HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A 1920s lakeside Tudor retreat built by Harry Worman; his ex-wife Dorothy died in Mexico under circumstances that were never resolved, and her ghost is reportedly still seen there.
612 Devil's Pool Rd, Ridgedale, MO 65739
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Dinner menu pricing for Worman House dining. The separately ticketed Big Cedar History Walk costs $15 for adults (13+) and $10 for ages 10 to 12.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved resort grounds; some paths may be uneven near lake
Equipment
Photos OK
1920s Ozarks vacation architecture · Big Cedar Lodge historic campus · Official History Walk interpretive site
In the 1920s, railroad executive Harry Worman constructed a Tudor-style vacation home along the White River hills of southern Missouri, well before the area became a major resort corridor. The property was isolated by design — a private retreat commanding views of the Ozark lake country.
Dorothy, Harry Worman's wife, became the figure central to the property's lasting legend. According to Big Cedar Lodge's own history of the house, Harry and Dorothy divorced after seven years of marriage; Dorothy kept the estate and continued living there. In 1943 she traveled to Mexico, remarried, and died there within the year under circumstances that were never resolved.
Big Cedar Lodge, now one of the Ozarks' premier resorts, acquired and restored the Worman House as part of its historic campus. The lodge formally incorporated the Dorothy Worman ghost story into its History Walk — an official interpretive program — making it one of the few Missouri venues where the haunting account is presented as a sanctioned element of the property's own heritage programming rather than as outside folklore.
Sources
The Dorothy Worman legend persists because it was never resolved in life. After her divorce from Harry, she kept the house for a time before leaving for Mexico, where she remarried and died within the year, leaving behind questions that drew their own kind of attention over the decades.
Visitors and resort staff have reported a female figure seen near the exterior of the Tudor structure, particularly at dusk. Photographs taken on the grounds have captured what witnesses describe as a woman in period dress who was not visibly present at the time. The apparition is associated specifically with Dorothy, whose ashes were returned to the house after her death and spread on the back porch.
Big Cedar Lodge itself lists the story on its History Walk, giving the legend a durability unusual for hotel ghost lore. The official acknowledgment means staff regularly recount Dorothy's story to guests, keeping the account alive in a venue context where such stories often quietly disappear.
Notable Entities
Big Cedar Lodge's guided History Walk begins at the Worman House and covers the 100-year-old Simmons and Worman homes, Devil's Pool, the formation of Table Rock Lake, the property's dude-ranch era, and the ghost story of Dorothy Worman. The route is about a mile, with moderate hills and some uneven ground.
Dine in the restored early-1920s Tudor structure Harry Worman built as his lakeside vacation retreat. The house is tied to the legend of Dorothy Worman: after she and Harry divorced, Dorothy kept the house, later traveled to Mexico in 1943, remarried, and died there within the year under circumstances that were never resolved. Big Cedar Lodge and its staff report that her ghost still lingers at the house.
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