Castle House

The Haunted Castle House

By Kelly Warman-Stallings

Published to "Window to the Past" website on 18 February 2022.

Sitting above the once bustling town of Brumley, in southern Glaize township, sits a house dubbed the "Haunted Castle House". The Haunted Castle House (HCH) has been around since the turn of the 20th century, perhaps a little longer. It is unknown when the house was actually built, but it is estimated between 1890-1910.

The grand house has been a fixture in Brumley for many decades and well known throughout the general region in southern Miller County.

There have been multiple owners of the land over the last 210 years, including three different doctors, all of which operated their doctor practices from the property. The house received the nickname "Castle House" by those in the area for its grandiose style, which included a 30-foot turret and a beautiful grand staircase housed inside.

The following is a fairly accurate synopsis of the owners of the land:

Years Owner's Name Notes

1812 Sarah Lee First recorded owner; never lived on the property

1836-1875 Rev. Jacob McComb, Sr. First wife & infant son died on the land.

1875-1883 Dr. John L. Conner His office and apothecary shop are believed to have been on the

property, but the current house did not exist at that time.

1885-1893 John C. Martin He is possibly the builder of the house. He owned the Martin Hotel during this era.

1893-1901 Clifford J. Thompson Another possible builder of HCH. His first wife and 3 kids lived on the property. His second wife never lived on the property.

1901-1907 James Thompson Another potential builder of HCH. He was a merchant in town.

1907-1916 Joseph McWilliams Another feasible builder of HCH. He was a miller, foreman at post office

and owner of electric company.

1916-1919 Clyde “Fred” Pemberton He was a farmer, salesman, and oil field worker.

1920-1928 Charles Short He was a teacher, banker, and politician.

1928-1930 Dr. Walter D. Dickson He set up a doctor office in Brumley for a short period of time. He died of a heart attack at HCH in 1930.

1930-1935 James Dickson Son of Dr. Walter Dickson. Sold property to Dr. Myron Jones in 1935.

1935-1947 Dr. Myron Jones He set up a doctor office in the downstairs of HCH. Residence was upstairs. He practiced medicine in Brumley from 1933-1947. He built Died: 1989 (Washington) a 9,000 gallon cistern under the house.

1947-1956 Charles Bass He was a merchant and a postmaster. His infant daughter died from the flu at HCH.

1956-1963 Willian “Burt” Sullivan He was a barber. His wife (Norma Connor) was the niece of former owner, Dr. John Connor. He died at HCH of arthritis complications in 1963.

1956-1984 Norma (Conner) Sullivan She was a seamstress, cook and owned a hat shop in Brumley. She died at HCH from old age/dementia in 1984.

1984 Walter & Hazel Pope Daughters of Burt & Norma Sullivan. They inherited the house upon their James & Ruth Thornsberry mother's death.

1984-1988 Emerson Allee He was the owner of a cleaning service. He died of a heart attack

at HCH in 1988.

1988-1991 Amega Mobile Home Sales The history of the Haunted Castle House is a bit vague during these years. 1991-1997 Doug & Judith Thompson

1997-1998 Barbara & Ray Bartholomew

1998-2009 Steve & Angela O’Hare

2009-2013 Angela O’Hare

2013-2016 Nick Sacco-Marcy Hootner Restored the Castle House. They originally planned on using it as a Bed & Breakfast. When odd occurrences started happening, they advertised it as a “haunted" Bed & Breakfast. A variety of special paranormal events

was hosted until they sold the house in 2016.

2016-2018 Mike & Vicki Rowland They continued the haunted Bed & Breakfast, Ghost Tours, and Festival

of Witches & Warlocks Benefit for the HOPE Program at Lake Regional

Cancer Center.

2018-Now Steve & Judy Skinner Current owners of HCH. They hope to continue preserving the Castle

House.

It is interesting to note there have been multiple deaths on the property over the years, as well as a murder-suicide that happened 500 yards from the house in 1971. It has also been reported that some patients died at HCH due to the following epidemics: Influenza of 1936, Scarlett Fever of 1936 and Polio in 1946.

There is an old pioneer graveyard near the back of the house with a few gravestones still visible today, but it is unknown who is actually buried there. With the stones being so old and unreadable, it is almost certain the burials occurred in the 1800s. There is reportedly a large mass grave not far from the pioneer cemetery, but what could constitute such an event? The Spanish Flu of 1918, perhaps? The epidemics of 1936 and 1946? Or the guerilla warfare that continued after the Civil War? There was only one Civil War battle recorded for Miller County - the Elsey Farm fight. The Curtman Island massacre, while not officially recorded was still a horrible atrocity, and neither skirmish mentioned were close to Brumley or the Castle House property. But hatreds continued to flare long after the Civil War was over, and anything is possible. For now, the mass grave remains a mystery.

It is unknown exactly when the house was labeled as "haunted", but for over 100 years the locals in the area have claimed to have seen the apparition of a woman, who moves about the second story of the house. Upon interviewing some of the people of the area, the stories varied from seeing lights go on and off when the residents of the house were gone to hearing strange noises the closer you get to this grand house.

The Travel Channel series, The Dead Files, aired an episode about this house - called "Night Terrors" - on May 13, 2017, to which their findings concluded that the house was indeed haunted.

Whether the Haunted Castle House in Brumley is truly haunted, I will leave the reader to come to their own conclusions...