Haunted Highway: Route 66

Established in 1926 as one of America’s OG highways, Route 66 linked over 2,000 miles of the country from Illinois to California. Although long since decommissioned, in today’s episode, we make eight stops along the iconic route from mansions to battlefields to visit old haunts of the past. Sources:Urge Congress to Support National Historic Trail Designation for Route 66NPS Preservation Program NPS Route 66 - Corridor Preservation Program For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at: Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page! Thank you to the week’s partners! Ka'Chava: Go to https://kachava.com and use code NPAD for 15% off your first order. Smalls: Smalls New Year’s Special - get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to Smalls.com/NPAD. Cash App: Download Cash App Today: [https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ejy661fu] #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. See terms and conditions at https://cash.app/legal/us/en-us/card-agreement. Cash App Green, overdraft coverage, borrow, cash back offers and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit http://cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. MILL: Try Mill risk-free for 90 days and get $75 off at mill.com/NPAD and use code NPAD at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:31Speaker 01

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• 1:01Danielle LaRock?

  When you visit Petrified Forest National Park, you travel back in time. Trees that stood tall when dinosaurs roamed the Earth now lie scattered on the ground, fossilized in brilliant red and white quartz, lending the area the name of Rainbow Forest. Museum exhibits take you back to the Triassic Period, showing the plants and animals that once lived there, including reptiles that predate dinosaurs. Throughout the park, you see signs of life that were once vibrant and thriving, forever changed by the passage of time. But if you came for fossils, there's one sign of life that might surprise you. Driving north, you'll find a line of abandoned telephone poles stretching into the horizon, and the rusted frame of a 90-year-old car

• 1:45Danielle LaRock?

  sitting without wheels in the dirt, the park's last remnants of what was once Route 66. Nicknamed the Mother Road, Route 66 was not the first paved road to cross the country, but it quickly became the most famous. Connecting Chicago to LA, the 2,000-mile route became a symbol of America's rise in car culture, with iconic diners, neon signs, and drive-in movie theaters. It helped popularize many attractions across the West, like Petrified Forest National Park. For others, it was a sign of opportunity. Struggling rural towns along the road were transformed into bustling cultural hubs. Families plagued by the Dust Bowl escaped by driving Route 66 west to sunny California.

• 2:28Danielle LaRock?

  But as the 20th century marched onward, the government paved millions of miles of interstate highways, wider roads with higher speed limits that slowly made Route 66 obsolete. Over time, mom-and-pop businesses that thrived on tourism closed their doors, gas stations, cafes, and motels sat empty as tourists passed them by on the interstate. In 1985, Route 66 was officially decertified and disappeared from road maps, and the abandoned stretch within Petrified Forest National Park was ripped up by the Park Service to allow it to return to nature. Today, the road lives on, only in memory. Hundreds of historic sites along the route have been preserved to keep its memory alive.

• 3:11Danielle LaRock?

  But some believe that the road lives on in other ways. In many of those historic sites—old hotels, military forts, and lighthouses—you'll hear rumors of hauntings: chairs that rock on their own, figures in the mist, and wine glasses ripped from waiters' hands. What might you find along Route 66? Welcome to National Park After Dark.

• 3:56Cassandra Yahnian?

  Hello, everybody. Welcome back. I'm Cassie.

• 3:58Danielle LaRock?

  And I'm Danielle.

• 4:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  And I am here for this episode already. A road trip, hauntings, national parks. I've actually been craving a road trip. I don't know. It's been so long since I've had a real road trip and I've been craving one. So I feel like this is, already has my internal wheel spinning of ideas. So I'm really excited.

• 4:21Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, nice. I hope I give you inspiration. Do you have any idea of like the vibe of road trip where you want to go? Or?

• 4:28Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes.

• 4:29Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 4:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  So the vibes, the vibes that I'm bringing to my road trip are obscure roadside attractions.

• 4:37Danielle LaRock?

  That's a given, I feel like for you, but yeah.

• 4:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  I've already been, uh, I've actually, you know this, but I'm driving out to the Teton area this spring. So I am trying to plan a route along that way. And I'm trying to find roadside attractions and national parks along the way.

• 4:55Danielle LaRock?

  Okay. All right. Well, this is a perfect episode, like you said, to maybe spark some inspiration. And I really, really love this episode because it's kind of a, it's going to be different. I feel like I've been saying that a lot. This is going to be different. Um, it's going to be a kind of like rapid fire, short stories along this historic route. Um, so instead of one big, long story, it's going to be a bunch of little ones, but also the themes of what we're talking about. There's history, there's hauntings, there's tourist attractions, there's like a little bit of everything, which is really engaging and fun. So I hope you guys like it.

• 5:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  I'll be writing things down. I'm like, all right, take a detour, go here.

• 5:36Danielle LaRock?

  Well, I have so many references for you at the end of this. Talk to me after, you know, we'll, we'll chat.

• 5:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  I know how to get in touch.

• 5:44Danielle LaRock?

  Yes, you do.

• 5:46Danielle LaRock?

  You know, I was thinking of like, I wonder how long if we printed out our text thread, how long?

• 5:52Cassandra Yahnian?

  It would be crazy. It's so funny that you say that because I was looking for a screenshot that I sent you the other day. Cause I couldn't remember who, like what it was in reference to, and I needed to see it. And so I started trying to scroll through our text thread and I had sent it to you like three days ago. And there was no way.

• 6:11Danielle LaRock?

  No.

• 6:14Danielle LaRock?

  And I haven't deleted our thread since we began.

• 6:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  I've never deleted any thread that's ever been on my phone, but also not ours.

• 6:23Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, well, so back to the story or to begin it. So Route 66 is pretty infamous, but for those who need a little refresher or for those of you who are like, I've never heard of that in my entire life, probably like Gen Z or not to call you out or anything, but I just feel, I just feel like maybe that's you.

• 6:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Gen Z has heard of Route 66.

• 6:48Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know about that.

• 6:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  I feel like they must have.

• 6:52Danielle LaRock?

  You would think, but I don't want to, I'm not judging. So here I am to just give some background.

• 6:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Where does Gen Z start? Is it two thousand, being born in 2000? Is that the beginning?

• 7:03Danielle LaRock?

  That's a great question. I don't know because then there's Gen Alpha, which is younger than Gen Z, which I'm going to just put my foot down and say they probably haven't. Gen Alpha probably is like, I have no idea what you're talking about because there, remember somebody wrote into us and they're like, I was born in 2004. I'm like, how, who are you? How are you listening to this?

• 7:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, aren't you still a baby?

• 7:27Danielle LaRock?

  It's like you're the smartest baby alive. You could just type us an email. No, but okay. So I'm going to tell you just a little tiny bit about the background of Route 66. So you understand what it is because I don't want to assume that everyone just knows and then just get into it. So here we go. By the year 1900, Apache network of roads stretched across the Great Plains and the American West. Ancient trails worn by bison and tribal nations and wagon trails hardened by pioneers and homesteaders. As more Americans moved west, more roads followed, most of which were unpaved and many were in terrible shape. But as cars rose to replace the horse and buggy, the Bureau of Public Roads set out to improve vehicle travel by creating the numbered highway system.

• 8:09Danielle LaRock?

  Route 66 was a cobbled together mix of existing local, state and national roads between Chicago and LA, planned to help farmers bring grain to Chicago and allow the military quick access to the West. And it would take about 12 years to completely pave. So like I said in this episode, we're going to be following the route itself from Chicago. To LA, east to west, making one stop in each state along the way. We're going to visit some historic sites that preserve local history and harbor rumors of spooky local legends, including haunted mansions and prankster ghosts. It'll be, like I said, pretty rapid fire, one stop per state along the eight states in the route.

• 8:52Danielle LaRock?

  And most of the sites that we're visiting on this spooky little tour are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 8:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  I knew there would be a haunted mansion on here.

• 9:02Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, my God, and it's so gorgeous. I can't wait to get, I can't wait to tell you about it. Um, it's, nothing's complete without a haunted spooky mansion, you know? That's I've always said.

