Seven Sisters Road: The Dark Truth Behind Nebraska's Deadliest Legend

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
If you're sensitive to sibling drama, you'll want to stay
off one particular road in Nebraska City. This old road
is the location of one of the most gruesome legends
to come out of the wholesome farmlands of Nebraska. Nebraska
City is an hour south of Omaha. Ask anyone in
this town of seven thousand, and you'll be cautioned to

(00:24):
avoid Seven Sisters Road. Legend has it that almost one
hundred years ago, a brother and his seven sisters were
living in the hills outside the city for reasons no
one has ever known. One night, the brother came home
palm twitching, mad, poisonous thoughts swirling through his mind, slipping
deeper and deeper into psychosis, the darkness finally overtook him,

(00:48):
and unimaginably, he dragged each one of his innocent sisters
to a separate hilltop and hung them all. Locals now worn,
unsuspecting visitors that strange things happen on the road that
curves through those seven forlorn hills. Many brave souls who
have dared to drive here report cars suddenly drained of power,

(01:10):
engines stalling, and headlights dimming, as if in warning to
get away. These hills are not a place to be
after dark. But if you insist and you park your
car out on the road long enough, you may just
hear the wailing screams of those seven sisters out in
the distance. I'm Darren Marler and this is Weird Darkness. Welcome, weirdos.

(01:43):
I'm Darren Marler and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll
find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre,
unsolved and unexplained coming up in this episode. The restaurant

(02:03):
is a bit dated, with the servers wearing old fashioned
black and white aprons. The food was incredible, The place
was spotlessly clean. It's definitely a restaurant you'll want to
visit again when you pass that way again. Unfortunately, the
restaurant won't be there, because it never was. They say

(02:23):
chivalry is dead, but that was not so. In eighteen
seventy five, standing up to someone on behalf of your
wife was not only common, but expected, even to the
point of murder. Hawaii's Mackenzie State Park boasts beautiful scenery,
pleasant weather for outdoor activities like hiking and fishing, and

(02:45):
it's a favorite of locals. And tourists alike. But when
the sun goes down, Mackenzie Park reveals its truth. It
is extremely haunted. But first There are many legends from
Nebraska involving souit for natural entities, but one of the
eerier accounts out there is the story of Nebraska's haunted

(03:05):
El Street. According to legend, seven women were murdered on
this road in the nineteen hundreds. Ever since, the road
and surrounding hills have been a rumored hotbed of paranormal activity.
It's labeled as El Street on the map, but locals
call it Seven Sisters Road. We begin there now, bultr doors,

(03:30):
lock your windows, turn off your lights, and come with
me into the weird darkness. There is an old, dark,

(03:57):
historical event that's been kept in dark secrecy, locked behind
every door in an old urban city. Nebraska City, Nebraska.
Nebraska City is known as the home of Arbor Day
due to its close proximity to Arbor Lodge, home of
the first Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, J.
Sterley Morton, who enthusiastically promoted the planting of trees on

(04:21):
the prairie for shade, fruit and wind breaks. The National
Arbor Day Foundation has its headquarters near his home in
Nebraska City. Slaves were first bought and sold in the
eighteen fifties in Nebraska City. In eighteen fifty four, the
Kansas Nebraska Act allowed legal settlement in the regional area.
Three townships were incorporated by settlers. Nebraska City and Carney

(04:46):
City were incorporated in eighteen fifty five, and South Nebraska
City was incorporated in eighteen fifty six. On December thirty first,
eighteen fifty seven, these three town sites, along with Prairie City, joined,
incorporating as present day Nebraska City. Steamboats were the vitalizing

(05:06):
force behind Nebraska City's growth in bringing commerce, people, and
freight to the West. In the spring of eighteen fifty eight, Russell,
Majors and Waddell started freighting from Nebraska City on a
government contract to transport all provisions for all Western forts.
The supplies were brought up the Missouri River by steamboat

(05:26):
and then taken out by wagon train. Nebraska City's favorable
position and good trail made it an important link to
the West. A once well respected farmer whose name I
am changing for respectful reasons, named Alex Barons, owned a
large amount of land the Missouri River flowed through two
miles of his land, which made him uneasy to allow

(05:48):
the city to let passengers on steamboats travel through. He
would not give up his rights to do so, even
though the city was willing to pay a large sum
to buy the property. Alex had set and sisters whose
names have also been changed, who all but one never married.
From youngest to oldest was Heather, Sarah, Sue, Mandy, Erica,

(06:11):
and Betty. The oldest one who was married was missus
Gloria Boyd. All seven of his sisters lived together after
the death of Gloria's husband, who died of the flu.
Together they worked as teachers, store clerks, bartender, and every
night would work in the fields to harvest corn when
the seasons were right. It was a tough time for them,

