Librarian knows a lot about these haunts. She discussed them at LS virtual event

Metro-area buildings might have more souls wandering about than you’d expect, at least according to paranormal researcher Becky Ray. At a virtual Mid-Continent Public Library program last week, she shared the history of a few of those old structures, along with accounts of otherworldly encounters.

Ray, who is also a librarian, has enjoyed ghost stories since she was a kid at summer camp. For these stories, however, she digs deep into her research.

“With ghost stories, I like to get all the history and background of the story to see if there are any events that go along (with ghost sightings) to give them more credence,” she said. “One thing I have found in doing a lot of my research is that the story people have been telling for a long time (sometimes) isn’t true, but the real story is better.”

Included in the properties Ray has investigated for reported ghost sightings are the Vaile Mansion in Independence, Belvoir Winery and Inn in Liberty, the Folly Theater, the Savoy Hotel and the Hotel President in Kansas City.

For a historical perspective, she told her audience about the Folly’s roots in burlesque, vaudeville, wrestling and prizefighting, as well as some of the performers who graced its stage, including Gypsy Rose Lee.

After briefly going through the theater’s timeline from its start to the present, Ray shared some of the ghost sightings people have reported over the years: former manager Joe Donegan looking cheerful backstage years after his death in 1930; a distressed woman in a long, flowing gown running toward the stage; and a man in a white top hat working the concessions counter when the building was closed.

Ray attributed some of these to the theater’s many renovations.

“It is a generally held belief (in paranormal research) that when buildings are renovated or restored, it stirs up paranormal activities,” she said.

Her research takes her all over town, including the 1859 Jail in Independence, where she saw some spooky shadows.

“I’ve seen things I cannot explain,” she said. “I don’t see things very often. I just go places and get feelings.”

Although she looks at old newspapers to get a sense of deaths or other events that might be at the root of a ghost story, she often finds conflicting accounts of what happened.

“It shows you what people were thinking at the time,” she said.

She also contacts people at these historical sites to find additional information and often visits them herself.

Most of her tales are rooted in the 20th century, although a few have roots in the 19th century.

Usually, October brings a more packed schedule of engagements to share her stories, but the pandemic has left things much quieter than usual. She enjoyed the chance to tell people about the various spooky sites around Kansas City, even if the experience was different than usual.

“I like seeing the reactions. … I like watching people’s eyes get really big,” she said.

This year, she pre-recorded her tales for the Facebook Live event, which gave her the chance to monitor the accompanying chat and see people’s reactions.

At a regular presentation, “some people come up and tell me their own personal experiences of these places,” she said. “I have gotten some pretty good leads from people who came to the presentation.”

It’s her fifth year giving a presentation for a group at the library, and even though she couldn’t see her audience, at least 175 people tuned in to watch the hour-long show.

Last week also marked the debut of her book, “Kansas City Hauntings: History and Mystery of the Paris of the Plains” published by American Hauntings Ink.