Activity: Ghost Tours John Wornall House

Location:
6115 Wornall Road
Kansas City, MO 64113
Phone: (816)444-1858

Website: www.wornallhouse.org/
They admit that the site stinks (alot of info is wrong) and said they are working on changing it. Best bet is to call them.

Hours and rates:
Ghost tours happen one weekend every October (This year it was Oct 23-24th) they also might do it in March. So chances are you missed it. I am basicly reviewing this so you know about it for next year. Tours ran at 7, 8, 9, and 10pm, and cost $15 per person. Be sure to call since space is limited, I am not sure if reservations are required.

The Missouri Irish Brigade fireside ghost stories and the Paranormal group demonstration were free. The Irish Brigade was camping out on both nights, the Paranormal group was there on the 23 but I don't know about the 24th.

Ages: Any age for the Irish Brigade and Marshmallows, not sure about the tour, I imagine it depends on the kid, same goes for the paranormal group.

Review:
Okay I wasn't there to see the house or hear it's haunted history, which apparently it has plenty of. So I know nothing of the actual Ghost Tours. I will say the house looked kind of creepy with all of the lights off inside which is enough to weird me out. The house was used during the civil war by both sides I believe and at one point was a battle field hospital with an amputation room, so I am sure it has plenty of dead people available to haunt it. I went to see the Missouri Irish Brigade and the Paranormal Group.

So the fireside Ghost stories were told by a group of Civil War Reenactors who portray the Unions Missouri Irish Brigade. www.moirishbrigade.org/index.html Two of the members are Stay-At-Home Dads which is half the reason I went. They were all dressed up in their civil war garb and it was a shame it was so dark because I couldn't get a great view of their outfits or equipment, but what I did see was pretty cool. They are happy to tell you all about their group, how to join and what they do. Like a bunch of drunks they are always looking for fellow drinkers to join the party. They had some chairs arranged around the campfire and were quick to get you a stick and a marshmallow to put on it. The stories were cool but I must admit the one story I really paid attention to got stopped because everyone was heading into the house for their tour but up until that point I was riveted.

The Paranormal group was housed in the carriage house (I unfortunately don't remember their name). It was two women and a table decked out all of their Paranormal gear. They were very knowledgeable regarding what they do and why, and it was truly interesting talking to them. Checking out their gear was fairly cool. I was expecting to see a bunch of exotic ghostbuster type stuff, but most of it was things I had seen before: digital voice recorders, flashlights, digital cameras, infrared cameras,and walkie talkies. The more impressive stuff was the funky thermometer and electromagnetism detector. The really cool part was the laptop computer that they used to play the recordings of their encounters (some of which were at the Wornall house). They seemed to have an endless supply of recording to show.

I can't say I was convinced that ghosts existed from talking to them. Most of if not all of their recorded "voices" were not clear enough to positively know what made the noise or what they were actually saying (you could easily hear what you wanted to hear). But hey, I wasn't there when the sounds were recorded, so what do I know. On one file they had what sounded like a thunderclap and a scream that the recorder pick up loud and clear but no one in the house actually heard. And they also showed a video where the camera was knocked off a dresser it was sitting on. It all comes down to wheather you trust them or not. I do know that if you talk to two true believers long enough they will get you to wondering if it's true, and they will have you looking over your shoulder as you walk back to your car.

I would do the fireside ghost stories again especially as my kids get older. A life isn't lived if you haven't sat around a campfire and heard ghost stories, it should be required. The Paranormal group was also worth seeing although I don't know if they will be back every year. As for the Ghost Tour someone will have to go on it and tell us how it is.

Reviewed by Mr. Rogers