Creepy - The Disappearance of Ashley, Kansas

Episode Date: December 11, 2017

Sometime during the night of August 16, 1952, the small town of Ashley, Kansas ceased to exist, but that's only the beginning of the story. ***Guest narration thanks to Corinne Sanders and Nichole Goodnight***Please consider supporting the podcast at Patreon.com/Creepypod***Sound Design by Steve Blizin***Title music by Alex Aldea***Intro/Outro Narration by Joe Stofko   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is presented and made possible by the Patreon supporters. Melissa Peneo Peterson, Esme Bush, Alex Brown, James Pavzac, and A.J. Real. To support this podcast and get rewards that include early access and commercial-free episodes, please visit patreon.com slash creepypod. This is creepy. A podcast dedicated to sharing the most famous chilling. and disturbing creepypastas and urban legends in the world. Whether these stories truly happened or are simply fabrications is for you to decide.

These stories may contain graphic depictions of violence and explicit language. Listener discretion is advised. The disappearance of Ashley, Kansas, with guest narration courtesy of Corinne Sanders and Nicole Goodnight. Sometime during the night of August 16, 1952, the small town of Ashley, Kansas ceased to exist. At 3.28 a.m. on August 17, 1952, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake was measured by the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake itself was felt throughout the state and most of the Midwest. The epicenter was determined to be directly under Ashley, Kansas. When law enforcement arrived at what should,

It should have been the outskirts of the farming community. They found a smoldering burning fissure in the earth measuring 1,000 yards in length and approximately 500 yards in width. The depth of the fissure was never determined. After 12 days, the statewide and local search for the missing 679 residents of Ashley, Kansas was called off by the Kansas State Government at 9.15 p.m. on the night of August 29, 1952. All 679 residents were assumed to be dead. At 2.27 a.m. on August 30, 1952, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake was measured by the United States Geological Survey.

The epicenter was situated under what used to be the location of Ashley, Kansas. When law enforcement investigated at 532 a.m., they reported that the fissure and the earth had closed. In the eight days leading up to the disappearance of the town and its 679 residents, bizarre and unexplainable events were reported by dozens of residents in Ashley, Kansas, and law enforcement from the surrounding area. On the evening of August 8, 1952 at 7.13 p.m., a resident by the name of Gabriel Jonathan reported a strange sight in the sky above Ashley. The town itself, having no official branch of law enforcement,

called in the police station of the neighboring town of Hayes. Gabriel reported what appeared to be a, quote, small black opening in the sky, unquote. Within the next 15 minutes, the Hayes police station became overwhelmed with dozens of phone calls all reporting the same phenomenon. The phenomenon was never reported by any neighboring communities. The decision was made to send a trooper to Ashley

to investigate the matter the following morning. At 7.54 a.m. on the morning of August 9, 1952, Hayes Police Officer Alan Mace radioed the Hayes Police Station. He reported that, despite following the one-way road leading into Ashley, he had become lost. According to his report, the road, quote, continued along its normal path but somehow ended up back in haze, unquote. Officer Mace went on to add that the road never curved or bent in any direction.

At 9.15 a.m., seven of the town's 10 police cars were sent to investigate the situation, and all members of the team came to the same conclusion. The only road leading into Ashley stopped leading into Ashley, but instead led back to Hayes. Police calls continue to pour into the Hayes Police station, all reporting that the black opening in the sky continued to grow in size. All callers were advised to remain inside, and did not travel outside. unless absolutely necessary. At 8.17 p.m., Miss Elaine Cantor reported her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Milton,

and their two children, Jeffrey and Brooke, missing. According to Miss Cantor's phone call, the Milton's attempted to leave town in their family car earlier in the evening. They never returned. Law enforcement officials from Hayes never reported the car, or individuals, coming up the one-way road. At 7.38 a.m. on the morning of August 10, 1952, phone calls from Ashley into the Hayes Police Station reported that the town was in total darkness.

The sun had never risen. At 10.15 a.m., at the request of Hayes Law Enforcement, a helicopter from Topeka, Kansas, flew over the region in which Ashley, Kansas, stood. The town was never observed from the air. At 12.43 p.m., on the afternoon of August 11, 1952, Miss Phoebe Daniluski called into the Hayes Police Station. She reported that her daughter Erica had begun to have conversations with her father, who had died three years prior in a drunk driving accident.

To add to her concern, Ms. Danaluski reported that Erica was attempting to go outside into the dark to, quote, join them, unquote. Over the course of the next 12 hours, a reported 329 phone calls were placed into the Hays police station, all describing similar phenomenon with the children of the town. The following morning of August 12, 1952, the situation became dire. During the middle of the night, all 217 children in the town of Ashley, Kansas, disappeared. A reported 421 phone calls were placed into the Hays Police Department. Unable to be of any useful assistance, Hays law enforcement instructed all callers to remain inside

and to avoid any and all attempts to finding the missing children. At 5.19 p.m. on the evening of August 13, 1952, Ashley Elderman Scott Luntz reported a growing distant fire to the south. According to his description, the fire seemed to turn the distant black into a, quote, bright red and orange that seemed to extend high into the sky, unquote. Throughout the rest of the day, calls continued in, stating that the fire, in addition to moving north, now seemed to, quote, come out of the black sky, unquote. No fire was ever witnessed by any of the neighboring communities or law enforcement officials.

The report continued until 12.09 a.m. on the morning of August 14, 1952. The last phone call, placed by a Benjamin Endicott, reported that the fire in the sky had grown so intense that it began to appear as daytime over the town. The phone call ended abruptly, from the phone call placed by Benjamin Sherman Endicott. The next phone call wouldn't be placed until the following evening. The following is the entire transcript of the final phone call to be received by the Hayes Police Department out of the town of Ashley, Kansas. It was placed at 9.46 p.m. on the evening of August 15, 1952. In this recorded phone call, the officer on duty is Officer Peter Welsh. The caller has been identified as Miss April Foster.

I came back. All came in the fire. My son. I saw my son last night. He was walking. He was walking down the street. He was burned. Jesus Christ, he was burned.

He died last year. I raised him since he was a baby. It was just me and him. I told him to watch for cars when he rode his bike. But he never wanted to listen. Man, what you're saying isn't making any sense. He died or went missing. They're back, and they're looking for us.

Mommy, I'm okay now. See, I can walk again. Where are you, Mommy? Where are you now? Just like everyone else. Coming through the fields, and some people open their doors for them. It happened to them, but their houses caught fire, and they... I'm hiding in the closet right now, and...

Ma'am, is everything all right? Thank God. The morning at 6.55 a.m., the law enforcement officials of the Hays Police, Department arrived at the location of Ashley, Kansas. A smoldering burning fissure in the earth was all that remained. More information, including pictures and videos of the stories told on this podcast, or to suggest stories for future episodes, please visit us at CreepyPod on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email us. All stories told on this podcast. podcast can be found at creepypasta wikia.com and are protected by a Creative Commons license.

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