• 9:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  You've taught me that. You've taught me that.

• 9:14Danielle LaRock?

  Thank you.

• 9:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  I didn't even know, but now I do.

• 9:17Danielle LaRock?

  Yep. Okay, so first stop is Illinois. The route begins in Chicago, not far from Millennium Park, where that big giant silver bean is the iconic.

• 9:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  Mm hmm.

• 9:30Danielle LaRock?

  You know, okay, for a second, you didn't signal to me that you knew what I was talking about. I'm like, I don't know how else to describe this.

• 9:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, it's so funny. Whenever I think of that giant silver bean, I remember my friend Erin, who was driving through Chicago during the pandemic, and she has a photo midday at that silver bean, and there is not a single other person around.

• 9:54Danielle LaRock?

  That's crazy to think of, because that place is so busy all the time.

• 9:57Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 9:57Danielle LaRock?

  Well, the road aims southwest towards St. Louis, and as you leave the windy city, you'll pass by many reminders of Route 66, places that once served the route's travelers that have been converted to museums, including historic gas stations and restaurants. But 200 miles into your journey, you reach the town of Springfield and Abraham Lincoln's home. Now a national historic site, this Springfield home was the only house the Lincoln family ever owned. Purchased in 1844 for $1,500. Do you want to guess what the equivalent is today? Don't overshoot it, which you always do, but.

• 10:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  Okay, how much did they buy it for again?

• 10:36Danielle LaRock?

  1,500 bucks in 1844 money.

• 10:39Cassandra Yahnian?

  300,000.

• 10:41Danielle LaRock?

  60,000. What I just tell you, don't.

• 10:46Cassandra Yahnian?

  I have no concept of money.

• 10:48Danielle LaRock?

  I guess so. Um, no, yeah, sixty thousand bucks today for a house. What a dream.

• 10:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, there's no house on the market right now. That's sixty thousand dollars unless it's burnt to the ground or flooded.

• 11:02Danielle LaRock?

  I don't even know about that, the land itself, you know?

• 11:05Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, yeah, that's true.

• 11:07Danielle LaRock?

  At any rate, at the time, Lincoln had wrapped up four terms on the Illinois House of Representatives, and he was just launching his own law practice. He and his wife, Mary Todd, had also just welcomed their first son, Robert. The house would grow with the family as they had more kids and as Lincoln's ambitions sent him straight to Washington. First as a US Congressman, and then, of course, as President. The Lincoln family would live in their Springfield home until 1861, when they moved to the White House. And like any home, the building saw the ups and downs of daily life. Late night scribbling notes before a case went to trial, the little feet of toddlers running around, parties that Mary threw in the living room. She worked so hard to decorate. In 1850, it is also where their

• 11:49Danielle LaRock?

  three-year-old son Edward died after a two-month battle with illness, which was likely tuberculosis. Today, the house is run by the National Park Service, which offers tours through the rooms that still have most of their original furnishings. Some people have reported mysterious happenings during their time in the house. Lincoln's favorite chair often is reported rocking on its own, or, which this is one freaks me out the most, I think, toys that will appear in one room after disappearing in another. They're like teleporting toys.

• 12:21Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, that is weird. Or it's a ghost picking, it's a ghost child playing with the toys and bringing them to another room.

• 12:27Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, I know. That's why I think it's creepy. I can deal with a rocking chair rocking. That's what they're meant to do. You know what I mean?

• 12:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I guess. It's except if you're just sitting there and the chair just starts rocking back and forth, like someone's sitting in it.

• 12:43Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 12:45Danielle LaRock?

  Well, most of the stories revolve around Mary, who endured a life filled with tragedy. Her son Edward died in 1850 at age three, and after moving to Washington, the Civil War erupted, the bloodiest war in American history, and a conflict many Americans blamed Lincoln for directly. While living in the White House, their seven-year-old son Willie died of illness. Abe, of course, was assassinated in 1865, and in 1871, a third son, Tad Lincoln, at aged 18, died from pneumonia or tuberculosis. It's kind of unclear. Mary's grief had been so severe that her remaining son committed her to an insane asylum for a brief time before she was released to live with her sisters. And after such a difficult life, who would blame her for wanting to linger

• 13:30Danielle LaRock?

  in their Springfield's home? A place and time where life hadn't yet gotten so complicated or so painful, where her family was just starting and had not yet fallen apart. And maybe that's why some have reported seeing apparitions of Mary Lincoln in the parlor. Candles that had never been lit have been found burnt down into a puddle of wax, and piano music is often heard playing from neighboring rooms. One former employee described a night when she was alone in the house about to rearrange the furniture in Mary's bedroom, when all of a sudden, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to an empty room and decided to leave the furniture where it was. It's like, "Don't touch that." Mary's like, "Nuh-uh-uh." "I like it this way." "No touch, please."

• 14:16Danielle LaRock?

  Today, we know Lincoln as a history maker, the president who helped end the Civil War, aimed our nation towards a more equal future, and was assassinated for it. He also paved the way for westward expansion. In 1862, he signed the Homestead Act that propelled Americans to move out west on wagon trails that would one day become Route 66 and other roads like it. But this house is a glimpse at the private lives of the Lincolns and a painful past that might not have made it into history books. A story that might still be alive in some way should you visit for yourself? And if you're interested more about, you know, the tragedies that I kind of just bullet pointed there for you, um, I know that was like a lot of heavy information, just like rapid fire,

• 14:59Danielle LaRock?

  but especially with Mary in particular, you may have remembered I did an episode on the Lincolns, kind of, when I did the episode on the seances that are held in the White House.

• 15:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 15:12Danielle LaRock?

  And Mary was a big figure in that fixture in that whole movement, um, spiritualism and wanting to connect with the other side. And she held a lot of seances in the White House and her and Abe had spiritualists as advisors for a lot of their decision-making and things like that. And that whole period of time is really interesting. So if you're interested in wanting to know more about that, I had to look it up. It's episode 182 and I titled it, "A Good Old Fashioned Seance." So.

• 15:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  That was a fun episode. It's actually now that you bring up Abraham Lincoln, we've actually talked about him quite a bit on the podcast because I also did the Dry Tortugas episode where we did John Wilkes Booth and he was imprisoned for his role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

• 16:00Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. And, uh, why do I have mud in my head? Dr. Mud? Was there a Dr. Mud or something with that? I have a feeling there was like a co-conspirator or something?

• 16:10Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, it was Dr. Samuel Mud. Sorry. And his, Dr. Samuel Mud, you're totally right. Dr. Samuel Mud is the one who was imprisoned in Dry Tortugas and John Wilkes Booth is the one who assassinated.

• 16:23Danielle LaRock?

  Right. But there's, there's a lot of connections.

• 16:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 16:26Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 16:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 16:28Danielle LaRock?

  That was an interesting one.

• 16:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. It was, it's been a while since we've talked about that part, but that was a cool.

• 16:33Danielle LaRock?

  Well, it's on my list because I am not getting the SCUBA certification for nothing, okay? And I, I have my, one of my classes tonight and I've told you this before, but we just have so much going on. And I was like, I have to do some, one thing for myself. Like I, you know, I want to carve out some time for myself. So I signed up for the SCUBA class and the first time that I'm in it, I'm literally like hovering in like 20 feet of water in this Olympic sized pool with all the SCUBA gear on, just floating there. And I'm just like, God, I have so much other things I should be doing.

• 17:13Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like but self-care.

• 17:15Danielle LaRock?

  Self-care, I'm relaxing right now. This is what relaxing looks like. Some like stressed out.

• 17:27Danielle LaRock?

  Alright, so that was our stop in Illinois. Next up, we're heading to Missouri. As the road winds southwest, you'll pass by more historic buildings, gas stations, and motels that were active when Route 66 was at its height, which was in about the 1940s and 50s. And you'll also pass new attractions that have sprung up to celebrate its history, like the over-the-top tourist attraction called Uranus, Missouri, which is a road stop home to the Uranus Fudge Factory, and at one point held the world's oldest belt buckle. And while I don't have a ton of concrete answers as to what that belt was about, like where did it go? Why was it there in the first place? Who found it?

