Bide One’s Time: Billy Bob Firestone and the Ghosts of Pythian Castle
Ghosts have been around the Firestone and Prosser families far longer than I knew. I found out at one point in my life that my late Uncle, Billly Bob Firestone who died in 1963, had a ghostly encounter during World War Two. The incident took place at Pythian Castle located on Pythian Avenue in Springfield, Missouri.
Pythian Castle had and continues to have a ghostly history. There have been different sightings over the decades. The story shared here was related to me by my late Uncle, Willard David Firestone.
Uncle Willard related the ghost story this way: In 1942, his brother Billy Bob was on leave, preparing to enter combat in the Army and was set for overseas deployment. Billy Bob was visiting at Pythian Castle when his encounter took place.
“I asked Bob what he saw,” Willard told me.
“I was on the second floor,” Bob said. “The room was empty. But I knew something was not right. I knew I was not alone.”
“Did you see anything?” Willard asked.
“No, but I felt something. I felt two people there with me and thought I heard a woman and man talking together. But there was nothing there. I got the hell out quick!”
Uncle Willard said his brother never went to the second floor alone again. He said Bob talked about it to others, but always shrugged his experience off as one of those unexplainable happenings. Billy Bob was injured in the war and paralyzed. During his later years, his interests included reincarnation, supernatural topics, movies, the music of big bands and Frank Sinatra, and jazz. Before his paralysis, he played trumpet and cornet with great dexterity and verve. Uncle Willard also told me his brother Bob had a wonderful sense of time and place, and was cheerful despite his paralysis at a young age. Billy Bob was in his thirties when he died.
This is but one of numerous stories concerning Pythian Castle and its surroundings over the decades. This particular occurrence happened in my family. As a paranormal researcher into ghosts and the supernatural, I am glad to know about it. Thank you for letting me share it with you in my column.
