3 years ago
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The Halloween season would not be complete without the tales of ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night. But in the town of Monticello, those tales live year round in the Allen House.
Built at the turn of the century by wealthy businessman Joe Lee Allen, the house stands out above all others in the Southeastern Arkansas community. It would also become the site of a horrible family tragedy that remains with the house to this day.
?The story goes that in 1949, during her mother?s New Year?s Eve party, Ladell was dealing with the death of her son and a divorce,? said Rebecca Spencer, the Allen House?s fourth owner. ?She went downstairs, fixed a plate of food, returned to her room and drank cyanide in an attempt to kill herself.?
?And after she died, the room was supposedly sealed off,? said local historian Sheila Lampkin. ?Later on, when they allegedly opened the house, the cyanide poison was still on the window sill.?
And rumor has it, Ladell Allen?s spirit was still there, too.
?When different owners started living in the house, they started noticing things like moaning noises in the night and doors slamming,? Lampkin said.
Other stories include sightings of Ladell in the house, as well as children?s giggling and rooms being found disorganized, even though no one had been there for days, sometimes longer.
?They say that it's her restless spirit that haunts the house,? said Spencer.
It?s a story that didn't stop Spencer and her husband, Mark, from jumping at the chance to buy the house six months ago.
?There are things that happen in the house that are unexplainable,? she said.
Like odd experiences of prolonged déjà vu, Rebecca says she and her husband experience from time to time.
?The house makes noises, settles and creaks,? she said. ?But anytime you buy an old house, there's going to be some story about something. I think it's just up to the individual to make that decision.?
And for the first, and only time, the Spencer?s are opening their house this Halloween to let people decide for themselves ? Is it haunted? Or is it just a bunch of hot air?
Tours are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday from 6:00 ? 11:00 p.m. For more information on tickets to the Allen House Haunted Tour, contact the Bellelise Book Sellers at 870-460-9854.
