Haunted Waggener House - Atchison, KS

In addition to being the birthplace of Amelia Earhart, Atchison is also the most haunted town in Kansas. I drove through town to see some of the notable dark destinations.

One of the haunted houses is the Waggener House. The house was built in the late 1800's by local politician B.P. Waggener. Local legend says Waggener sold his soul to the devil for money and power. The stately home seems a testement to his fortune and so perhaps is a testement to his pact with the devil as well.

Around the house on the roof are gargoyles. At the apex of the house is one of the gargoyles - an angular, red demon looking like it is about to take off in flight. The gargoyles are part of the house's ghostly curse. A later owner was trying to remove some of them from the house when he fell to his death.

The Waggener House, like many of the haunted destinations in Atchison, is private property and not available for public viewing. I was able to observe the murderous gargoyles from the outside, but stayed on the street so I didn't bother whoever lives in the cursed home. Luckily for curious little ol' me, the city offers numerous tours throughout the year. I hope to go back to get a closer took at some of the haunted houses.

If you want to find a haunted house or site of paranormal activity near you, I suggest you check out Dark Destinations, a travel guide to all the mysterious and ghostly locations around the world.

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Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum - Atchison, KS

On sunny but extremely windy Saturday, I took off for Atchison, Kansas. No major highway or interstate goes there so around the halfway mark I turn off onto a two lane road that follows the railroad tracks. For twenty miles there's nothing but farmland, trains and the occasional other car.

The museum is easy to find, Atchison is very small and very proud of it's heritage so it isn't hard to miss the signs that lead the way. It is a beautiful stately house that has been maintained for many years by the Ninety-Nines, an international group of female licensed pilots. Amelia Earhart was their first elected president.

It is a stately house filled with homages to Amelia's life - from a bathing suit she wore when she was four-years-old to a model of her plane to multiple portraits of her throughout her life. The parlors and formal dining room downstairs are finished to the full former majesty while the upstairs bedrooms have a cozy comfortable feeling, complete with quilts and clothing laid out as if to be worn the next day.

The museum shows Amelia Earhart mostly as a woman but also for the amazing pilot she was. The first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger, the first woman to make a solo flight around the United States, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, not to mention her numerous speed and altitude records.

In addition to her courageous acts as a pilot, the museum also records her works as a writer and fashion designer. She was an accomplished poet and published multiple books. She also designed clothes for her fellow female pilots she eventually developed into a fashion line for "the woman who lives actively."

Atchison may be out of the way, but it was worth the trip to see the museum. But I have another stop to make - the Haunted Waggener House - before I go home.

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Total Trip Time: 3 hours
Total Distance Traveled: 138 miles
Soundtrack: "The Ascension" Otep