(06:33):
but the people of Nebraska City did whatever they could
to help out. Alex argued with the court that under
any circumstances, he will not allow the city to take
away his land and or allow any steamboats to port
illegally through his owned portion of the river. The court
testified that no person shall own property of the river,

(06:54):
and it was given to all right to travelers to
cross through Alex again testified and thought with the system.
He swore that he will have his revenge upon anyone
whose steamboats through his land. At harsh times, the steamboat
traveled but once a week. Work was lacking and people
were beginning to run dry of resources and or work,

(07:15):
but people still managed to travel by steamboat from time
to time. As for Alex's revenge, every time he spotted
a steamboat across his portion of the river, he would
become outraged with anger. His sisters constantly fought with him
into selling or giving the land to the city and
moving to better grounds, but Alex refused. He felt as

(07:37):
though his sisters were against him. He feared the city
had tried talking sense into them, they fought. All Alex
could think of was hatred and revenge. Alex truly believed
the courts manipulated his sisters into giving up his land
and for what a conspiracy. What made things worse was

(07:58):
that the city was building a road that would pretty
much cover the remaining portion of what Alex had owned.
He was furious he would not allow anyone to cross
his land. The four hills that Alex once viewed the
sunrise every morning from was where he would cast his
warning to the city. One night, Alex drugged his sister's

(08:18):
water during supper. They died from the poison. Alex then
dragged their bodies one by one to the top of
the hills and hung them by their necks. It was dawned.
A small group of people from a local church had
planned a service of Christian worship at the hills. The
cool early summer morning breeze was a good place for service,

(08:39):
but a hell they didn't realize they had walked into.
To their surprise of a horrifying sight, the church group
stood in horror as Betty's body swung from a single
tree on an east hill. Her neck had broken. Sue's
body swung from one of the trees on a west hill,
her face was badly beaten in. Mandy and Eerica's bodies

(09:01):
both swung from two different trees on a northwestern hill,
while Heather and Sarah's bodies swung from a tree on
a northeastern hill. All their throats were slashed open as
their dead bodies swung while tied by a rope around
their necks. Later, Gloria's body was found by city officials
hanging by her feet in a tree on a fifth

(09:22):
and center hill, approximately sixty yards from the other bodies.
From a distance, they could see that her stomach was
cut open, with her intestines hanging out. After shewing away
wild crows and a dog. The sheriff soon discovered another
body dead on the ground under Glorious swinging corpse. It
was her unborn child. Gloria was seven months pregnant. Alex

(09:47):
was later executed after his confession of his murderous actions.
He warned the court that all he wanted was to
keep the promise that he gave his father when he
once owned the land before it was handed down to him,
do not give away my life, and that I worked
so hard for no matter what the cause. But did
that give a reason as to killing his sisters. Seven

(10:08):
Sisters Road was built through the hills years after the
rumored murders, and the trees that had displayed the sister's
bodies were supposedly chopped down, perhaps because their places of
death were disturbed. As soon as the road opened, people
began reporting supernatural occurrences. Today people call that road Seven
Sisters Road. At night, passing vehicles, headlights had flickered or

(10:33):
burned out. Cars and trucks of all sizes had stalled
or broken down to unexplainable causes. Many visitors to Seven
Sisters Road say they hear the eerie sound of bells ringing.
The sound supposedly comes from an old cemetery and has
been known to last for thirty minutes. There's no explanation
for the screams and pleas. One traveler said that on

(10:56):
a trip through Nebraska City, he heard the story of
Seven Sisters Road at a low diner. Curious, he decided
to drive up to the hills himself. When he turned
the radio on, the door's song This is the End
was playing. While likely just a coincidence, the traveler was
spooped enough to turn around right there. If you visit

(11:17):
the spot at night, you may hear screams. Many say
they do. They are loud and nearby, yet just out
of reach. And these high pitched, piercing screams aren't the
only phenomena associated with this legend. Headlights dim, speedometers, freeze,
windows roll up and down on their own, cell service drops,

(11:38):
the wind changes, and shadowy figures dart around in the darkness.
Some have heard those bells, others have seen red eyes
in the shadows. In November nineteen sixty eight, a series
of strange reports were made along this road. Every night
for a week, a deputy responded to calls about a
monster in the hills. Around eleven pm, the monster would

(12:02):
come alive. According to a Nebraska City News Press account
from that year, at six feet tall, the monster was
said to resemble a bear with a wolf face. One account,
told by locals and referenced in the nineteen sixty eight article,
was particularly jarring. A group of teenagers were partying in
the area when they saw glowing red eyes in the distance.

(12:23):
They tore off down the gravel road, kicking up rocks
as they sped off. The beast barreling after, grabbed hold
of the bumper and stopped the car with such force
that the back window shattered, locals say. According to the article,
one person reported that a boy was grabbed by the monster,
scratched up, and thrown in a ditch. Half a century later,

(12:45):
the legend is still alive. Another to experience the phenomenon
is sheryl Ann Fletcher. She saw the bodies hanging by
nooses from the trees, their chests blown open by gunshots.
Seven hung there dangling above the graveyard in the woods.
The other people walking with her on that day saw

(13:05):
only trees and leaves. But to Sheryl Anne Fletcher, this
was no hallucination. It was clear as day, as if
it were you and me standing right here, said Fletcher,
a medium based in Lincoln. There were seven bodies, males
and females mixed. The one that captured my attention was
a little boy who was blonde. He was about seven

(13:26):
years old. Fletcher's account is one of many you'll hear
from those around Nebraska City who have visited the site
near Seven Sisters Road. For some, it's a ghost story
to tell the kids, something to send a chill down
their spine. For others, it's much more than just a
scary story. During her first visit to the site, Fletcher

(13:47):
said she felt the young boy's fingers wrap around her arm.
When she looked down, she saw white depressions form on
her skin, then felt a tug. The spirit pulled and
gripped tighter, leading her toward a gravestone without inscription. There
at the weathered stone, the little boy introduced himself Matthew.

(14:08):
The two conversed until Fletcher left the graveyard and went home.
It took me a couple of days to recover after
the first initial meeting of the afterlife there, Fletcher said.
But the second time Fletcher returned, this time with a
crew tasked with trying to document any paranormal activity. The
property owner led Fletcher through the trees beyond Matthew's grave

(14:32):
to an open field. There they stopped and the landowner
turned around, pointed to a tree with a small hunting stand,
and shared a story. It was at this spot one
quiet day before dawn, where armed with a bow and arrow,
he watched as a creature walked upright slowly, as if
a wolf were stalking prey, directly toward him. Through the fog,

(14:55):
he saw only the beast's glowing red eyes shining like rubies.
Then the creature broke east and headed off over the
hill and out of view. As his story progressed, Fletcher
said she began to feel hot breath on her neck. Petrified,
she stood still. I knew I would be face to
face with something demonic, she said, So she walked away,

(15:18):
never turning around, and hasn't been back since. It seems
just about everyone living in the Nebraska City area has
had an encounter at least once. At Nebraska City High School,
steps away from Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, guidance assistant
Don Lou beeps into the intercom attention, students, anybody who

(15:40):
has a story about Seven Sisters needs to report to
the guidance office. Students came running. Soon a crowd had
formed around to Lou's office, including sixteen year old Natalie Stern.
Her name was one of the first on Lou's list.
Sturm's family owns the land alongside Seven Sisters Road, with

(16:00):
no trespassing signs posted around the perimeter. Deep into the
woods on a muddy, winding trail, sits a private graveyard
atop a hill, the same one where Fletcher says she
saw the bodies hanging. The storms don't like intruders on
their property, and it's difficult to find the graveyard on
your own. The storms lead tours for friends, family, and

(16:23):
most curious passers by. Natalie's dad estimated that he is
given the same tour a hundred times. Many of Natalie's
high school classmates have taken those tours. Some think the
ghost stories are cool, some don't believe them. When people
say it's not haunted down there, it makes me mad.
Sturm said. She and her friend Sarah Sullivan have heard

(16:46):
the bells, the screams, and the muffled whispers in the
forest countless times, so often that they're almost used to it.
Almost one Halloween, Natalie's parents, Nate and Becky, were in
the forest after dark, changing winds, voices, shadows. Thy can
handle all of that. They'll usually stick it out, but

(17:07):
this night they fled when they heard a scream at
point blank range. It was curdling. Nate said. It was
not a bobcat. It was definitely a woman screaming. It
was crazy. Recently, Becky's truck stalled in front of their property,
refusing to go even with a jumpstart, But in the
morning it fired right up. It's far from the first

(17:29):
report of this phenomenon. On occasion, the storms tend to
the graveyard, raking, pulling weeds and clearing the gravestones. It's
their way to try and keep the peace. They know
the stories about this place and they've done research. They
can't find concrete evidence of exactly what happened here, but
one gravestone could offer hints. The largest and most ornate

(17:54):
stone in the cemetery, which has broken from its base
and sunk into the grass. Bears the name John and
Jeuwlie Warden. Julia died in eighteen eighty John in nineteen
oh one. Genealogy records show that the Whartons had seven
daughters and one son seven daughters. Is he the madman,

(18:15):
the one who fired the shots and strung the rope?
Probably not. There's no report of such a horrible incident
ever actually occurring, and even in the late eighteen eighties,
when Warden homesteaded the property after arriving from Virginia, incidents
of this magnitude didn't go unreported. There's another catch. Each

(18:37):
Warden daughter has a different date of death. One, Letha
Warden Wilhelm, lived to be almost ninety. There are a
lot of questionable tales in the Warden and Wilhelm families,
but I've never heard this one connected to them, said
Barbara Bordman Wilhelm, who married into the family and has
studied its genealogy. There are no reports of hangings ever

(18:59):
occurring along this stretch of road. Others buried in this
private cemetery have no reasonable connection to such a story either,
Odo County Sheriff Jim Gress, who grew up less than
a block from Seven Sisters Road, said, there is no
record of anyone getting seriously hurt or killed along the road.
It never did scare me. Gress said, I know people

(19:21):
before they cut the hills down. They go over the
hills pretty fast because they could get airborne with them.
That was scary. But just because there is no evidence
of a crime doesn't mean the tale is entirely fabricated either.
Legends can warp over time, and fireside games of telephone,
names change locations, change details are embellished. One person reported

(19:45):
that he and his wife had traveled along a mysterious
road when all of a sudden, their car broke down.
The man got out of his car to pop open
the hood and check the engine for any vehicle problems.
A short while later, his wife got out of the
car to help out. After examining the engine for a
short time, the man found no problems. He closed the hood,

(20:06):
and then eerie screams came from a distance from the west.
The evening sun was setting. The couple had looked to
the west for where the screams were coming from. They
saw five hills aligned in a V shape. After the
screams faded away, their vehicle started up on its own.
They quickly jumped back into the car and spat off.

(20:27):
Since then, they claimed that they have never driven down
that road ever. Again, there might be a way to
explain the legend of Seven Sisters Road. In the late
eighteen hundreds, angry mobs of masked vigilantes began taking justice
into their own hands. No rural town in Nebraska had
more lynchings than Nebraska City during that time. Five men

(20:50):
were hanged between eighteen sixty six and eighteen eighty seven.
One of those lives lost was a homesteader who lived
not far from this road. That man was Lee Shellenberger,
who sat in the courthouse jail awaiting trial for murder.
Shellenberger was accused of slicing his eleven year old daughter,
Maggie's throat. According to an Omaha Daily Bee account at

(21:13):
the time, the masked mob is said to have stormed
the jail, overpowered the guard, and carved through the floor
above Shellenberger's cell. They pulled him out and tied a
rope around his neck. Shellenberger's final words reverberated, I'll haunt
you so OB's if I can. Seven Sisters road is

(21:33):
an inherently creepy trail. Tall looping hills shaved down in
later years create mystery with each coming valley. Twisted trees
creak in rural silence. Whether or not ghosts and beasts
truly haunt this land, it's the kind of place that
deserves a backstory. It's possible that the culture of hangings

(21:56):
and the Schellenberger story somehow evolved in to the legend
of the Seven Sisters. Over the years, each telling could
add or confuse a detail, and somehow a slit throat
became a lynching. One daughter became seven, perhaps to better
link the story to an already spooky place nearby. It's

(22:17):
not unreasonable to believe Retellings transformed the story bit by
bit over the last century. That the backstory can't be
entirely proved or disproved, adds to the mystique, helping keep
the legend strong all these years. Seemingly everybody in town
has a Seven Sisters story, and those who don't should

(22:38):
go back for another visit. Natalie Stern says the second
time is when it all starts. Three miles to the
south of Nebraska City, lays the Camp Creek cemetery, where
it is said that the Seven Sisters and Alex Barons
are buried. No report is documented of Gloria's baby being
buried there, but one thing still remains a mystery. Hundreds

(23:01):
of people have reported hearing a baby crying in the
Camp Creek Cemetery and then suddenly stops, as if its
cry had been cut silent. Today, only four of the
supposed seven original hills are really prominent. The ghosts, however,
seem to be as present as ever when weird darkness returns.

