Ghosts and Gangsters!

Last night I went with Laura B, Dan and Austin to a tour all about KC's ghost stories and gangsters history. I had been wanting to do this for so long because I love history, especially KC history. We got on the bus at the Edge of Hell (the nation's oldest haunted house) and spent the next 3 hours on the tour. My review for the tour is mixed. I had really high expectations for this because I knew a little of KC's rich history in the mafia and overall, I was disappointed in the presentation of the tour.

My main issue with the tour was the fact that the tour guide didn't tell us the stories, they used an audio file. So, it was difficult to pay attention. If the actual tour guide would have told the stories, it would engage the audience that much more and make it more interactive. The tour was also way too long. It lasted over 3 hours. The audio gave out too much information. It would be a lot more effective to concentrate on fewer stories, but instead you were kinda bombarded with details and couldn't keep up with it all.

So, after saying all that, what I did like was becoming aware of some more stories and people and what I'm going to do is research a little more into the stories and maybe concentrate on one or two stories at a time for you.

If you aren't aware, Kansas City has a very interesting past in mob family crime. It's a shame that these stories get overlooked by other cities, such as New York or Boston. But what happened here is just fascinating to me. To think about what people did on these very streets and in these same neighborhoods. Ever seen the movie "Casino?" That is based on Kansas City mob families trying to control the casinos in Las Vegas.

So, in the upcoming weeks, my mission is to bring you the most interesting stories from KC's past!

In other news, Thursday night was fun because I went to a new place to hear my friend, Thomas, perform. We went to the The Brick, in the crossroads. They had a great atmosphere and great food!

 

Bree outside the Brick on McGee street.

Outside The Brick

Drink Special- sweet tea vodka, orange syrup and lemonade. It was good!

To conclude, I'll give you some facts about our tour's starting point, the Edge of Hell Haunted House. It's the nation's first haunted house, a five-story old building, in the West Bottoms. The area that this is located, to begin with is scary. At the end of the haunted house, the only exit is a five-story spiral slide. It is also the home to the largest anaconda in captivity- a real-live snake that is 22 feet long! The Edge of Hell was recently rated the #1 haunted house in the world, according to americahaunts.com.

Alright, that'll do it for now. More to come soon!

Til next time...Laura