Haunted Castle House

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United States
Brumley, MO
Haunted Castle House

By reservation only ~ open for paranormal investigations, tours, and special events.

09/04/2026

Here are 2 Pazuzu amulets from around 1000 BC. Pazuzu is probably best known today for his role in the movie The Exorcist, as the demon who possessed Regan. To the Assyrians and the Babylonians, Pazuzu was the king of the wind demons and was associated with causing storms, famines, locust plagues, etc. Interestingly, he also served a protective role for pregnant women and babies by keeping Lamashtu (a female demon) away from them. Most Pazuzu amulets are believed to have been used for this protective reason.

The terracotta bowl is a “demon bowl” (aka incantation bowl) from between 600-800 AD. These were buried face down under houses in the Ancient Near East (modern day Iran & Iraq) to catch demons and protect the house. This practice is similar to the European tradition of concealment garments/shoes placed either under the house or in a wall to protect the home from evil spirits. We have a concealment shoe on display that we found in the crawl space under the Haunted Castle House.

08/25/2026

This week’s curiosities are from ancient Rome, all dating pre-400 AD. The 1st one is a fortune-telling spindle whorl embossed with the Wheel of Fortune (Rota Fortunae). This was placed on a spindle, a thread was wrapped around the outer edge, and then the thread was rapidly pulled off causing it to spin and reveal its prediction (supposedly guided by the goddess Fortuna). One commonly used way to interpret it was dividing it into quarters where the top = good times/success, the right = trouble/tragedy coming, the bottom = loss/trials, and the left = good days are ahead. It will be interesting to see if spinning it generates any type of activity, but that will have to wait until my rehab is completed.

Next are 2 funerary rings. These were removed from the deceased, the band was cut (and in the smaller ring’s case also crushed) to make them unwearable, and then they were buried with their owner. There’s obviously a lot of lore regarding funerary items, especially jewelry. We have several antique rings including Plague Rings, Gypsy Rings, Viking Rings, and a Confederate Soldier’s Ring. To our knowledge, none of these have any unique energy associated with them, but they are fascinating reminders of our past and perhaps could serve as trigger items.

08/11/2026

This week’s curiosity is a collection of three mid-1800’s Victorian Iron Hand & Ball Door Knockers from England. This design is believed to have been inspired by “The Hand of Mary” (aka "The Hand of Fatima") from the Middle East. It was meant to offer protection from the “Evil Eye” and to bestow good luck on the homeowners. Door knockers have a lot of paranormal lore associated with them, especially with respect to 3 knocks after midnight. I’ve included a link in the comments to an article about the “Midnight Knocker” for anyone who may be interested. We are planning on attaching the larger one to the front door. We’re not sure where the other ones will go, perhaps on 2 of the upstairs bedroom doors. We believe the Haunted Castle House was built in 1885, so these should be period appropriate.

08/05/2026

Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to offer any tours or investigations at the Haunted Castle House this year. Judy’s brother was rushed to the ER ~ 2 weeks ago and has now been discharged home on Hospice. Then yesterday, while just taking a normal step in the shower, my new hip dislocated again (4 months after last dislocation). We’re going for a second opinion soon, but my surgeon is great (he did both my knees 9 years ago and I’ve never had a problem with them) and I may just be that 1% outlier for no identifiable reason. At least I’m incredibly blessed to have the best wife as a caretaker that I could ever ask for, and I’m so thankful for her. We’ll continue to post curiosities and potential paranormal phenomenon until we reopen. Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and patience.

07/30/2026

These are 2 “Hate Belts” from World War I. The one with all the same coins belonged to a German soldier, while the other belonged to a US soldier. Hate belts were “souvenirs” soldiers created by attaching coins, buttons, medals, etc. from enemy soldiers that they had captured or killed. The German belt has French coins, 2 have dates from the 1850’s but the other dates aren’t visible. The US belt has items from Germany, the UK, Prussia, and France (the Ally souvenirs were likely gifts rather than “trophies” from prisoners/casualties). The 2 rings are from a German soldier. The Iron Cross ring says, “PAT. NOV. 24, 1914” and has faded writing on one side. These rings were given to German citizens who donated gold, silver, copper, or bronze items to the German War Department to help fund the war. The Prussian Crown ring was a symbol of loyalty and patriotism. Since previous Castle House owners served in ~ every war from the Civil War to the Korean War, and at least 1 owner (James Dickson) served in WWI, these items seem to be a good fit for the house.

07/28/2026

These are the latest additions to our collection of curiosities. They just arrived at our home in Alabama last week and will make it to the Haunted Castle House as soon as I’m cleared for travel. These are from a collector in west central Arkansas who recently passed away. Three of the headstones appear to be unmarked, but once I’m able to clean them up perhaps there will be some trace of a name. The obelisk at the bottom is unmarked too. Obelisks became popular in US cemeteries in the 1840’s as part of Egyptian Revival architecture and remained common through the 1950’s. I don’t have any history regarding these markers or the people they represent, but at least we can provide them with a location where they will still be acknowledged and treated with respect.

07/17/2026

The master bedroom has consistently been our most active site in the Haunted Castle House. There is a pass-through closet, between it and the white bedroom, that is very active too. The closet door to the red bedroom can’t latch securely because the strike plate isn’t present in the door jamb. Periodically each year, this closet door will move back and forth and set off our motion-activated camera. This can happen any time of the year, day or night. Here are 2 videos (the second one is in the comments) from July 4th a little after 2:00 pm where it’s moving again and no one is home at the time. I’m unsure of what the noise is on the first video, or if it’s related to the door moving. This phenomenon has been witnessed by teams investigating the house and by guests on tours, once even opening over halfway before slamming shut with 6 of us in the room. This is the same closet that Judy and I heard the 5 loud bangs come from the first night we stayed there as owners of the house back in December 2018. Any thoughts (paranormal or natural) are always welcomed. Pictures of the door are in the comments too.

07/15/2026

This week’s item is a Chinese ancestral spirit tablet (Shenzhu Pai) from the late 1800’s. These were used as a seat for a deceased loved one and were placed on the family’s altar. According to Google Translate and the help of a friend it says, “Born at the hour of the Rooster (between 5-7:00pm) on the 16th day of the 1st month of the Renshen year of the Tongzhi reign (1872)” and “Passed away at the hour of the Snake (between 9-11am) on the 2nd day of the 6th month of the 5th year of the Guangxu reign (1899)”.

Along with specific ceremonies, lighting candles and burning incense are typical ways they would honor their ancestors. This tablet sets on a table behind me in my office. Since receiving it, I’ve started randomly seeing a shadow darting around and hearing movement behind me while working in there alone. I’m not sure this is the cause of the increased activity, but the timing suggests it may be.

07/09/2026

Since we’ve been closed the first half of this year because of my hip surgery and repairs being done on the house, I’ve been actively collecting a variety of curiosities (primarily through online auctions). I plan on posting 1or 2 each week, along with a brief description, until we reopen again. None of these items have any known attachments, although I have had some curious events occur in my office since receiving one of them. My next doctor’s appointment is at the end of this month and hopefully I will be cleared for travel then. If so, we will reopen tentatively in September.

The first item I’d like to share is a Victorian Physician or Mortician’s Cane made with a human bone for the handle. It came from Missoula, MT and unfortunately there’s no other history with it. I have not been able to find any canes similar to this one, so I’m assuming the physician or mortician made it themselves. Since we’ve had 3 practicing physicians live here, with 2 of them also serving as the county coroners, this item seems particularly well suited for the house.

04/22/2026

Unfortunately, I hit a snag on my hip rehab. A few hours after my 6-week follow-up and the removal of most of my restrictions, my hip popped out of place. After the doctor got it back in the socket, he put me on 12 more weeks of restrictions. In light of this, we’ll have to cancel our May activities at the Haunted Castle House, but hopefully we’ll be ready to start back up in July. On a brighter note, the renovations to the house are coming along beautifully and are almost completed. We apologize for the schedule changes and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Address

841 Highway C
Brumley, MO
65017

Website

http://www.hauntedcastlehouse.com/

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