On a hill just off the Paseo Boulevard stands two 100-year-old buildings. Though the sign on the driveway proclaims it as the Western Baptist Bible College, the buildings have seen much better times and once served a much different purpose.
What is called the residence hall is simply falling apart. Columns have been replaced by two-by-fours, there is little glass left in the windows, bricks are falling by the handful, and the roof has only a few of its shingles left.
Originally built by a prominent Kansas City family, the Armors, its purpose was to provide an eternal home for retirement. Shortly afterwards, it was sold to a charity, which in turn sold it to the college. The education building was built as Kansas City’s orphanage, and its walls show the scars of the terrible fire in which many children were lost during the blaze that tore through the building in 1903.
Though the college served its purpose well, today it seems that no one cares for its buildings as they fall into ruin and decay. Oddly, the grass is mowed with regularity but little is done for either building. As dusk comes, the windows seem to have shapes and shadows peering out at those below.
In the education building at night, screams are heard, allegedly from the children who were caught in the fire. Strange lights and orbs are seen and photographed around its walls where the marks of fire are still seen.
The residence hall once had marble fireplaces, chandeliers, ornamental iron, crown molding, along with a small kitchen and many other amenities. Now the basement has nothing on its wall but black mold. Any marble or other fixtures were ripped out for replacements in rehabbed homes.
Through the building’s skeletal windows, the shadows seem to be full of anger. When the home was sold to the charity, nothing was ever heard about what happened to the elderly inhabitants. Rumors of the time tell of someone dragging all of them down to the basement and locking doors until nothing lived. Many orbs can be easily captured at dusk and nighttime. Those that live a short distance away tell of the apparitions of old people that wander around the house and are seen late at night. Just coming close to the building fills one with dread.
New projects, housing, and roads creep closer to the two buildings, and what their ultimate fate will be will only be known with the passing of time. Until then, one can still drive up to the old buildings at dusk and see what comes out to greet them.
Written by — Tim and Sueanne Pool Kansas City Ghost Hunters
THE ARMOR HOME FOR THE AGED
KANSAS CITY HOME FOR ORPHANS (WESTERN BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGE)
2116 TRACY AVENUE
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 64108
Taken from the: Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger