Return to the Goldenrod Showboat

On October 1, 2016 TIP investigators Paul and Brandon and our friend Shana, a volunteer caretaker of the Goldenrod, had the rather unique experience of investigating the over-100 year old Showboat the Goldenrod in Kampsville, Illinois. Goldenrod was the last showboat to work the Mississippi. Unlike paddle wheelers showboats did not move under their own power but were pushed by tugboats. They were basically floating theaters and did not have passenger rooms. In July of 2015 flooding caused her to be moved slightly down river to protect her but instead resulted in the hull buckling and the possible end of the Goldenrod. She is said to be haunted by Captain Menke, his girlfriend Madge, and a young woman named Annie. The boat’s caretakers informed us that the spirits are not happy with what’s happening to the Goldenrod with items being removed and the possible salvage of the whole boat. They believe different spirits are now haunting the Goldenrod.

We each carried a recorder and we placed three more around the boat—in the ticket area, buffet area, and captain’s table. We were joined by two volunteer caretakers of the boat. Just before we arrived one of the caretakers had been on the boat and turned around to find a shadow person right behind him. He left the boat and was waiting for us outside. We performed EVP sessions in various areas of the boat. One of the caretakers felt spirits in the stage area. We also heard a thumping noise from the balcony area and we were unable to determine what it was. We did two ghost box sessions but did not get any responses. However, we caught a few interesting things on our recorders that will soon be on our evidence webpage.

Similar to our investigation at Farrar the sky was full of stars and the Milky Way. You have not lived until you have seen the night sky the way it is meant to be seen with no light pollution. During this visit there were shooting stars which made it special. In addition, we always enjoy the ferry ride both there and back. We want to thank the caretakers for their friendship.