• 18:04Cassandra Yahnian?

  How do they know?

• 18:05Danielle LaRock?

  How do they know? Like, I started to look it up a little bit and a lot of information was coming up as this belt buckle was like now in England. And I was like, okay, I can't go too far down this. Like, I'm gonna get too sidetracked.

• 18:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  Mysterious belt buckle.

• 18:19Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, let's just leave some mystery to it. I did, I was like, oh, the world's oldest belt buckle. I wonder where the world's largest belt buckle is.

• 18:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  You put a world's largest in here for me?

• 18:31Danielle LaRock?

  I did. It has nothing to do with Route 66 or anything.

• 18:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  I'm so here for it. Where is it?

• 18:36Danielle LaRock?

  It's in Abilene, Kansas, and it's about 19 feet tall. It's huge.

• 18:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  Wow.

• 18:42Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 18:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  I want to look up a picture of it.

• 18:44Danielle LaRock?

  Okay. Maybe, I don't think you're gonna be going through Abilene, Kansas on your trip, but you never know.

• 18:51Cassandra Yahnian?

  You never know. I might make a...

• 18:52Danielle LaRock?

  You could reroute over there.

• 18:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  I could. Wow, it is big.

• 18:57Danielle LaRock?

  Yep, so, yeah. I don't know.

• 19:02Cassandra Yahnian?

  Wait, there's, okay, so there's one in Abilene, Kansas, but then there's another one that pops up in Missouri, and it's on Route 66, and it says Uranus, Missouri, and it's a giant belt buckle. Or are they the same?

• 19:19Danielle LaRock?

  They're not the same. Those are two different states.

• 19:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  There's so many belt buckles. There's one in Texas and Montana.

• 19:30Danielle LaRock?

  It actually kind of surprises me. Texas doesn't have the world's largest belt buckle. Right? Like when you think about it.

• 19:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  You know, Kansas did that because so Texas is coming in at number two.

• 19:41Danielle LaRock?

  Oh.

• 19:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, that Kansas is like, not everything's bigger in Texas.

• 19:48Danielle LaRock?

  Like, we're gonna take this one from you.

• 19:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. Yeah. The one in Missouri is number three on the largest list. But it's right on Route 66. It says Route 66 on the belt buckle.

• 20:00Danielle LaRock?

  So now you can go. Tag me.

• 20:03Cassandra Yahnian?

  Now I have a whole new adventure. I'm gonna do a road trip of giant, biggest belt buckles.

• 20:09Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, you're gonna just be bouncing back and forth between Texas and Missouri.

• 20:13Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. What a road trip.

• 20:15Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, so let's leave the belt buckles behind in the rearview mirror. Yeah, you know, some would say 300 miles after leaving Springfield, Illinois, you'll arrive in Springfield, Missouri, home to the historic Landers Theater. Built in 1909, the Landers Theater has operated almost every year since, with a short break during World War II. A tall brick building with ornate lighting and decor, the theater was a popular stop along the vaudeville circuit in its early years. Touring troops of actors, dancers, comedians, and musicians would pass through and perform for sold out crowds. By some accounts, the performers would spend the night there, sleeping in or outside of the grand auditorium before leaving for the next town. Fifty years after the Lincolns moved into their home,

• 20:57Danielle LaRock?

  America and Springfield, Missouri were expanding. More people were moving to urban areas and seeking entertainment under bright electric lights. The Landers Theater was also home to other technological advancements. They started showing silent movies, which was a huge hit at the time, and it was one of the first theaters in the country to show films with sound when that came about. While all Americans were welcome to attend showings, Black Americans were limited to the second balcony until desegregation. Since the 1970s, though, the theater has been home to stage plays. For example, in the next few months, they're showing live productions of a Dr. Seuss musical and Sweeney Todd, which I would love to go see. I would love to see this beautiful theater and it's all its glory,

• 21:41Danielle LaRock?

  but I cannot stand musicals. So count me out.

• 21:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  I like musicals a lot.

• 21:47Danielle LaRock?

  I tried. I really, and this is my, this is how I knew, you know, this is what did it for me. I went to see the Titanic musical off Broadway musical. Like surely I'm gonna love this.

• 22:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  If any musical you would like, it would be this one.

• 22:03Danielle LaRock?

  And I made it through, but I was like, God, I never want to do something like that again.

• 22:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  You don't really like music, though.

• 22:11Danielle LaRock?

  No, I don't. I will say I saw The Lion King on Broadway in New York when I was, I think, like in high school or maybe eighth grade. And it was really entertaining, but there was like a lot to it. It was a whole production. It wasn't just like singing.

• 22:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, that's usually how musicals are, though. I saw Wicked on Broadway last year and I thought it was really fun and I really, I just, I love theater. I think I love seeing talented people singing and dancing and

• 22:41Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 22:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  the outfits and.

• 22:43Danielle LaRock?

  See, I almost, Whitney Levitt almost got me with Chicago. I'm like, surely I'd like this because.

• 22:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  I would love to see Chicago.

• 22:52Danielle LaRock?

  I know she's controversial. A lot of people love to hate Whitney, but kinda like her. You don't even watch Mormon Wives, do you?

• 22:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  Don't even know who Whitney is.

• 23:01Danielle LaRock?

  All right, moving on, back to the theater. The drama and intrigue are not limited to the stage alone. And like any hundred year old building, there have been many reports of ghost sightings over the years. People have reported seeing the figure of a man on the fourth floor, wearing an old Shakespearean outfit. But there's a catch. They've only seen him from the outside looking in. The fourth floor was once apartments for traveling performers, but it's now a costume room and the figure has never been seen from the inside.

• 23:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Interesting.

• 23:32Danielle LaRock?

  There are sightings of a mysterious green light and the sound of a child crying. And there's the story of a man who long ago was stabbed to death on the segregated balcony. Chuck Rogers, who worked as a technical director at the Landers Theater for forty years, actually admitted in a radio interview that he made that last story up. While taking a tour of visitors throughout the building, he crafted a tail to embellish a stain in the old carpet and the ghost story grew from there. He's like, actually, don't worry. Yeah, it's like actually somebody was violently stabbed here. That's explains that scene. And then it just like

• 24:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  Spiraled.

• 24:08Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, spiraled out of control. And it really reminds me a lot of the story of the Headless Bride in Old Faithful, in the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone, because that story is everywhere on like every blog post about like haunted parks. And it's just kind of everywhere, especially during spooky season, like that story's just perpetuated over and over. But a tour guide had, somebody went on record at Old Faithful Lodge, saying that they made that story up. Like he admitted to it. He's like, I crafted that. And he's like, and it just kind of, it's out of my hands now. Like, you know?

• 24:47Cassandra Yahnian?

  It exists in the lore now.

• 24:49Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, oops, you know, but I do want to say I, I totally created that story.

• 24:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, it's not real.

• 24:58Danielle LaRock?

  But even the guy at the Landers Theater who Chuck, who made up that story, he believes that the theater is haunted, even though he made up that one, that one story. One night in the nineties, Roger was working late, cleaning after the last show closed, when he spotted a man standing in the lobby. Confused, he assumed that the man had somehow gotten through the locked outer doors and went over to usher him back outside, basically saying, hey bud, building's closed. I need to ask you to leave. And the man just stood there and stared at him. And as Chuck walked closer, the man turned and walked towards the auditorium and stared back at Chuck again, who was at this point getting pretty annoyed, like this guy just blatantly ignored me and did exactly what I asked him not to.

• 25:40Danielle LaRock?

  And as Chuck walked into the auditorium to escort the man back out, he vanished right in front of him, nowhere to be found. In an interview with the local radio station, Chuck said, "When you're here in this building by yourself, you definitely feel as if you're not alone." Now, whether or not that is a ghost, or whether that is a spirit or a soul, our artistic director for so many years, used to say that the theater was filled with all of the voices of people that had passed through and acted on stage. And I always thought that that was a wonderful way of looking at the unexplained occurrences that happen in the theater. So maybe it just holds on to some energy, you know?

