The Union, Missouri Haunting
By Steven LaChance, 2004
The existence of ghosts, a concept relegated by many to the realm of folklore and fantasy, has been debated for centuries. Skepticism often reigns, fueled by a desire for rational explanations and a resistance to the unknown. Yet, for some, encounters with the inexplicable shatter their disbelief, leaving them grappling with a reality far stranger than they could have ever imagined. This is the story of one such individual, Steven LaChance, and his chilling experience in a house in Union, Missouri, an experience that forever altered his perception of the world and the possibility of life beyond the veil. His story revolves around The Union, Missouri Haunting.
In May of 2001, LaChance, a single father of three, found himself in a precarious situation. His family’s lease was expiring, leaving them on the brink of homelessness. Scouring the local newspaper, he responded to countless rental advertisements, desperately seeking a suitable home for his children. One evening, a woman contacted him regarding an old, spacious house in Union, Missouri, a town nestled in the heart of the state. She described it as being in excellent condition and invited him to an open house scheduled for the following Sunday.
That Sunday, LaChance and his daughter arrived at the address, their expectations tempered by the realities of their situation. What awaited them was a grand, white house, exuding an aura of history and charm. Stepping inside, they were greeted by the inviting aroma of freshly baked cookies, a stark contrast to the sterile environment of the apartments they had become accustomed to. The interior was a testament to a bygone era, with intricate woodwork, original features, and a spacious layout that included a living room adorned with cherubic figures along the walls. A large wooden pole served as a divider between the living room and the family room, adding to the house’s unique character. The house boasted two floors, three bedrooms, a large family kitchen, and a mudroom leading to the backyard. Upstairs, a breezeway connected the bedrooms, offering a sense of openness and light.
The basement held its own surprises, including an old butcher’s shower and a fruit cellar, remnants of a time when self-sufficiency was a way of life. The house seemed too good to be true, far exceeding their expectations for the price. The desperation born from their impending homelessness fueled their desire to secure the property.
LaChance spoke with the landlady, an eccentric woman who seemed more like a museum curator than a real estate agent. She inquired about his understanding of the responsibilities of living in an old house, a question he readily dismissed, eager to secure the lease. He soon submitted his application amidst a throng of other prospective tenants, aware of the competition.
A week later, the landlady called, excitedly informing LaChance that he and his family had been chosen to reside in the old house. They arranged to meet at a restaurant to finalize the paperwork and payment. This felt a bit strange to LaChance, but he was too excited to get the house that would now become their home. That weekend, Memorial Day weekend, they were all set to move in.
Friday finally arrived, marking the beginning of their new chapter. The move was uneventful, and soon, their belongings were safely inside the old white house. As LaChance unloaded the last few items, a car slowed down in front of the house. A passenger leaned out the window and uttered the cryptic phrase, "Hope you get along okay here," before speeding away. Puzzled, LaChance and his daughter exchanged glances, dismissing it as the odd behavior of friendly neighbors. However, this strange encounter was only the prelude to the unsettling events that would soon unfold within the walls of their new home. The house where The Union, Missouri Haunting occurred.
The first night passed without incident, perhaps a deceptive lull before the storm. The following morning, LaChance noticed a peculiar detail about the house’s interior doors. Each door was equipped with an old-fashioned hook and eye latch, but these latches were positioned on the outside of the doors, as if designed to keep something in, rather than keep someone out. This unsettling discovery added to the growing sense of unease.
The first tangible sign of paranormal activity occurred in the living room. While attempting to hang a picture of two angels, a decorative choice intended to complement the cherubs adorning the walls, LaChance experienced a series of inexplicable events. Each time he hung the picture, it would fall to the floor, seemingly propelled by an unseen force. On the third attempt, he felt a rush of air and something struck his ankles, sending the picture crashing down once more. Frustrated and bewildered, he hung the picture again, audibly commanding it to stay in place. The absurdity of talking to an inanimate object struck him, but the inexplicable events had begun to chip away at his skepticism.
Moments later, his daughter called him outside. Pointing down the sidewalk, she noted that pedestrians seemed to avoid walking directly in front of their house, crossing the street instead. LaChance spent the next three hours observing this phenomenon, confirming his daughter’s observation. Neighbors would avert their gaze and quicken their pace as they passed the property, seemingly uncomfortable with its presence. While LaChance tried to rationalize their behavior, a seed of doubt had been planted.
Sunday began with the family enthusiastically tending to their yard, a welcome change from their cramped apartment. As they worked, LaChance noticed that the trees were shedding leaves as if it were autumn, an anomaly that he planned to discuss with the landlady. He asked his youngest son to retrieve the garden hose from the basement. Moments later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from within the house. Rushing inside, LaChance found his son trembling in a puddle of urine, claiming that something "big" had chased him up the basement stairs. Despite a thorough search, nothing was found, and LaChance attributed the incident to the overactive imagination of a child. However, the unsettling events continued to mount, weaving a tapestry of fear and uncertainty.
The following week brought a new series of disturbances. Each evening, the family would return home to find every light in the house blazing, despite their meticulous efforts to turn them off before leaving. LaChance initially blamed the children, but a deliberate attempt to verify the lights were off before leaving one Friday confirmed that something else was at play.