(23:32):
Hawaii's Mackenzie State Park boasts a beautiful scenery, pleasant weather
for outdoor activities like hiking and fishing, and it's a
favorite of locals and tourists alike. But when the sun
goes down, Mackenzie Park reveals its truth that it is
extremely haunted. But first they say chivalry is dead, but

(23:54):
that was not so. In eighteen seventy five, standing up
to someone on behalf of your wife was not only
but expected, even to the point of murder. That story
is up next. On the morning of March nineteenth, eighteen

(24:33):
seventy five, Charles k Landis entered the office of the
Vineland Independent and demanded to see the papers editor and
publisher Yuri Carath. When Kareth entered the room, Landis approached
him waving a newspaper clipping. Mister Kareth, did you write that,
Landis shouted. I did, and I'll do it again, said Kareth.
Will you promise not to attack my wife in the future. No,

(24:57):
defend yourself, then, said Landis. A revolver. He chased Careth
into the composing room of the newspaper and there shot
him in the head. I've killed him. I've killed him.
I was obliged to do it. I killed him in
the cause of God and humanity, said Landis, as he
surrendered himself to the deputy sheriff. The offending article seems

(25:18):
frivolous on its face. A prominent vinelander sat down by
the side of his loving wife on the sofa and
looked up in her eyes and called her a duck
and a birdie, and rabbit and all the other endearing names.
Then he told her she should learn to use a revolver,
so that in his absence she could protect their home
and silverware and defend the honor of Vineland. Then he

(25:39):
went off and bought an elegant seven shooter and a
nice target. Then he set up the target in one
end of the parlor and gave her a first lesson shooting.
Then he told her he wanted she should practice every day.
Then he went away for a week. When he returned,
he found the revolver on the other side of the
looking glass. The parlor door resembled a bad case of
small and the furniture looked as though it had been

(26:02):
indulging in a wrestle with a Burlington County hailstorm. Did
he walk up to his wife and sicken her with
the endearing names of all the birds and four footed beasts?
Not much. He barks down into the street in his
shirt sleeves with but one boot on, and then patched
over the big toe. Then he went galloping up and down,
telling every man he met confidently that his wife was crazy.

(26:24):
Then he went off and tried to get her into
a private insane asylum. Yes he did, the wretch. Though
neither Landis nor his wife were mentioned by name in
the article, everyone in Vineland knew who the article referred to.
Landis and Corrupt had a long standing feud, and the
Independent had been attacking Landis and his family for years.

(26:48):
This was the last straw. Charles Landis was an attorney
and land speculator who in eighteen sixty one purchased fifty
thousand acres of New Jersey wilderness and there founded the
town of Vinlanced persuasive advertising in America and Europe induced
people to settle in the new town. The property deeds
included many harsh conditions, most notably a prohibition on the

(27:11):
sale of intoxicating liquors. Violation of any of the burdensome
restrictions could result in forfeiture of the property. Land Owners
were hardly more than tenants of Landis. Despite the restrictions,
Vineland grew quickly, and by eighteen seventy five at a
population of fifteen thousand. But as the population increased, so

(27:32):
did discontent in Vineland. In eighteen sixty eight, The Violent
Independent began publishing with the goal of telling the truth
about life in Vineland and discouraging careless investment by poor
people in the poor lands. From the beginning, the Independent
was in conflict with Charles Landis, but the real trouble

(27:52):
began in eighteen seventy when Uriicareth purchased the newspaper Euriicareth
fifty years old in eighteen seventy was an attorney with
publishing experience in Michigan, who was known to be a
vindictive and combative man. Attacks on Landis and The Independent
went beyond criticizing his policies and were meant to humiliate

(28:13):
Landis and his family. He was neither witty, nor humorous,
nor sarcastic nor bitter, said the Massachusetts spy of Caareth,
but coarsely and stupidly impertinent, telling his paper silly, pointless
stories of Landis and his family. In eighteen sixty nine,
Landis had eloped with the daughter of Commodore Mead of
the U. S. Navy. Missus Landis had a very excitable

(28:35):
nature and had spent some time in an insane asylum.
The mental problems of Missus Landis were well known and violent,
and she was often the butt of Caareth's attempts at humor.
Missus Landis found these articles so distressing that her husband
worked to keep The Independent out of their house. Despite
his precautions, Copies of these articles were thrust under the

(28:56):
door or thrown into windows. Missus Landis would read them
and become dangerously violent, remaining insane for a week at
a time. At the time of the offending article in
eighteen seventy five, missus Landis was pregnant, and her doctor
said that her reason would be permanently overthrown if the
excitement were not removed. Charles Landis viewed Kareth's article as

(29:19):
an attack on his wife's health and well being. According
to Landis's public statement, he became so distraught that he
put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger.
When the gun misfired, he realized he was shooting the
wrong man. He took his better pistol, an English revolver,
and went to see Caareth. The shot did not kill Kareth,