• 26:15Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I wouldn't like seeing a strange man walking around ignoring me, though.

• 26:20Danielle LaRock?

  I don't think anyone is, yeah, I don't want to see that as an apparition or a physical being.

• 26:33Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, so onward to Kansas. Route 66 passes through the southeast corner of the state. On the western edge of the Ozark Plateau, it has more terrain than people often give Kansas credit for, and it's one of the few places, fun fact, in Kansas that you're likely to spot a black bear. But to set the stage for this ghost story, we're going to go back to the 1800s when Kansas became a state just three months before the Civil War erupted. In the lead up to statehood, pro-slavery and anti-slavery politicians had been fighting over Kansas, trying to decide if the territory would allow residents to own enslaved individuals, a fight that led to many bloody battles across the entire territory.

• 27:14Danielle LaRock?

  Ultimately, Kansas entered the Union as a free state, but to prepare for future conflicts, the military built forts throughout the region, including one called Fort Blair. First known as Fort Baxter, Fort Blair was a small station between larger outposts. It was essentially just a supply station for passing wagons. It wasn't anything huge or elaborate. The regiment stationed there included Buffalo soldiers, black soldiers who joined the Union Army for their freedom. According to journals from the time, life at the fort was pretty quiet and boring if they couldn't get their hands, at least on a newspaper, to, you know, hear a word from the outside world, because they were pretty isolated. But that would change in October of 1863.

• 27:56Danielle LaRock?

  Nearby, William Quantrell marched with 400 pro-Confederate guerrilla soldiers. Quantrell was a violent outlaw who traded a career as a teacher for cattle rustling and capturing runaway slaves. During the Civil War, he tried to join up with the Confederate Army, but they deemed him too bloodthirsty and unpredictable for official service, but authorized him in an unofficial capacity. So he launched a pro-Confederate guerrilla group known as Quantrell's Raiders, which would become notorious and would even count the young outlaw Jesse James among its members. So the federal government was like, "You're scaring us."

• 28:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  "We can't publicly back you, but we will allow you to create your own militant group."

• 28:42Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 28:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  "And support that secretly."

• 28:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  Sketchy.

• 28:45Danielle LaRock?

  On October 4th, 1863, Quantrell's Raiders attacked Fort Blair. While outnumbered, Buffalo soldiers at the fort were able to hold them off. Forced to retreat, Quantrell took out his anger on a detachment of Union soldiers they found out on the prairie. Over 100 men were massacred. The dead soldiers were buried in a mass grave and Fort Blair was abandoned later that year, burnt to the ground so that no Confederate forces could use it. In the century after the war, the town of Baxter Springs emerged in the region and houses were built right on top of Fort Blair's remains. Since nothing was left of the fort, it was never recognized on the National Register

• 29:25Danielle LaRock?

  of Historic Places, but in the 1990s, a local historic society took an interest in reconstructing the fort. And they started by buying the houses built right on top of it. In one telling, as they met with the homeowners to strike a deal, one elderly homeowner said, "If you buy the house, the ghost goes with it." She described a man in military uniform who she and her daughters both believed occupied their house. Neighbors described a Buffalo soldier, possibly a casualty of Quantrell's Raiders' attack. Years earlier, when the family had tried to sell their house on their own before the historical society even came and offered to buy it from them, their real estate agent saw the ghost in a room, ran out the door, and never came back.

• 30:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's like, I'm not selling this house.

• 30:09Danielle LaRock?

  It's like, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I don't want to be a part of it. The owner swore that the ghost never caused them any trouble, he was just around all the time.

• 30:20Cassandra Yahnian?

  He's harmless, but he lives here.

• 30:23Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, so now you can visit the replica of the Civil War fort at Fort Blair Historic Site about 90 miles south of Springfield, Missouri, and the Landers Theater. The Baxter Springs Heritage Center operates the site now, and while they don't advertise a ghost tour straight out, it sounds like at least a couple of entities might still be lingering around the fort. Continuing down Route 66, you leave the hills and trees of Baxter Springs, and Route 66 takes you through the flat plains of central Oklahoma and right into Oklahoma City.

• 30:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  You know what this is also reminding me of? And I think it's because I just watched this movie, but I just watched Crossroads with Britney Spears. And a classic, but also just like the road trip vibes. Each time we're talking about going to a new city, I'm like, what song would I be listening to?

• 31:14Cassandra Yahnian?

  And I just keep thinking of like Britney Spears.

• 31:17Danielle LaRock?

  What prompted you to put that on other than Britney Spears is in it. We love her.

• 31:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Um, it just came up on Netflix. It showed suggested movies you might want to watch.

• 31:27Danielle LaRock?

  It's on Netflix?

• 31:28Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 31:28Danielle LaRock?

  Wow. Okay.

• 31:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  I highly recommend. It was such a, I don't know. It was so nostalgic and seeing Brittany and um, yeah, it was just, it was cool.

• 31:40Danielle LaRock?

  I love Zoe's Eldona. She's in it.

• 31:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes.

• 31:42Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, she's my favorite. I love her so much.

• 31:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  I do.

• 31:46Danielle LaRock?

  There's another, somebody else we know, not personally, obviously. The girl that's in Orange is the New Black.

• 31:52Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, she's in. I don't remember her name either. I actually saw an interview with her recent, I don't know if it was recent or if I just recently saw it, but she was talking about how Crossroads actually kind of put her into a section of acting where people didn't want her in other roles after that, because in Crossroads, she kind of played like, she, I don't want to say trashy because I don't think she was trashy, but that was kind of like the role she was putting out was she was young and pregnant and like had less money and then

• 32:24Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 32:24Cassandra Yahnian?

  do and stuff. And um, she did an interview where she said that kind of put her in a box where those were the roles that they wanted her in is.

• 32:33Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, I see. I see.

• 32:35Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 32:36Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, I don't, maybe I'll have to watch it again because I swear I only, I remember where I was. I went to premiere eight in Merrimack, New Hampshire, which is no longer, R I P. But that's where I went to see it when it first came out. So whatever year that was, however old we were, I wasn't even a teenager yet, I don't think. And I think that's the first and only time I ever saw it. So.

• 32:56Cassandra Yahnian?

  Really? I had, I had it age myself real quick. I had it on V H S and I would watch it at my house.

• 33:02Danielle LaRock?

  See, that's okay. I had um, Spice World on V H S.

• 33:05Cassandra Yahnian?

  I remember I used, okay, I had that one too, but I remember Crossroads. I, after I would watch it or I would turn it on and fast forward to um, the karaoke scene and I would just be like in my room being like, I love Rock and Roll.

• 33:25Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, that's so funny. I can totally see you doing that.

• 33:28Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 33:29Danielle LaRock?

  Oklahoma City was founded in 1889 when the Oklahoma Territory was opened for settlement. Almost 20 years later, it became the state capital. By then, the bustling city was rapidly expanding, thanks in no small part to an entrepreneur named Henry Overholzer. Henry was a businessman who made a small fortune in the real estate business before moving to the Oklahoma Territory in 1889, where he married his wife, Anna Murphy. Immediately after arrival, Henry set about leaving his mark on the young town. He built Oklahoma City's first two-story buildings, helped to fund its first railroads, and purchased what would become the state fairgrounds. He also constructed the Overholzer Opera House, Overholzer Theater,

• 34:10Danielle LaRock?

  and Grand Avenue Hotel, where he and Anna lived for over a decade. And I just want to say, I really want to live in a hotel. It just seems like the coolest people live in hotels, you know?

• 34:23Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like a fancy hotel, not a Days Inn or something.

• 34:26Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, no, that would, the novelty would wear off quicker at a Days Inn, I think.

• 34:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I, I forget the name of the hotel, the Plaza Hotel or something. When I was in New York City, I went to a hotel that had this really, really beautiful tea room, the bottom. I'd have to look up again, people probably are like, I know exactly what you're talking about, but it's right next to Central Park. And people live there and it's super fancy and beautiful. And even the outside is amazing. And that's the type of, if you lived in a hotel, would be what I, what I'm picturing.

• 35:01Danielle LaRock?

  I feel like that needs to be a chapter of my life. Not saying it needs to be a long chapter, but I just think it would be so fun.

• 35:09Cassandra Yahnian?

  I have dreams of moving to New York City for like two months. I just want to know.

• 35:13Danielle LaRock?

  In a hotel?

• 35:14Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, I mean, not particularly. I didn't pick a hotel in my brain, but it could be. I, I was just thinking an Airbnb for two months, but I just have never in my whole entire life lived in a city. I've always lived in pretty rural areas and I would love to just experience the city life for a little bit.

• 35:33Danielle LaRock?

  Well, after your stint in Idaho, because you're going the opposite direction, I fear.

• 35:41Danielle LaRock?

  Go in the opposite direction. But after that, maybe.

• 35:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 35:44Danielle LaRock?

  Can round out the year in the city.

• 35:46Cassandra Yahnian?

  I think Amber would hate it. Tucker would be fine. Amber would hate it.

• 35:50Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. Well, I think she can handle it for two months.

• 35:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  Hmm, too.

• 35:55Danielle LaRock?

  Okay, regardless, what are we talking about? We're talking about Oklahoma City and this guy who's just like overrunning the whole thing. He's like, I am gonna build all these buildings and name all of them after me and the whole city is gonna be named in my honor, essentially.

• 36:07Cassandra Yahnian?

  Wow, humble.

• 36:08Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. A humble king.

• 36:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 36:12Danielle LaRock?

  It was a nonstop and ambitious approach to development that would help transform Oklahoma City, as if he was encouraging other developers to try and outdo him, and it seemed to work. Many historians refer to him as the father of Oklahoma City. It's no wonder then that he and Anna took the same approach to their home, the city's first mansion. More than a mile outside of town, they built an opulent, three-story, twenty-room home out of brick and red sandstone, an enormous French-inspired building with a reception hall, parlor, music room, library, and fine dining room, and many rooms for servants and kitchen staff that were tucked out of sight.

• 36:50Danielle LaRock?

  During their time in Oklahoma City, Anna had grown into a prominent socialite, and their new home became the go-to place for parties amongst high society. And while all these years later, the house has been converted to a museum, some legends believe that Anna still roams the house, entertaining her guests. An employee's son was walking down the hall when something suddenly scared him. When his dad asked what was wrong, he replied, "Something without legs just walked right in front of me." To my, my response is, "How can something without legs walk in front of you, stupid idiot?" But...

• 37:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, like, what do you mean? Like, slithered in front of you?

• 37:29Danielle LaRock?

  Flated, I think.

• 37:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Flated, okay.

• 37:32Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 37:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  I'm picturing a circle.

• 37:35Danielle LaRock?

  What?

• 37:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  It doesn't have legs.

• 37:40Danielle LaRock?

  I'm just thinking of a floating torso, gliding in front of somebody.

• 37:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, okay.

• 37:44Danielle LaRock?

  But we can go with circle. I can try, I could try.

• 37:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  Circular blob.

• 37:51Danielle LaRock?

  He said somebody that, oh, oh, no, he said something. It could be a circle.

• 37:55Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 37:55Danielle LaRock?

  He didn't specify.

• 37:59Danielle LaRock?

  I want to live in your brain for a day.

• 38:04Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's a good time over here, I'll tell you.

• 38:06Danielle LaRock?

  It seems a lot funner than mine, so yeah. So he went on to describe a woman with something draped over her head and around her neck. When shown a picture of Anna later on, the boy recognized her as the apparition that startled him. Other employees described curtains opening and closing on their own and reports from neighbors, and even a police officer reported a figure in the tower window, a woman with Anna's haircut. Others have reported opening locked doors to find beds ruffled as if someone had been lying in them, or opening the empty house in the morning to the smell of pancakes and syrup.

• 38:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's nice.

• 38:42Danielle LaRock?

  That's so pleasant.

• 38:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  It is a really nice smell.

• 38:45Danielle LaRock?

  Or as they walk around the house, hearing the phantom sounds of glasses clinking or the smell of roses wafting by, which happened to be Anna's favorite flower. If you're ever in Oklahoma City, you can check out the Henry and Anna Overholes Their Mansion and see if you find anything for yourself. Of course, I had to do a little YouTube walkthrough. There's a lot of people who have videos of just like tours throughout the house and because I just wanted to get a really good look at it, wanted to get my eyes on this thing. And it's absolutely gorgeous. It's barely been restored, which is really interesting because nearly everything in that house is original. No one has lived in it since the 1950s and it has been kept in amazing, wonderful shape.

• 39:30Danielle LaRock?

  And it's interesting because so this couple had one daughter and she actually died pretty young of cancer. And so it's kind of just, the house has kind of just stayed frozen. And of course, now it's a museum and they preserve it and do walking tours of it and stuff. But it's just a really cool glimpse into life during this time and just the opulence and boujiness and just, you don't need a 20-room house, you have one kid, you know, like it's just so over the top, but it is really beautiful and I'm glad it's preserved. And if you're in the area and you happen to go, please send me pictures because it's really, really nice. And of course, if you see a circle walking by you, I'd love to know.

• 40:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 40:14Cassandra Yahnian?

  The infamous circle.

• 40:16Danielle LaRock?

  We're going to start a rumor. This is how legends start. We're the tour operators that are making things up.

• 40:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  We are the legends.

• 40:31Danielle LaRock?

  Well, so far, the stops have been somewhat unsurprising as far as hauntings go. We've had old houses, theaters, and a Civil War battle site. But as we continue on our road trip, this one next stop in Texas is a little different. 260 miles from Oklahoma City, you'll find yourself in the city of Amarillo. High in the Texas panhandle, summer temperatures here regularly push 90 degrees or more, which is likely why the town was in a market for a swimming pool. In 1922, and this is like an old timey name for a pool, I guess, it had its first natatorium, which they called the Nat for short. The pool was so successful that they built a roof over the head of it in the following year so it could be used all year round. However, after a few more years, an enterprising businessman bought the pool

• 41:16Danielle LaRock?

  and converted the whole building into a ballroom. By the 1930s, it was known as the Nat Dine and Dance Palace. To attract Route 66 travelers, the outside was decorated with a castle facade, kind of like, imagine like a very gaudy castle in like a mini golf.

• 41:35Danielle LaRock?

  You know what I'm, do you know what I'm saying?

• 41:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yes.

• 41:38Danielle LaRock?

  But big, like on steroids. Just envision Gatlinburg, okay? That's all you have to say. I'm never gonna let that go. Or Pigeon Forge, or whatever it is. The mini golf capital of the world. The goofy and whimsical roadside aesthetic was popular along Route 66. But inside, upscale art deco furnishings helped attract customers and a slew of popular musicians. Over the years, people danced to big band orchestras like Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington, and later, rock groups like Buddy Holly and Little Richard made the Nat a favorite music club for locals and tourists alike. But as traffic on Route 66 started to peter out, so did business at the Nat. While it closed its doors as a public dance hall in the 1960s, it continued to host concerts or community functions over the years,

• 42:23Danielle LaRock?

  though much less frequently. Its heyday seemed to be over, and today, it's an antique store, which I would like to argue is still a heyday. Antique stores are so cool. And one that was in an old pool that was converted to a ballroom and is now an antique store.

• 42:39Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like has a bunch of history and antiques, pretty cool.

• 42:44Danielle LaRock?

