped off their heads. When it came to the children, they used the axe to kill them, mutilating their bodies into several pieces. What was left of the family's bodies were buried at the cemetery in Potosi.
The cemetery can be found on Old 21 and Jackson Street in Potosi.
The Long-Banta home, one of several historic homes in Missouri, was built by prominent business man, James Long, sometime in 1865. James, his wife Betty and all three of his daughters died within these walls.
Spirits were encountered by the previous homeowner's descendants.
Descendants of James Long believed their ancestor continued to haunt the house. Many reported seeing ghostly figures looking out the window, when no one was home. Others frequently heard unexplained voices.
The reported haunting led to a paranormal investigation. Investigators outside the home witnessed a ghostly shadow walking past windows and experienced unexplainable moving areas of electromagnetic fields coupled with temperature drops on the inside. They also asked questions to the spirits which were answered by piano notes played by the unseen and even captured the disembodied voices or what is referred to as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) on their audio recordings.
The Long-Banta Home can be found at located at North Mine Street & West Breton Street in Potosi.
After learning about this town’s dark history, it’s no wonder many believe it to be haunted! If you’re brave enough to visit, be sure to visit the City of Potosi website to learn more about all of the things to see and do.
Have you ever been to Potosi, MO? If so, what did you think? We’d love to read about your experience in the comments section below!