(29:39):
though doctors continued to probe his skull looking for the bullet.
It appeared that Kareth would recover and could live with
the ball still in his head. Landis was released from
jail on fifty thousand dollars bail and was trying to
arrange a financial settlement with Keareth to drop the charges
against him. He offered Kareth five thousand dollars and three
hundred eighty acres of land, which Kareth indignantly refused. For

(30:02):
the next four months, Caareth seemed to be improving physically,
but his finances were in shambles. Friends said he and
Landis had agreed to a settlement at twelve thousand dollars
in cash and securities and were waiting for Landis's signature
when Caareth took a turn for the worse and died
on October twenty fourth. Landis was re arrested and charged

(30:23):
with first degree murder. At his trial the following January,
Landis gave a three point defense. One he was insane
when he shot Caareth. Two, Caareth's death was not caused
by the bullet but by unskilled treatment. And three Caroth's
provocation was such to reduce the offense to manslaughter. Evidence

(30:43):
of insanity was slim. Witnesses testified to Landis's excited and
nervous demeanor. To the second point, an autopsy showed the
bullet had become completely insistent and had not caused Caroth's death.
The immediate cause of death had been an absess in
the brain caused by physicians probing his head in the
wrong area looking for the bullet. Landis's attorneys were confident

(31:05):
of victory and did not seriously address that third point.
The jury acquitted Charles landis of murder, and the community
remained divided over whether the verdict was just. Some saw
it as an example of unequal justice where a rich
man could get away with murder. Most, however, agreed with
Forney's Weekly Press. Mister Kerrath's effort to be spicy, unbacked

(31:29):
by ability to be anything more than grossly indecorous, brought
him to his death, and the verdict of popular opinion,
already registered, is served him right. Winding along the breathtakingly

(31:56):
scenic punic coastline of Opiako and Hawaiian Island in Hawaii
is what's called Kalapana Kapojo Road, or more commonly the
Red Road, which meanders along through the rugged landscape of cliffs,
lava outcroppings, waves, and the Azure Sea, and at one
point passes a thirteen acre expanse of ironwood trees called
Mackenzie State Park, part of the Malama High Forest Reserve.

(32:21):
With its gorgeous vistas and peaceful atmosphere, the park is
a popular place for visitors to enjoy picnicking, hiking, fishing, camping,
and other outdoor activities in a secluded, quiet environment. However,
while it is undoubtedly a place of great solitude and beauty.
Mackenzie State Park is also known for its rather dark
history and its sinister reputation as being one of the

(32:44):
most haunted places in Hawaii. The park itself was officially
established in the nineteen thirties after the park's namesake, ranger
Albert J. Mackenzie, plotted a grove of ironwood trees here,
but the history of the area goes back to the
eighteen hundred. In the eighteen fifties, numerous prison convicts were
brought here from Honolulu for the purpose of working on

(33:06):
sugar plantations, clearing land of the thick jungle undergrowth, and
maintaining the historic coastal trail called the King's Highway, originally
built by the former Hawaiian ruler King Kabahamea the Great
in the early eighteen hundreds, and which served as a
major path for crossing the island at the time. At
this point, the area was already long said by locals

(33:27):
to be haunted by restless spirits the Hawaiians called the Uwani,
as well as by spectral processions of ghostly figures with
torches and drums called the night Marchers, who were said
to come out on nights of the full moon and
unleash battle cries. Yet with the coming of the prisoners,
the area would take on an even more gruesome reputation.

(33:49):
Working conditions here were less than ideal, with the inhospitable terrain,
lack of clean water, disease and harsh treatment they suffered
all taking its toll. It said that hundreds of these
prisoners died over the years, their bodies typically unceremoniously buried
in unmarked graves out in the wilderness. The ghosts of
these prisoners have ever since been said to roam the park,

(34:11):
typically appearing as the apparitions of filthy, pale and bedraggled
looking phantom men, sickly and thin, wandering about carrying various
work equipment, only to vanish into thin air. There are
also frequent reports of hikers hearing footsteps behind them when
no one is there, or of seeing shadow figures moving

(34:31):
about in the trees as if following them, and dogs
are allegedly spooked at unseen threats or downright too terrified
to go anywhere near the area. These spectral prisoners are
also said to prowl about outside of the tents of
campers in the park, whispering and walking about, only for
the tent occupant to look out and see no one there,

(34:53):
and they have even been seen to set up their
own camps, complete with campfires, which fade out of existence
if one is to approach. More frightening reports described screams
and groans emanating from the darkness, tents being shaken, or
apparitions of the prisoners appearing with in tents to attack
the occupants before vanishing. A Hawaiian paranormal research organization called

(35:16):
the Kahuna Research Group investigated the park in twenty thirteen
and allegedly witnessed all manner of strange phenomena, including weird
EVP readings, strange anomalous images caught on camera, and even
purportedly making contact with some of these spirits. One was
apparently the ghost of a Portuguese prisoner called Louis, which
allegedly spoke to the group via one of the team members,

(35:38):
a spirit medium named Marcy Grover. She would say of
this encounter, I immediately made contact with a spirit named
Louis or Lewis, who I sensed was a Portuguese prisoner
laborer from the crew who built the park in the
eighteen fifties. He indicated there were four other such spirits
there with him. He had created his own purgatory and
would not go to the light due to his Catholic upbringing.