  Yet for many, echoes of the Nat's heyday can be felt upon visiting. One owner of the Nat described returning in the morning to find furniture rearranged while the building was locked. Apparitions of couples appeared dancing on the ballroom floor. Upstairs where the Nat once offered gambling, a ghostly woman appeared to others, wearing a long white dress with a dark red stain down the front. So, a lot of people are like, is it spilled red wine? Or maybe something more sinister? Unexplained cold spots on the upper floor are often felt as well as if you could see your own breath. In an attempt to capture some of this, employees of the Nat back in 1996 set up video cameras and tape recorders. But, classically, all the cameras shut off, but they did say the audio recordings survived

• 43:28Danielle LaRock?

  and captured a woman singing and a drum solo playing in the background. People online and in Amarillo subreddits continue to share stories of their own paranormal experiences at the Nat. Today, you can visit the Nat Antique Store and explore the place for yourself. And I feel like that antique store is one that is gonna bring, if not haunted before, haunted now, for sure. You know what I mean? Like, people are bringing the haunted vibes now. Yeah. I've been to, I'm not one of those people who feels like really heavy all the time in antique stores. I know that there are some people who are really sensitive, just can't. Objects and.

• 44:09Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, just like can't do antique stores or thrifting is hard because of, you know, just different feelings that they get. I have only felt that way one time and it caught me off guard. I went to the Brimfield event, that huge antique event in New England, over, I think it was in the fall of last year with my mom and my sister. And there are thousands of vendors there, like hundreds of thousand people go every year, they hold it like over several weekends. And there's just like so much stuff, like it's almost incomprehensible how much stuff there is. And I was fine, everything was fine. I mean, I was a little like anxious just because of that huge amount of people milling around. Yeah.

• 44:49Danielle LaRock?

  But all of a sudden, I was at this one vendor and out of nowhere, I just felt like immediately, I'm like, do not go into that little corner over there. Like, it just felt so, not scary, but like a warning of like, stay away from this one area. And

• 45:06Cassandra Yahnian?

  Were there certain objects that you saw? Or it was just like, don't go over here?

• 45:11Danielle LaRock?

  No, it wasn't like a creepy statue or like a weird item. It was just a feeling of this one particular area of this one particular vendor that I was just totally just, I got this feeling of just like, get away from here right now.

• 45:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  There's some bad energy being right there.

• 45:29Danielle LaRock?

  It was so strange.

• 45:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Interesting.

• 45:32Danielle LaRock?

  And I've never felt like that ever again, or before, really.

• 45:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 45:37Danielle LaRock?

  So it was just, yeah, very strange.

• 45:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's very interesting.

• 45:40Danielle LaRock?

  All right. As we continue west, our next state is New Mexico.

• 45:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  We have another stop for people if you're going to Amarillo.

• 45:48Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, yes, please.

• 45:49Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. So I drove through Amarillo going, when I lived in Alabama, we drove to Colorado. And along the way, we stopped in Amarillo because they have this really interesting, and I don't know the history behind it. Uh, and I didn't look it up because I didn't know. Uh, we were going to talk about this today, but there is something called Cadillac Ranch. And it is a bunch of Cadillacs that are in the dirt, horizontal, out of the ground. And you go there and you can spray paint them and you can do art and whatever, you can write your name, whatever. But people have been spray painting them for years and go and visit it. And it's almost like this big art installation on the side of the road.

• 46:32Danielle LaRock?

  Do they provide?

• 46:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, you have to go.

• 46:35Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 46:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  Interesting. I would also double check and make sure that you're allowed to do that.

• 46:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  Positive you are because everyone else was.

• 46:44Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 46:45Cassandra Yahnian?

  The Cadillacs are covered in spray paint, so they're all these crazy different colors and they look really cool on the side of the road.

• 46:52Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. So, yeah, we're not saying you can, but if you can, you should.

• 46:56Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. I'll look it up real quick.

• 46:58Danielle LaRock?

  Okay.

• 46:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Can you spray paint?

• 47:00Danielle LaRock?

  Is it legal to do?

• 47:02Cassandra Yahnian?

  Spray. Yes, okay. Oh yeah, it says, yes, you absolutely can spray paint Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, as it's a famous interactive public art installation where visitors are encouraged to add their own graffiti.

• 47:16Danielle LaRock?

  There we go.

• 47:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I just want to make sure. I'm like, I know I did, but thinking back, I don't remember, and it's been years. But yeah, it's super cool.

• 47:23Danielle LaRock?

  Nice. Well, there you go. Add it to the list. Well, as we continue west, the next stop is New Mexico, passing into the desert scenery that would come to embody the Route 66 road trip for many travelers. Neon light signs welcome travelers to small, family-owned motels and kitschy gift shop markets that have Southwest-inspired decor, dried chilies, cactus sculptures, and lots of indigenous art. And it's not just new scenery, it's new history, too. The town of Albuquerque was founded in 1706 by Spain and would remain in Spanish and Mexican control until the 1840s. And around that time, a wealthy businessman named Salvador Armijo built a home for himself there. The 12-room hacienda with adobe walls and a

• 48:04Danielle LaRock?

  central courtyard blended Spanish and Mexican architecture with the styles of frontier America, an aesthetic that is still popular across New Mexico. It stayed in his family until 1977, when it was converted into an upscale restaurant called the Maria Teresa. The Maria Teresa was a popular and sought-after fine dining spot with signature steaks, grilled fish, and green chili dishes as staples. I'm obsessed with green chili. It's so fucking good. Those are my candles, my signature candles. When I haunt you, if you smell green chili, you know it's me.

• 48:36Cassandra Yahnian?

  Good to know.

• 48:37Danielle LaRock?

  That's my signature scent.

• 48:41Danielle LaRock?

  Just so everyone's aware. But some guests, legends say, did not have a reservation.

• 48:49Danielle LaRock?

  Once, as a waiter approached a table with two customers, both appeared terrified, eyes wide and their skin pale. When the waiter asked them, like, you know, what the fuck is up? Like, why are you looking at me like that? They replied that they just watched a woman in red walk past, straight through the waiter, and exit the room. They're like, we're not sure if you felt that, but someone just walked through you.

• 49:12Cassandra Yahnian?

  Did you see that?

• 49:14Danielle LaRock?

  The server was actually not surprised. The figure had been around before. Bartenders reported her lingering around the bar and others reported her in the ladies' room. An apparition of an elderly man in a dark suit has been seen around the dining room too, and lingering outside near a peach tree. However, after the peach tree was cut down, he was never seen again.

• 49:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, so he was attached to the peach tree?

• 49:37Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah.

• 49:37Cassandra Yahnian?

  I had a peach tree at my childhood home and I remember being a little kid going outside, like every day in the summer and grabbing a little peach off the tree.

• 49:46Danielle LaRock?

  Oh, that's nice.

• 49:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 49:49Danielle LaRock?

  Is it still there, you think?

• 49:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  No, we had to cut it down. It was like, I remember something, they were servicing the septic or something and it was in the way, so they had to cut it down.

• 49:59Danielle LaRock?

  I'm glad you didn't go with it.

• 50:01Cassandra Yahnian?

  Me too.

• 50:02Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. The most common ghost may have been Maria. Tall and elegant, she wears a white dress and a Mexican comb in her hair. And guests frequently see her in mirrors, especially children. Children are always the ones to see. They, children have all the fun, honestly.

• 50:17Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, children are more in tuned. They haven't been hardened by the world yet to not, they're more open.

• 50:23Danielle LaRock?

  They see the magic still, yeah. One waiter remembered serving a couple and after dinner, offering to take their dessert, their dessert order. They replied that they'd just given their dessert order to another waiter, the one pushing the dessert cart that was dressed in white. However, at the time, the restaurant no longer used dessert carts or had white uniforms.

• 50:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  See, that's an apparition I could get behind when offering me desserts and carrying little pies with them.

• 50:49Danielle LaRock?

  And treats, yeah.

• 50:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, although I think I'd be pretty upset if they were all apparitions and I couldn't actually eat one.

• 50:56Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, that's true. No follow through.

• 50:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  Way less scary.

• 51:00Danielle LaRock?

  Another server described serving a large party and while telling them about Maria, because of course she's like a fixture in the lore of the restaurant, a lot of people know about her. He made an unflattering comment about this supposed spirit, kind of like poking fun at it, maybe just like being a little fresh. Suddenly, the wine glass he was holding flew out of his hand and spilled everywhere. She's like,

• 51:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Stop, Maria.

