HANNIBAL, MO. -- In just a few days, kids dressed as ghosts and goblins will come knocking. But year round in Hannibal, you could come face to face with the real deal. We took a tour through the haunted side of town that's guaranteed to spook a few.
"She decided to go back to the Stilwell mansion, up to the second floor room where her husband was mortally wounded and she started cleaning up the crime scene," said Lisa Marks.
Ken and Lisa Marks own The Gilded Age in downtown Hannibal. For years, they've toured people throughout historic parts of the city. But within the last year, they found Hannibal had more tricks up its sleeve than they'd known.
Take the Haunted Hannibal Ghost Tour and you'll think twice before entering the Mark Twain Cave alone or sleeping at the Garden House B&B. The couple tours their guests around places like the Red Light District and the Hannibal Free Public Library, where a librarian is said to haunt the upstairs level.
"Every once in a while, you walk through the cemetery and all the sudden, you'll feel it get cold," said Lisa Marks.
While the tours change constantly with new locations, you're guaranteed a stop at one of the city's cemeteries. With dousing rods and a camera in hand, you might get a chance to speak to the dead.
Guests crowd around headstones asking similar questions: "John Summer, if you're present please cross the rod."
The tour lasts about an hour and a half. You can climb aboard the shuttle for a tour daily. Most days at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Throughout the month of October, Ken and Lisa have additional tours at 9 p.m. each Friday and Saturday. Tours are $15.00 for adults, $7.50 for kids. Click here for more details. You can also buy "Haunted Hannibal: History and Mystery in America's Hometown", a new book by Ken and Lisa Marks.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA