Ghost Sightings Reported at Missouri’s Most Famous Play

If you've ever attended what many consider to be the most famous theatrical performance in Missouri, there's a good chance that you also experienced something supernatural whether you realized it or not as many claim they've seen ghosts in the performance.

Have you ever attended the Shepherd of the Hills in Branson?

I remember my parents taking me to see The Shepherd of the Hills when I was a kid in the early 1970's. It's a very moving drama about the Bald Knobbers who were a group of Missouri vigilantes in the period after the Civil War. Haunted Places has numerous reports of those in the audience and even performers who say they saw something bizarre during the shows. Here are a few eyewitness stories from The Shepherd of the Hills:

Tena: "A short time into the second half I saw a soldier standing to the far left in the tree line. He was standing there watching the play with his hand on a horses reign. The horse was visible too...I looked back at him and he was gone. When we went up to meet the actors I asked one about the soldier and horse and why they had never come on stage. She turned white and told me there was no soldier in the play".

Kevin: "I have heard tales from most of the family and other actors about the ghosts there. My ex-wife had a personal encounter with the Confederate Soldier while on set one evening during the show."

Jolene: "I was with a group of friends in the gift shop when I saw a Confederate soldier standing by a display case...I asked him if he was in the play and he asked me what play. I told him The Shepherd of the Hills, he said he wasn't aware of any play then asked if my mother knew I was out in my skivvies. I was wearing a red tank top and white shorts and had a blanket with me. I laughed and said that we had just come from Silver Dollar City and there wasn't time for me to change. As I was talking to him, people were walking by looking at me strangely...I asked my friends if they saw where the guy I was talking to went, they said I was talking to myself...Then the lady behind the counter said, that's alright honey, you were just talking to our resistant ghost. My jaw dropped and one of my friends said we just can't take you anywhere can we."

I was too young to remember details from The Shepherd of the Hills when I saw the performance as a kid, but I do remember seeing a Confederate soldier in that play. If my admittedly faint memory is correct, I'm not the only one who has witnessed a supernatural performer in The Shepherd of the Hills.