• 51:23Danielle LaRock?

  She's like, don't be fresh.

• 51:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like, don't talk shit about me and my establishment.

• 51:27Danielle LaRock?

  I'm right here.

• 51:30Danielle LaRock?

  In the years since those stories, the building was purchased by the nearby Hotel Albuquerque and is now used as a private event space called Casa Essencia, hosting weddings and other functions. And while the new owners have reported no paranormal activity, I really hope someone gets married there and tells us the truth. You know what I mean?

• 51:49Cassandra Yahnian?

  Hmm. Yeah.

• 51:50Danielle LaRock?

  Like, there can't be that much history and all these sightings and stuff, and then a new owner comes and they're like, actually, no, we don't see anything. Yeah. It's like, I feel like they're hiding.

• 51:59Cassandra Yahnian?

  Meanwhile, at people's weddings, they're getting served fake dessert.

• 52:06Danielle LaRock?

  I want to know the truth. I demand it.

• 52:08Cassandra Yahnian?

  We need to know.

• 52:16Danielle LaRock?

  Well, that does it for New Mexico. We're continuing on west towards Arizona. Our last few stops have been places of entertainment, mansions, dance halls, and dining rooms that entertain lively guests. Our next stop, though, has a deadly past. And I think this is my favorite. Uh, I don't know. They're all so great, but I, this one is like, so crazy. In, in the town of Holbrook, Arizona, the old Navajo County courthouse was the site of an execution that attracted national attention. In 1899, a man named George Smiley killed his boss. He murdered his railroad foreman in front of the man's wife and kids. With no explanation for his actions and no remorse, Smiley was sentenced to hang. It

• 52:58Danielle LaRock?

  was the first hanging in the new Navajo County, and the job fell to Sheriff Frank Watrin. Watrin stood six feet tall and in many ways looked the part of a frontier sheriff that you would see in movies. He wore a big mustache, had a basic black suit with that classic, like, gold chain that went across the vest and like connected to a stopwatch that you flick open all the time. Or not a stopwatch, uh, what am I trying to say? A pocket watch.

• 53:23Cassandra Yahnian?

  A wristwa- uh, yeah, a pocket watch.

• 53:25Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, that he would just like flip open and check the time all the time, you know?

• 53:29Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's bad.

• 53:30Danielle LaRock?

  And then tuck it right back in the pocket. The locals knew him as a fearless man prone to foul mood swings, likely worsened by an opium addiction. That'll do it.

• 53:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  Hmm, for sure.

• 53:39Danielle LaRock?

  When it came time to hang George Smiley, Watrin needed to invite local sheriffs and various legal witnesses. The fact that Smiley was being hung was not controversial. I mean- People were hung quite often at that time, especially in the West. But Wattran's invitation caught worldwide attention. And here is what he wrote.

• 54:00Danielle LaRock?

  "You are hereby cordially invited to attend the hanging of one George Smiley, murderer. His soul will be swung into eternity on December 8th, 1899 at 2 o'clock PM sharp. Latest improved methods in the art of scientific strangulation will be employed, and everything possible will be done to make the proceedings cheerful and the execution a success."

• 54:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Cheerful and cordially invited. It sounds like a wedding invitation.

• 54:26Danielle LaRock?

  Thank you for saying that. My next sentence. "Wattran's letter, written and printed as if it were a wedding invitation, quickly sparked outrage in newspapers around the world, including New York, London, and Brazil." To which I say, London, don't throw rocks in a glass house or whatever the fuck that phrase is.

• 54:44Cassandra Yahnian?

  Have you been to the Tower of London?

• 54:46Danielle LaRock?

  London, type down.

• 54:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  Calling the kettle black.

• 54:51Danielle LaRock?

  Chill out. But anyway, they were pissed.

• 54:54Cassandra Yahnian?

  They've, they've learned. They've evolved. They've grown. They recognize.

• 54:58Danielle LaRock?

  They're like, that? We did that and it's bad.

• 55:03Danielle LaRock?

  Arizona newspapers rallied against Wattran, blaming him for painting the Arizona Territory as barbaric and backwards. President William McKinley reportedly wrote to the territorial governor, who stayed the execution for 30 days. And Wattran was outraged at the slander he was receiving in the press and at the interference of his duties. So he's like, hey, why are you being mean to me? And I want to hang this guy. Like, what are you doing? If they didn't like a wedding invitation, he thought, I'll invite them to a funeral. So his second invitation to the postponed hanging read like this. "With feelings of profound sorrow and regret, I hereby invite you to attend and witness the private, decent, and humane execution

• 55:44Danielle LaRock?

  of a human being named George Smiley, crime murder. The said George Smiley will be executed on January 8th, 1900 at 2 o'clock PM. You are expected to deport yourself in a respectful manner, and any flippant or unseemly language or conduct on your part will not be allowed. Conduct on anyone's part, bordering on ribaldry and tending to mar the solemnity of the occasion will not be tolerated." Watrin purposely sent the invitations late enough that no outrage could stop the postponed date and George Smiley was hung. Watrin is petty as hell.

• 56:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I would say so.

• 56:24Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know if it's his personality or the opium or what, but he's fresh.

• 56:30Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah, I wonder how his family, how the family of the person he murdered felt about all of this going on.

• 56:38Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. It's like obviously a spectacle at this time and.

• 56:43Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 56:44Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. Well, some say that Smiley still haunts the courthouse where he was held during his final days. Although despite his violent past and his violent end, they describe his spirit as mostly passive. Today, the courthouse is a museum for the local historic society and Smiley is said to wander the museum, making mischief, opening and shutting the front door and spinning the postcard rack, walking up and down the stairs, making noises, and when a Christmas plant disappeared from the reception area, staff were quickly to blame George Smiley. Aged on by these mysterious happenings, one Halloween, staff brought a Ouija board to the courthouse.

• 57:20Cassandra Yahnian?

  No.

• 57:21Danielle LaRock?

  Don't do that.

• 57:22Cassandra Yahnian?

  Don't bring Ouija boards.

• 57:23Danielle LaRock?

  Anywhere at any time.

• 57:25Cassandra Yahnian?

  They're scaring me.

• 57:26Danielle LaRock?

  And of course, they asked if there was a spirit with them in the courthouse. And one letter at a time, the board spelled out George. They obviously were all freaked out and quickly left. It's like, what are you at? Of course. Like, I thought that was a given.

• 57:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 57:41Danielle LaRock?

  Of course.

• 57:41Cassandra Yahnian?

  I don't know why that just gave me, the old owner of my house was named George. And I was envisioning, when you were talking about a Ouija board, I'm like, for some reason, I was envisioning a Ouija board on my bookshelf. And then you said George, and that's the owner, the old owner of this. And I was like.

• 57:58Danielle LaRock?

  But he's still alive, right?

• 58:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  As far as I'm aware, yeah.

• 58:02Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah, okay. All right. Well, that does it for Arizona. As we wind our way west, Route 66 enters its eighth and final state on our trip today, and that is California. There, this 2,000 mile journey through frontier history, bright signs, and mid-century America ends at the ocean in Santa Monica, but not without one last ghost story. South of the road's official terminus, past Venice Beach, you'll arrive at the Point Vicente Lighthouse. The 67-foot tower was constructed in 1926, the same year that Route 66 was officially designated. Its powerful light, bright as 1 million candles.

• 58:38Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's a lot of candles.

• 58:39Danielle LaRock?

  So many candles. I don't know what that equates to. Don't ask me.

• 58:42Cassandra Yahnian?

  How many Titanic ships is that?

• 58:44Danielle LaRock?

  Feels like at least three. I don't know what that power equivalent is. Like, I've never heard of this in my life. And I'm like, I know it's a lighthouse thing. 1 million candles? Like, I don't even know how I would understand that in any other terms. Are you looking it up?