(36:01):
He indicated that he had killed a fellow laborer due
to lack of provisions. I believe he died a few
weeks after that incident. After hours of seemingly playing tag
with the spirits, someone suggested we go completely dark and
use the small indicator lights on the ion detector only
to note activity. We had immediate success. I asked the
spirits if they could light up the devices once for

(36:23):
yes and twice for no, and we again had an
immediate response. The device remained blank when no questions were asked.
Adding to the park's ominous reputation and its ghosts are
all of the strange accidents and crimes that have occurred
here over the years, to the point that rumors have
spread that it is actually a cursed place. Perhaps the

(36:45):
most famous incident occurred at the park in nineteen eighty,
when a couple was camping here and were attacked one
evening by a mysterious intruder who savagely beat them, killing
the man and seriously injuring the woman. No suspect has
ever been found, and there has never been determined any
motive for the gruesome, senseless crime. In nineteen ninety three,

(37:07):
there was also the tragic death of a sixteen year
old girl who was beaten and sexually assaulted by three
men before being thrown over a cliff into the sea
while she was still alive. Her body has never been found.
In two thousand and eight, there was the strange case
of the body of a local surfer found at the
base of a cliff by the cast and crew of
the film The Tempest, which was shooting on location at

(37:30):
Mackenzie State Park. The man had reportedly been shot many times,
but no one has ever been arrested in connection with
the crime. On top of these unsolved crimes are the
many drownings that have occurred here over the years, although
this is most likely due to the rough waves and
strong currents. There are warnings posted against swimming, but people

(37:50):
do it anyway, and fishermen on the rocks are sometimes
swept out to sea by sudden, powerful waves, with many
of the bodies never found. All of this death and
violent history stands in stark contrast to the otherwise enchanting
beauty of this place. It also ensures that there are
plenty of spooky rumors and phenomena to go around. In

(38:13):
addition to the ancient spirits, night marchers, and apparitions of
dead prisoners here, mysterious lights or fireballs are often seen
floating about through the twisted and gnarled ironwood trees, or
even bobbing about on the waves of the nearby sea,
and there are many reports of voices and howls issuing
forth from the area's many lava tubes. It is all

(38:34):
rather interesting, considering that with the sheer natural splendor of
the park, it looks more like something out of a
travel brochure, and one of the last places one might
expect to be so intensely haunted. Indeed, many visitors have
no idea about any of this, making it all the
more startling when they encounter these strange phenomena for themselves.

(38:56):
Whether any of the stories of ghosts are true or not,
Mackenzie State Park is certainly a place of great beauty
under which a certain darkness pulses coming up. The restaurant
is a bit dated, with the servers wearing old fashioned
black and white aprons. The food was incredible, the place

(39:18):
was spotlessly clean. It's definitely a restaurant you'll want to
visit when you pass that way again. Unfortunately, the restaurant
won't be there because it never was. That story when
weird darkness returns. There are many accounts of unexplained and

(40:13):
unexpected sightings of humans, buildings, and events reported by people
who journeyed through time by unknown means. Such time slips
are often very confusing to the observer, who sees something
that doesn't belong in our reality. Nevertheless, studies of time
slips can eventually give us a better understanding of the

(40:34):
universe and our place in it. How can something from
a different time and place be right there before you,
only to be gone without a trace later. People who
experience time slips say everything they saw seem as real
as the physical world we live in right now. Did
these people enter another dimension through an invisible barrier? Many

(40:57):
scientists are convinced there can be countless invisible worlds coexisting
next to our own a parallel universe. Theory is still
just a theory, but our knowledge of space time is
still limited. Many people who've experienced time slips are often
reluctant to come forward and share their stories for fear
of being ridiculed or labeled crazy. It's worth remembering the

(41:20):
contrary to what some think, such time slips have not
only been reported in modern times. Accounts of perplexing time
slips have been recorded throughout history, and there are many
stories in the Quran, Bible and other ancient texts that
tell of these stories. Not to mention several old myths
and legends, This curious event took place in March nineteen

(41:42):
fifty nine in Wyoming, USA. The story is about three
friends who together experienced something truly remarkable. Bob Wetzel, who
was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado,
was traveling together with John and d Greeley to visit
Bob's wife, Sharon, who live in Warland. The three men

(42:02):
left the outskirts of the city of Cheyenne when suddenly
a snowstorm with a thick fog appeared, making their short
trip almost impossible to continue. The road was covered with
ice and they drove very slowly. Under normal conditions, the
trip from Cheyenne to Chugwater should take only thirty minutes,
but the weather was so bad The journey lasted ninety minutes.

(42:24):
The storm increased, but they continued their journey. Suddenly, something
strange happened, something completely unexpected. Hidden by the side of
the road in the blowing snow, the three men noticed
a restaurant. They stopped the car in the parking lot
and entered the restaurant. We were so glad to find
a place to come in out of the storm and

(42:44):
have dinner. Bob Wetznell began his unbelievable story. We pulled
off to the left side of the road and walked
across the street. Then we ran up some steps leading
into the building. I believe we went through some swinging
doors there in the front, and I remember we were
the only three having dinner at the time. The help
was there, the cook, dishwasher, and others, but we were
the only customers. The restaurant was clean and the staff

(43:08):
consisted of two young women dressed in long white dresses
with black and white aprons. Being hungry and exhausted, the
three men ordered steaks, chicken, and beer. The meal was
delicious and everything seemed normal. There was no reason to
suspect this was an unusual restaurant. When it was time
to pay for the meal. The three men were very

(43:28):
surprised to see the tab on their bill. Bill recalled
it came to nine dollars for the three of us.
I was so pleased I left five one dollar bills
as a tip, and you should have seen how surprised
the waitresses were. They thanked me, walked us to the door,
and told us to be careful since it was still snowing.
The three friends continued their journey to Sharon. Weather conditions

(43:52):
were much better now and they made it to Whorland
with no difficulties. When we got there, we told my wife,
Sharon and her parents about the nice restauran we'd found,
and so we decided to stop there again on our
way back to Denver. When Charon made the return trip
with us, the weather was clear and we had no
trouble getting to chug Water. This was before the highways
were fixed and you had to drive right through the

(44:13):
middle of town. I remember that as we had come
down the hill from Denver heading north, the restaurant had
been the third or fourth business on the left hand
side of the street. Once Bob and his wife reached
the spot where the restaurant was supposed to be located.
There was a problem. The restaurant wasn't there any longer.
Bob decided to find out why he couldn't see the

(44:33):
building anywhere and headed over to a local hamburger stand
to get some information. He spoke to an elderly local
man whose name was Charlie and told him about his
unbelievable experience. The man was very surprised. Are you sure
this was where you were? I said, I'm positive that's
right where I parked. When was this, Charlie asked, with

(44:53):
a funny look on his face. Eight to ten days ago,
I told him, and then he dropped the bomb, Shad
well Son, the place that you described burned down years
and years ago, and this has been a vacant lot
since then. There's no way, I said, we were just
in there. I began to describe both of the waitresses

(45:14):
who had served us. Son. The man said again, that
place burned down, and the two people you described perished
in the fire. But that was years and years ago.
Bob has often thought about the mysterious restaurants that vanished
into thin air. Like most people who experienced time slips,
Bob felt everything seemed real. Nothing was ghost like At

(45:35):
all the food was real and the people he met
were not fantoms. It's a bizarre incident that shows it
may occasionally be possible to interact with people from different timelines.

(45:57):
Thanks for listening. Cheer Weird Darkness with somebody you know
who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters,
or unsolved mysteries like you do. All stories in Weird
Darkness are purported to be true unless stated otherwise, and
you can find source links or links to the authors
in the show notes. The Terror of Seven Sisters Road

(46:18):
was written by Sarah Buckolts for Antique Archaeology, Chris Peters
for the Omaha World Herald, Nick Downs, and Aaron Whisty
for Graveyard Shift. Tragedy at Vinland was by Robert Wilhelm
for a Murder by Gaslight. The Restaurant That Disappeared is
by Ellen Lloyd for Message to Eagle, and Hawaii's Haunted
Mackenzie Park was written by Brent Swanzer for Mysterious Universe.

(46:42):
Weird Darkness is a production of Marler House Productions. And
now that we're coming out of the dark, I'll leave
you with a little light. First Chronicles sixteen Verse thirty four.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His
love endurers forever. And a final thought. When you're in
a dark place, you tend to think you've been buried.

(47:04):
Perhaps you've been planted bloom. I'm Darren Marler. Thanks for
joining me in the weird darkness.

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