The Ghosts of Slaughterhouse Canyon

By Crusader1307

 Kingman, Arizona (US) is like many small communities built (and have survived) in The American West of Our ''Modern Era''. While enjoying (for the most part) – a contemporary existence of Satellite TV and Cell Phones, they are still far removed from the more Urban sprawl of the rest of the Nation. And unlike the rest of The Country, they all seem to have their own brand of legend and of course – Ghost Stories. This tale takes place in a lonely and out of the way location near Kingman called Luana's Canyon. It is better known locally as ''Slaughterhouse Canyon''. The legend goes back to the mid-19th Century and America's ''fever'' with Horace Greeley's proclamation to ''Go West''. The craze to settle in the far flung Western regions of The growing Nation meant prosperity for some....and tragedy for others (many others). It is said that a Husband, Wife and several Children made the center of Luana's Canyon their home. Building a ''rude hut'' they stacked out their homestead. But as with many, the realities of supply and starvation were too powerful. With His family starving, the Father set out to find food. He never returned.


While Mom did not set out with Her children is unknown. What was said to be known was that She and The Kids starved to death. Some say, many years later – their skeletons were found in the remnants of their shack, others – not. But locals to Kingman say that it is NOT a good idea to experience the ''Echo Effect'' in The Canyon. It is stated that when one ''calls out'' into the canyon in hopes of re-hearing their voice ''calling back'', they will only hear the lamented screams of the dying Mother and Her starving children. The exact local ''renaming'' of The Canyon as ''Slaughterhouse'' (locally), is not known.