• 59:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. It says that 1 million candles does not equate to a specific number of Titanic ships, as they cannot be directly compared in size or mass.

• 59:10Danielle LaRock?

  What?

• 59:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  Um, yeah, but it says, however, in terms of light intensity, a 1 million candle power spotlight is described as being 50 times brighter than an automobile headlight and brighter than the landing lights of a 747 aircraft.

• 59:26Danielle LaRock?

  So it's bright?

• 59:27Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. It's really bright.

• 59:29Danielle LaRock?

  I love how they're like, equivalent, a candle, like the power of one candle times a million.

• 59:38Danielle LaRock?

  Candle is so faint.

• 59:40Cassandra Yahnian?

  It's so faint. I feel like we could have done a different measurement here.

• 59:44Danielle LaRock?

  Yeah. I think it's stuck around, just like horsepower. It is what it is, you know?

• 59:48Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah.

• 59:49Danielle LaRock?

  Well, all those millions of candles, that 1 million worth of candles, helped ships up to 20 miles away avoid the jagged coastal rocks. And for 50 years, the tower was kept by dedicated lighthouse keepers, staff who polished its glass lenses, monitored radio signals and fog alarms, and closed the curtains that protected the lens. From the heat of the midday sun, but in time, just like Route 66, the lighthouse keepers were made obsolete. Automated lights were installed in the 1970s, but during those 50 years, lighthouse keepers were not the only figures seen on the premises. After the lighthouse received a fresh coat of paint around World War II, the misty figure of a young woman began to appear around the lighthouse, although no one knows who

• 1:00:32Danielle LaRock?

  she is. In one telling, the woman's lover drowned in a shipwreck off the coast, and upon hearing the news, the woman threw herself off the cliff. Her ghost has been seen running to the edge and pacing the lighthouse catwalk as if still searching to be reunited with her lost love. And in another version, she's the wife of a lighthouse keeper who fell to her death during a heavy fog. But whoever she was, she has not been seen since the new paint was added to the lens room back in 1955. And some have argued the reason for this is that the wandering woman, this misty figure woman who's distressed and, you know, longing for her lost love or whatever she was doing, was just simply light reflecting

• 1:01:13Danielle LaRock?

  off the lighthouse paint job. Like, okay, guys, get it together.

• 1:01:18Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like, it's a shadow and a light.

• 1:01:23Danielle LaRock?

  However, others who are more attached to a paranormal version of this story have wondered if she disappeared simply because she finally found peace in some way.

• 1:01:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's a nice way to look at it.

• 1:01:35Danielle LaRock?

  Well, that concludes our ghostly tour of Route 66. There are so many stories to explore along this famous route. If you've ever taken the drive, you probably have some of your own. But a big reason that I wanted to do this episode now is not because I'm psychic and was picking up on your desire for a road trip, even though I like to believe that. It's because it's celebrating its centennial anniversary.

• 1:01:58Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, fun.

• 1:01:59Danielle LaRock?

  The National Trust for Historic Preservation is providing grants and other assistance to help preserve Route 66 while also highlighting hidden stories and places along the route. Their work includes building a database of legacy businesses along Route 66. A GIS and crowdsourcing campaign to showcase significant places along the route, providing support for critical preservation needs and drumroll please, advocating for a permanent federal Route 66 National Historic Trail designation.

• 1:02:28Cassandra Yahnian?

  Oh, cool. That's fun.

• 1:02:29Danielle LaRock?

  Mm-hmm. They believe that Route 66 is more than just a road. It represents our national spirit as well as a tapestry of diverse cultures and histories and deserves recognition for all of that. They urge people who feel that Route 66 deserves to be incorporated into the National Park System to fill out a page that petitions for Congress to designate it as a National Historic Trail. And I will link that page, that form, you just have to fill out like your name and some information. I'll link it directly in the show description so you have easy access to it if you would like.

• 1:03:00Cassandra Yahnian?

  Cool.

• 1:03:01Danielle LaRock?

  The page also has like the main page, not just the link to the, obviously, the form. Um, but their main page has really cool storytelling collections that you can explore to discover more stops that include natural wonders, your roadside attractions that are like quirky, interesting stops, um, iconic postcard stops that are featured in a lot of the old postcards from the 30s and 40s, ghost towns along the route with stories, um, of obviously a lot of different local legends and stuff. They highlight some pretty remarkable women and people of color who made their, um, lives along the Mother Road. So just a lot of interesting stuff, um, on their website if you want to learn

• 1:03:41Danielle LaRock?

  more about the history of Route 66 and the hundreds of stops that, you know, kind of lived and died along the route. But as a side note, the National Park Service does oversee the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, which is different than the National Trust for Historic Preservation. So don't get it, don't get it twisted. Congress passed an act in 1999 to create this program, and it is administered by the National Park Service and the National Trails Intermountain Region. And the program works pretty similarly to the other one I just described, by preserving special places and stories of the historic highway by collaborating with private, nonprofit, and government partners to identify and prioritize Route 66 preservation

• 1:04:23Danielle LaRock?

  needs, along with different preservation things like research and educational initiatives and things like that. So all that to say, this is not a freebie in any way.

• 1:04:33Cassandra Yahnian?

  Because it counts.

• 1:04:34Danielle LaRock?

  It counts.

• 1:04:34Cassandra Yahnian?

  You convinced me for sure.

• 1:04:36Danielle LaRock?

  And there's national historic sites along the way and stuff like that. But yeah, I just wanted to show that the National Park Service is involved already in a way. But also there's a big push for the entire route to be designated as a national historic trail.

• 1:04:50Cassandra Yahnian?

  That's fun.

• 1:04:51Danielle LaRock?

  The road and its landmarks have meant so much to so many people. And it winds through some of the most transformative years in American history. In 1985, the last stretch of Route 66 was bypassed by Interstate 40, and it was removed from official maps. Some stretches were physically removed, pavement ripped up, like in Petrified Forest National Park. That said, over 80% of the old route is still drivable. And while its glory days are behind us, the allure of the road still draws people, and maybe spirits, to travel its path. What will you find on your journey through Route 66? If you go and it's anything cool, please make sure to write in and tell us all about it. And that is the story of Route 66, kinda.

• 1:05:31Cassandra Yahnian?

  Amazing. I think that that was fun. And it definitely sparked my, my road trip enthusiasm that I, I, I have just been itching for a road trip. And it was fun. I liked it.

• 1:05:42Danielle LaRock?

  Remember long ago when we had plans to have a road trip like this time of year? Like we'd be on it right now?

• 1:05:49Cassandra Yahnian?

  Long, long ago.

• 1:05:50Danielle LaRock?

  When we had a twinkle in our eye, thought we'd have the time.

• 1:05:57Danielle LaRock?

  I don't know where we were, but we were in the car. We're like, you know what? We, oh, we were in Voyagers, I think.

• 1:06:03Cassandra Yahnian?

  And we're like, and we were trying out doing a trip all around the South. And or like, it'll be warmer down there. We can like.

• 1:06:10Danielle LaRock?

  Go to the parks.

• 1:06:11Cassandra Yahnian?

  Yeah. Parks and yeah, yeah, we were, we thought we would be way less busy than we are.

• 1:06:19Danielle LaRock?

  Know what we were thinking. It's just so funny because it really wasn't that long ago, but a lot has changed.

• 1:06:23Cassandra Yahnian?

  Like, yeah, we could totally do it. No chance.

• 1:06:26Danielle LaRock?

  No, we were young and naive and that's okay. One day we'll get there. All right, well, everyone, thank you so much for joining us and we will see you next week. In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch your back. Bye. Bye. Thank you for joining us again this week. If you love National Park After Dark and want to hear exclusive bonus stories, join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Patreon subscribers have access to our National Park After Dark Book Club, live streams, Discord, and much more. If you prefer to watch our episodes, video episodes are now available on YouTube. If you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite listening platform. And to follow along with all our adventures,

• 1:07:09Danielle LaRock?

  you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X at National Park After Dark.

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