Today on the Grave Talks, a home for the haunted, the Pythian Castle, a conversation with Melissa Thoreau.

Tucked away in the heart of Springfield, Missouri, stands a towering limestone fortress with a past as

layered and mysterious as its walls, the Pythian Castle. Built in 1913 by the secretive Knights

of Pythias, it was never meant for rituals or brotherhood meetings. Instead, it was built as a home

for aging members nearing life's end,

and orphaned children left behind by tragedy.

But that was only the beginning.

During World War II, the U.S. military took over transforming the castle into a rehabilitation

and holding center site for prisoners of war.

Rumors of confinement, hidden tunnels, and unspoken

wartime horrors still linger in the basement shadows. More than a century later, the castle

still stands and, it seems, so do its former residence. Disembodied voices ripple through

the marble lobby, doors slam where no one

walks, children's laughter echoes in the hallway as does a woman's greeting, but who, and where is she?

Today we step inside the haunted Pythian castle with Melissa Thoreau, where history never rests,

and it seems neither do the spirits.

Melissa, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about the Pithian Castle in Springfield, Missouri.

Crazy thing, I've been to Springfield, Missouri a number of times had no idea this

castle existed. And it's magnificent. You know, it really is. And it's kind of funny you say that

because even some folks who have been in Springfield their whole life don't even realize that it's

there or they've heard of it, but they don't even really know what it is.

They just think there's this random castle in the middle of town.

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