Est. 1910 · Jefferson City Residential History · Lincoln University Neighborhood · Paranormal Tourism Conversion Case Study
The two-story house at 500 East Miller Street in Jefferson City was built in 1910 by Adolph and Beulah Brandenberger and sits in a residential neighborhood near Lincoln University, a historically Black institution founded in 1866. For most of its existence the home was a conventional private residence.
In August 2017, Aaron and Erin Clark purchased and began renovating the property. Their restoration later earned a 2018 Golden Hammer Award for September from Historic City of Jefferson, recognizing the home's place in the Hobo Hill Historic District. Within weeks of moving in, the family reported electronics activating on their own, unexplained sounds, episodes of sleepwalking, and their young daughter behaving in ways they found alarming. A medium the family consulted reported identifying four spirits inside the home, including a father-and-son pair. The Clarks left the property approximately seven months after moving in.
Rather than sell, the Clarks converted the house to a short-term rental specifically marketed to paranormal investigators and enthusiasts. By 2019 the property had gained enough attention that Travel Channel selected it for Season 11 of 'The Dead Files.' The August 2019 episode, titled 'Not My Child,' brought the house national cable television exposure and significantly increased booking demand.
Sources
- https://www.newstribune.com/news/2019/jul/26/hobo-hill-house-be-featured-paranormal-show-travel/
- https://themissouritimes.com/capital-city-frights-a-look-at-alleged-jefferson-city-hauntings/
- https://www.hobohillhouse.com/paranormal-encounters
Electronics Activating IndependentlySleepwalkingApparitionsDisturbances Affecting Children
Aaron and Erin Clark's account of the Hobo Hill House draws its credibility partly from how it ended: the family did not claim to have resolved the activity, they left. The experiences they documented — electronics operating without input, sleepwalking in family members who had no prior history of it, their daughter's altered behavior — follow a pattern consistent with how prolonged residential hauntings tend to be reported when the occupants have no prior paranormal interest.
The medium the Clarks consulted described four presences in the house, two of them understood to be a father and son. Neither the Clarks nor the medium publicly identified these figures by full name, which is a reasonable editorial restraint given the lack of corroborating historical documentation linking specific deaths to the address.
The Dead Files episode 'Not My Child,' which aired in August 2019 on the Travel Channel (Season 11, Episode 4), brought medium Amy Allan and former NYPD detective Steve DiSchiavi to the property. Their findings were consistent with the Clarks' own account. The episode is available on streaming platforms and remains the primary documented investigation of the site. The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported on the episode before it aired, and the Missouri Times included the house in a roundup of Jefferson City hauntings.
Media Appearances
- The Dead Files: Not My Child (Television, 2019)