One evening, as LaChance entered the living room, he experienced a sudden and dramatic drop in temperature, accompanied by an intense electrical sensation that coursed through his body. His daughter also noticed the change, commenting on the sudden cold. The temperature then inexplicably began to rise, further amplifying the sense of unease. That night, the children huddled with their father, seeking comfort and security in the face of the unknown.
The climax of these terrifying events occurred on a Sunday night. As the family sat in the living room, discussing plans for an upcoming trip, LaChance witnessed something that would forever be etched in his memory. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark figure standing in the kitchen doorway, leading into the family room. The figure, undeniably human in shape, was composed of a churning mass of dark gray and black smoke or mist.
Initially dismissing it as a trick of the light, LaChance looked away, attempting to rationalize what he had seen. However, when he looked again, the figure was still there, solidifying into a blackness. It began to move, slowly entering the family room and pausing in the center. The figure remained there for what felt like an eternity before dissolving into the air, vanishing without a trace.
Panic surged through LaChance. He knew that he had to get his children out of the house immediately. Gathering his composure, he calmly announced that they were going to visit Grandma for a soda. The children, sensing his unease, followed him out of the house. As he locked the front door, a deafening scream, filled with pain and anguish, erupted from within the house. The scream was so intense that it reverberated throughout the neighborhood, triggering a chorus of barking dogs.
Abandoning all pretense of order, LaChance screamed at his children to get in the car. As they sped away, his youngest son, his voice trembling with terror, pointed to an upstairs window. There, silhouetted against the glass, stood the black figure, watching them depart. The Union, Missouri Haunting was becoming more violent.
The family spent the night at LaChance’s parents’ house. The following day, he left for his business trip, grappling with the events of the night before. Upon his return, he had no choice but to return to the house. He had invested all of his savings into the move and had nowhere else to go. He tried to convince himself that he had imagined the events of that night.
That weekend, they explored the shed in the backyard, discovering personal belongings that seemed to belong to previous tenants. This discovery prompted LaChance to contact the landlady, hoping to gain some insight into the house’s history.
During their awkward phone conversation, LaChance cautiously inquired about any previous tenants who had mentioned paranormal activity. The landlady initially denied any knowledge of such incidents, but eventually admitted that one tenant had claimed to have been visited by her deceased father. She said that the girl had left behind some of the stuff in the shed. She also mentioned that another man had left in the middle of the night, leaving behind his things. However, she claimed that she had never heard of anyone talking about the house being haunted.
The phone call provided little comfort and did nothing to quell LaChance’s fears. He was on his own.
The following Monday night, while LaChance was on the phone with his mother, the doors inside the house began to rattle violently. He initially dismissed it as the children playing pranks, but his daughter quickly refuted this, stating that she was reading and her brothers were asleep.
At that moment, the temperature in the house plummeted, accompanied by the same electrical sensation and a foul stench. Then, the screaming began, starting softly but quickly escalating in intensity. LaChance yelled into the phone for his mother to help. The whole house began to shake and come alive. A heavy thumping sound reverberated from upstairs, as if something large was descending the stairs. The screaming grew louder, joined by the terrified cries of his daughter. LaChance realized that the entity was heading towards his bedroom, where his children were.
Desperate to reach his children, LaChance found himself unable to open the bedroom door. He threw himself against the door repeatedly until it finally gave way.
His daughter was in shock. He instructed his middle son to grab his brother, run out the front door, and head for the car. His daughter would not move, and he finally had to slap her to bring her to life. As they fled the house, they could hear the other bedroom door slam open behind them. The whole house was still shaking and alive with noise and something big on their heels. They slammed the front door behind them and ran to the car. As they drove away, they could still hear the noise from the house. They parked at the top of the street, where they could still see the house, and wait for his parents to arrive. They could see "it" searching through the house. Searching! Searching for them! Its blackness moving from room to room methodically.
That was their last night in the house. LaChance’s children never returned. He only returned when he went with someone to get his things. Everyone he brought into that house with him would also witness something happen. A scream. Whispers. Pounding from the floor above. The landlady told LaChance, "Some people are meant to live in an old house like that. And some people aren’t. I never thought you were the old house type." The story of The Union, Missouri Haunting continues to terrify those who hear it.
About a month after moving out of the old house, a friend sent LaChance a website address she wanted him desperately to see. "Put John T. Crowe, Union, Missouri, into your search engine," she said. When he did, the face of a man came onto his screen. The same face that showed up in a picture his brother took in the fruit cellar one afternoon while he was packing for the move. The man was famous. The land is famous, dating back to the Civil War.
About a year ago, someone LaChance knew saw a police car race up to that house one night and witnessed a family running out of its front door in their nightclothes.
As for the house today – the old lady turned it into a dog kennel this past fall. LaChance still drives past that house occasionally, and when he gets enough nerve, he looks up at the upstairs window, and it’s there. Watching. Waiting. Angry. Sometimes its screams still wake him from his sleep, its infectious scream creeping into his dreams, turning them into nightmares. In his dreams, he sees a faceless man standing in that basement, washing away blood from his naked blood-covered body. Grunting. Panting. Breathing.
LaChance’s harrowing experience in Union, Missouri, serves as a chilling reminder that the world may hold mysteries beyond our comprehension. While skepticism is a valuable tool for critical thinking, it is essential to remain open to the possibility of the unknown. For Steven LaChance, the events that transpired in that old white house irrevocably altered his perception of reality, leaving him with a lingering sense of unease and a profound belief in the existence of ghosts. He does believe in ghosts, and maybe you should too?