Copies the release exactly as written, ready to paste into an email. Free to publish in whole or in part.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Springfield landmarks rank among Missouri's ten most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, two Springfield landmarks, including Landers Theatre, rank among Missouri's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 147 Missouri sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Landers Theatre ranks #3. D.J. Landers, a Springfield lumber merchant, opened the theater in 1909. Five separate published accounts describe activity there. KSMU's 2014 investigation described a figure in period dress, called Shakespearean, on the fourth floor and green orbs drifting through the balcony. The theater's longtime technical director has said he invented one of the stories, pointing tour groups to carpet stains and claiming a man had been stabbed there, and KSMU found no record supporting the widely told tale that a janitor died in the 1920 fire.

Pythian Castle (visits by guided tour only) ranks #9. Built by the Knights of Pythias fraternal order as an orphanage and retirement home, the castle opened in 1913 and became a U.S. Army service club and prisoner-of-war facility in World War II; the cell bars installed in the basement for German and Italian prisoners remain in place today. Three separate published accounts describe activity there, the earliest dated to 1993. Guests and investigators describe disembodied voices in the lower levels and cold spots in the former interrogation spaces.

Statewide, Epperson House in Kansas City ranks #1, and the Lemp Mansion, the state's most famous haunted site, ranks #2.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Landers Theatre, 311 E. Walnut St., Springfield, is a working theater with performances open to ticket holders.Pythian Castle, 1451 E. Pythian St., Springfield, is open for scheduled ghost tours and investigations; other visits by guided tour only. Please do not trespass.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/missouri/The fact sheet, with Springfield numbers and cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/missouri/Venue contact: springfieldlittletheatre.org and pythiancastle.comA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Two Springfield landmarks rank among Missouri's ten most haunted places

Two Springfield landmarks, including Landers Theatre, rank among Missouri's ten most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. Landers Theatre, where a 1920 fire gutted the stage, ranks #3; investigators describe a figure called Shakespearean on the fourth floor, though the theater's own technical director has admitted inventing one of its ghost stories. Pythian Castle (visits by guided tour only), the 1913 Knights of Pythias building later used to hold prisoners of war, ranks #9, where guests describe disembodied voices in the basement cell block.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/missouri/