18 Spooky Haunted Places in Wichita, KS (plus Haunted Houses)

It’s that time of year: Spooky Season! I love the autumn, and – in theory – I love the idea of paranormal activity and experiencing whatever is Beyond life as we know it.

But I’ll admit: I’m a total weenie and don’t think I could ever spend the night in a haunted place. I don’t even like visiting haunted houses! As such, I have not been to any of these haunted places in Wichita because I just don’t need that kind of fright in my life. But, I know some of you might be adrenaline junkies who love jump-scares and creepy vibes, so I wanted to share these places anyway.

If you’re planning a trip to Kansas and passing through Wichita in the weeks approaching Halloween and love a good scare, read on. You’ll find a range of spooky spots across the state that you can visit and get the heebie-jeebies – or possibly have a paranormal experience of your own!

In this post, I promote travel to destinations that are the traditional lands of the 𐓏𐒰𐓓𐒰𐓓𐒷 𐒼𐓂𐓊𐒻 𐓆𐒻𐒿𐒷 𐓀𐒰^𐓓𐒰^(Osage),  [Gáuigú (Kiowa),  Wichita,  Očhéthi Šakówiŋ peoples. With respect, I make a formal land acknowledgment, extending my appreciation and respect to the past and present people of these lands. To learn more about the peoples who call these lands home, I invite you to explore Native Land.

This post was originally published in October 2021, and was updated most recently in June 2023.

1. Candle Club

Candle Club has been hosting amazing parties with live music and luxurious meals every night since the 1960s. However, when the lights go out, and the music stops, new guests frequent the private club. The Candle Club’s workers have claimed seeing objects moving and hearing distant voices in different rooms.

Road Trip Paranormal, a paranormal investigation team, visited Candle Club and did a few EVP sessions (electronic voice phenomena). They caught glasses moving around the room when no one was around, tapping sounds, and disembodied voices, and they claim this is just a tip of all they found in the building.

2. Forum Theatre

Forum Theater is one of Wichita’s most haunted places, drawing the attention of many paranormal investigators due to its inexplicable events. It all goes back to 1920 when the building of the Forum Theater was the home of Hillside Baptist Church. Back then, pastor Ernest was the leader of Hillside Baptist Church and its lovely community. However, when he decided to leave, the church rejected his resignation for years.

In the 1950s, the church suffered a fire inside the main sanctuary, leaving it inhabitable. In the 2000s, Dr. Grant Rine and his wife, Janet, restored the beautiful building and built a theater. During the restoring process, Janet and Grant witnessed spooky events: distant giggles, growling, objects moving, and unusual shadows. 

There’s no information about who the ghosts might be. For some, it’s the sad soul of Ernest; others think they are the souls of believers who can’t move beyond the physical realm.

3. Kansas Aviation Museum

Wichita still is “the air capital of the world” thanks to its many aviation companies. So, the Kansas Aviation Museum being one of the spookiest haunted places in Wichita comes as no surprise.

While you see mostly guests admiring the collection of aircraft and aviation-related artifacts, you might also see the Kansas Aviation Museum receives visitors of all kinds. The Kansas Aviation Museum has had many reports of ghosts, with people reporting voices, slamming doors, and even the presence of a man dressed in sporty clothes! The staff also claims that a pilot who died in a plane crash haunts a red crop duster. 

4. Lawrence Dumont Stadium

Although Riverfront Stadium occupies the terrain today, the ghostly stories of the demolished Lawrence Dumont Stadium remain alive. The stadium’s staff have reported numerous times that they hear Raymond “Hap” Dumont’s ghost, who created the National Baseball Congress in 1934 and brought the NBC World Series to Wichita. While he died in his office at LDS in 1971 of a sudden heart attack, his spirit never left the building. Not too long after his death, employees heard keys jingling and voices in his office, as well as shadows at the stadium. 

Do you think the spirit of “Hap” Dumont still lingers in the new Riverfront Stadium?

5. McConnell Air Force Base

Located across the street from the Kansas Aviation Museum, McConnell Air Force Base has had its fair share of unconventional events that are difficult to explain. Employees of the McConnell Air Force Base have heard sounds and lights turning on and off in empty buildings while they work. However, these are not the worst paranormal episodes they’ve experienced.

During Halloween, some workers swear they have seen a WWII aircraft landing on the runway of McConnell Air Force Base! 

6. Old Cowtown Museum

Many visitors claim that, when they visit the Old Cowtown Museum, they freeze after hearing footsteps and whispering voices right behind them. There seems to be an explanation as to why they do. Rumor has it that Marshall Murdock, Wichita Eagle newspaper founder, had a daughter who died of spinal meningitis. 

Since then, the young girl’s spirit has lingered around Cowtown and visits different buildings, including the Old Cowtown Museum. Locals have seen her moving objects, and some have even seen her ghost! If visiting Old Cowtown Museum all on your own sounds too scary, stay alert for the many Ghost Tours that explore the museum! 

7. Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre is a 97-year-old beautiful building. As you know, old buildings play great hosts to spiritual entities. Many have witnessed eerie footsteps and shadows near the dressing rooms at the Orpheum Theatre, while other workers have reported seeing a projectionist operate the proctor to show his favorite film. 

All these ghost stories and paranormal experiences have drawn the attention of the Wichita Paranormal Research Society. Today, the Society offers occasional tours sharing the spine-chilling anecdotes of the ghosts they’ve seen in this beautiful theater. Who knows? Perhaps, you might see one yourself when you visit.  

8. Spektrum Muzik

Formerly Central Plains Novelty, Spektrum Muzik is Wichita’s best record shop. However, did you know it is also one of the haunted places in Wichita? In this building which is over a hundred years old, the working staff has seen and experienced everything, from disembodied footsteps at the back and upper portions of the store to figures in period clothing wandering through the aisles. Others have seen orbs and smelled perfumes, seen things moving or missing. When Paranormal Investigators visited the building, they claimed to have picked up strange voices during the EVP session.

9. The Broadview Hotel

Wichita’s Broadview Hotel was a favorite spot among celebrities back in 1900, with Charles Lindbergh, Clyde Cessna, and Al Capone as regular visitors. It seems that they loved the hotel so much that they never left, making The Broadview Hotel one of the most famous haunted places in Wichita. 

Every member of the staff has reported their fair share of paranormal visitors. Some mention the sounds of wings flapping up and down in the hallway, although no one is there. Many people explain the doors usually shake or that the furniture is moved to a  completely different spot. 

10. The Eaton Hotel

The Blue Handkerchief Ghost of Carey House Square is a female ghost who has a particular fondness for roses and rose-colored items. As the legend goes, someone killed this woman in a room of the hotel. Sadly, the wrongdoer got away with it, and the police never found him. It’s not news that the spirits of those who suffered untimely deaths remain in the material world until someone discovers the culprit. People have reported seeing her walking between the second and third floors. Others have seen her taking the phones off the hook.

11. The Perfect Touch Salon

Housed in the old Travel Air Manufacturing Company building, The Perfect Touch salon harbors paranormal stories that will have you hiding under the blankets at night. The staff at The Perfect Touch Salon have claimed to see a red-haired gunfighter in an old-style dress and the ghost of a woman dressed in Victorian clothing. 

Apparently, the lady likes to visit the back of the store, near the manicure area. The staff claims that the nail files, chairs, and other objects move on their own around the place. The paranormal stories draw the attention of Road Trip Paranormal and KSN News, who filmed and gathered evidence of the ghostly presences!

12. Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum might escape the “haunted old-building” rule. Still, this building right at the heart of downtown Wichita is worth visiting for some ghost hunting. Employees have reported to the Wichita Paranormal Research Society that they’ve heard footsteps and voices. Some people even claim spirits dare to touch visitors. While these events gave workers a real scare, the staff members tell the Society they still feel safe inside the building. 

13. Wichita State University

Most of the buildings on this list have great ghost stories to tell. None of them compares to the ones you’ll find at Wichita State University. Henrion Gymnasium and Wilner Auditorium, two campus buildings, house mysterious presences within their walls. 

In Henrion lives the ghost of a former maintenance worker who died by being electrocuted in the 1950s. Some say that he hit a live wire with his hand; others, that lightning struck him while he was mopping. 

Meanwhile, at Wilner Auditorium, people have sensed occasional spirits, experienced light going on and off, doors closing, and heard disembodied steps and voices. For Mary Nelson, a program consultant for Ablah Library, it is the ghost of George Wilner, the namesake of the building. On top of that, the Fiske Hall building might house ghostly presences, too.

14. Theorosa’s Bridge 

The number of spooky legends surrounding Theorosa’s Bridge is endless. There are many speculations as to why the bridge is the setting of so much paranormal activity. Theorosa’s child died. How, it is still not certain. Some argue that her baby was stolen by a Native American tribe during a rampage on the bridge. Others, that Theorosa herself killed her own daughter. Another legend states that Theorosa was a young Native American girl and after having a child with a married settler, she threw herself and her baby from the bridge.

What is certain, though, are the numerous creepy events witnessed by locals. The sound of Indian drums in the distance. The shadow of a woman touching the water under the bridge. The odd balls of light floating in the darkness of the night.

I have to say it takes a lot of courage to cross that bridge. Especially at night! 

15. Brooks Middle School 

Have you ever wondered why educational institutions are so attractive to ghosts? Brooks Middle School in Wichita, Ks, is haunted by the ghost of a young girl who likes to prowl near locker 303. 

The legend states that she was raped and murdered in the school’s auditorium and then her body was thrown into the locker. Some people swear you can perceive the rotten smell when you walk down the hallway. And others have heard voices or echoes when they’re talking too loud in that specific hallway.    

16. Wilbur’s Grocery Store 

The historic building that houses Wilbur’s Grocery Store used to be a home for wayward women and also an orphanage. I bet you already get an idea why it is one of the most haunted places in Wichita! 

People working in the store and patrons claim they are suddenly very cold. Some employees have said that, when they arrived at the store, some things have been moved around. But that’s nothing. A few employees claim that they’ve been pushed by a spirit in the grocery store when they are coming down the stairs or having their apron strings untied.

17. Robinson Middle School 

At a glance, Robinson Middle School is no different from other middle schools. Except when the lights go down and the kids go home. 

At night, the ghost of a woman wanders the halls and apparently enjoys clanking locks against locker doors. Luckily, she likes to come out at night and the kids have never experienced any paranormal activity.

18. Rest Haven Cemetery

Well, it’s a cemetery. So of course it is bound to have some paranormal activity. 

From a child’s voice and wandering shadowy figures to unbelievably cold spots and distant screams, there’s no shortage of eerieness in this cemetery. 

The creepy events have called so much attention that even paranormal investigators have come to take camera footage of them!

Haunted Houses in Wichita

We think you’ll have more than enough spookiness with the properties listed above. In case you’re an inveterate ghost hunter, here are three more haunted places in Wichita you can explore. 

1. Walters’ Flashlight Corn Maze – Corn Mazes are a fun plan during the day. Are they so much fun during the night, though? Walters’ Flashlight Corn Maze invites you to bring your flashlight and explore their haunted maze. (website)
   
2. Wicked Woods Wichita – Located in Topeka, Wicked Woods Wichita is a haunted attraction, whose main specialty is making you scream and jump out of your skin. (website)

Do you know of any other great haunted places in Wichita, Kansas? Let me know in the comments!