In the city of Atchison, Kansas, lies the Sallie House, plagued with paranormal occurrences, objects moving mysteriously, people receiving scratches, and fires starting. The house is commonly believed to be haunted by a little girl who died inside, allegedly. Did she exist? Is she haunting the home or is a demon?
History of the Sallie House
The infamous Sallie House is located at 508 North 2nd Street, in Atchison, Kansas. Atchison is located in northeastern Kansas, along the Missouri River. The town has a population of 10,885 people. The home, built in the mid-1800s, originally for the Finney family. Dr. Charles Finney, a surgeon, used the home as his doctor’s office. He used the first floor for his office. He used the downstairs bedroom for examination and an operating room. The family used the upstairs as their living space.
One day, A mother ran into his office, panicking, holding her daughter. Her daughter, referred to by Sallie, but discovered no record of a Sallie in the town, at the time. The six year old collapsed from severe abdominal pain. Charles diagnosed with her with Appendicitis and recommended surgery. Worried about a burst appendix, he started surgery before the anesthesia kicked in. This poor little girl screamed in pain, for who knows how long. Suddenly she became quiet, pale, and limp. She died, most likely thinking a strange man was torturing her. She did not even know he was a doctor, because she was passed out when they arrived. There is another version of the story where Sallie is his child, from an affair, and he refused her to go to the hospital, because of fear his secret would be found out.
Through the years, multiple generations of the Finney family lived in the home, until 1947. At this time, four family members died of natural causes. The family moved out of the home. They claim they left, because they wanted more space. But is that the real reason?
The Pickmans
A lot of families briefly lived in the home after the Finneys’ left. Known for haunting for a long time, the home got mainstream popularity, in 1993. This is when a young married couple, Tony And pregnant Debbie Pickman, rented the home. Their dog growled and barked at nothing, or so the family thought. The dog would become more riled up near the nursery.
The family did not notice any obvious paranormal occurrences, however things would soon become violent. After they welcomed their son, the baby would not sleep through the night. Pretty common right? Well that was until neighbors told the family that the lights in the nursery stayed on all night, although the family would turn it off. Mold would also appear on household items for no apparent reason. One day, after returning home, the couple noticed stuffed animals in a circle on the floor of the nursery. Debbie arranged the toys on the shelves previously.
The husband would soon experience attacks. fires would occur randomly and the room, formerly the operating room, would become very cold. When he would get near objects, they would suddenly move. Finally, he would feel scratches on his chest and abdomen. Because none of these occurrences happened to the wife or baby, people assume the ghost targets men because of what Charles did.
The family consulted Barbara Connors, a medium, and she concluded that the ghost of a little girl occupied the home. She guessed that the girl just wanted attention from the family. The couple tried to embrace the ghost, but attacks continued and a doll caught fire at a birthday party, they hosted at home. The family moved out two years later. Debbie, since moving out, stated she thinks the ghost is a demon posing as a little girl.
Reports from other Visitors
Other events, witnessed by guests include moving objects, unexplained scratches and bruises, touched when no one is present, feeling cold, dogs refusing to enter nursery. The Childrens’ room, formerly the nursery, has a circle of toys for Sallie to play with. this is the suspected room she died in. Many people have felt her presence, while walking on the staircase, leading them to believe she likes to run up and down the stairs. In the basement, there is a smudge in the middle of the floor, which is assumed to be a pentagram used for satanic rituals. After a luminol test was performed, blood splatter was found in the master bedroom closet and satanic symbols on the walls. In the attic, a blood sweater was reportedly found. A lot of paranormal experts have visited the house and experienced the occurrences i discussed. All of them are documented, as well.
Final Thoughts
I have seen enough pictures and video to believe the home is haunted. By what is the question. There is not enough proof to say the that incident with the little girl happened or not. My person opinion is, that at somewhat a little girl died in the home, but I steer more toward Debbie’s belief of a demon pretending to be a little girl. It is known that demons may pretend to be a friendly ghost to gain trust. I think it is possible that they were using the girl’s story as a way to appear as he could be a child. It worked because Debbie wanted to act like a mother to the ghost, which made the being mad.
Sources
https://www.velvetropes.com/backstage/sallie-house
https://visitatchison.com/highlight/sallie-house
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallie_House
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