Missouri's Haunted Route 66 by Janice Tremeear

Author:Janice Tremeear
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2012-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

Vintage postcard of Diamonds Restaurant in Villa Ridge, Missouri. Courtesy Janice Tremeear.

Destroyed in 1948 by a fire large enough to temporarily shut down Route 66, the Diamonds was rebuilt; it was the place for motorists to stop on Route 66—even big names like Elvis Presley, Al Capone and Marilyn Monroe paid a visit to the eatery.

When Route 66 was decommissioned, the Diamonds was moved two miles east and reopened. All that remains of the “new” razed Diamonds is the vintage sign. The rebuilt restaurant on the site of the original Diamonds became the Tri County Truck Stop. Truckers became the mainstay customers for the old Diamonds until newer, easier access truck stops stole the highway traffic. The all-hours restaurant sank into the hangout of the after-hours bar crowd.

The second floor of the Tri County Truck Stop was renovated into rooms and showers. According to the locals, it became the hangout for hitchhikers and prostitutes.

More rumors persist, starting in the seventies with tales of ghostly happenings in the old Diamonds and the surrounding area.

Dan Terry, aka Spookstalker, and his wife, Sherri, shared their experience of a paranormal investigation at the Tri County Truck Stop with a St. Louis-based group called MPR.

In Dan’s account of an interview with a former employee, she claimed someone or something would watch her every time she went into the basement. She heard growling downstairs and was prevented from leaving the restroom upstairs, as if someone was holding the door shut. Her hair was pulled, and when found by another waitress her braid had been pulled loose from her head.

While Dan was there, pots and pans rattled in the kitchen. An investigator saw a flash sink into the floor, and the EVP “Good” was captured on digital recording. Returning a few weeks later during the day with MPR and a new reporter, an old knife lying on the floor suddenly flew at them as if thrown.

On yet another return to the old Diamonds restaurant, an orb was seen crossing the room and disappearing into the wall; later a rock was tossed against a back wall. Pipes shook after the investigators questioned the spirits, asking for them to make themselves known by making a noise. One investigator had been shoved upstairs, and Dan watched a shadow figure on the wall to his right. The shadow man seemed to move above Dan’s head as he confronted it by blocking its path.

Tales of a man known as George are told. He moves things and touches people. Black shadows are seen moving in the buildings, along with a blue form. A man who went by the name of William Bates throws items. He is the stuff of urban legends—possibly a solider or a vagrant and tall, lanky and with a blank look. As with all urban legends, he carries an air of mystery, for no one seems to know who he was or where he came from. Moreover, why was he allowed, as the stories say, to stay in the basement? He was a man of temper and quickly tossed things at people.

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