Have you ever come across something paranormal in Tri-Cities? Well, today we’re going to talk about ghosts and conspiracy theories in Tri-Cities.
Between Prosser and Benton City is an area called Baby Graves in the Horse Heaven Hills cemetery. It is said that a flu epidemic killed many of the young who are buried there, but not all of the graves contain babies. Over the years, many people have left toys or coins to pay their respects. Some say that they’ve also seen an adult walking with a little kid on the road. So tell me, have you heard of the baby graves? 
This other conspiracy is about the paranormal activity at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Prosser has attracted the attention of many ghost enthusiasts over the years, including TV’s very own Ghost Hunters. The church was featured in season 3, episode 16, “Houses of the Holy” in 2007. Witnesses have reported an unexplained boy’s apparition on the property, smells of burning wood, and size six-foot prints that seem to come from nowhere often appear on the wood floor. Visitors have also reported hearing what sounds like children playing throughout the house during the daylight hours, seemingly running up and down the upstairs hallway.
This one may not be as scary, but it may be disturbing. In the summer of 1996, two college students in Kennewick, Washington, stumbled on a human skull while wading in the shallows along the Columbia River. They called the police. The police brought in the Benton County coroner, Floyd Johnson, who was puzzled by the skull, and he, in turn, contacted James Chatters, a local archaeologist. Chatters and the coroner returned to the site and, in the dying light of evening, plucked almost an entire skeleton from the mud and sand. They carried the bones back to Chatter’s lab and spread them out on a table. The skull, while old, did not look Native American. At first glance, Chatters thought it might belong to an early pioneer or trapper. But the teeth were cavity-free (signaling a diet low in sugar and starch) and worn down to the roots, a combination characteristic of prehistoric teeth. Turns out it was more than 9,000 years old and was known as one of the oldest skeletons found in the tri-cities. 
Have you ever heard the tale of the Finley Ghost? People don’t know if it’s real or not, but legend has it that many years ago, a boy (Adam) drowned in the mighty Columbia River off the banks of Finley, Washington, near the Tri-Cities. The boy’s family was so distraught after his drowning that his parents often lingered on the banks near where he drowned. The parents claimed that while “talking” to their son, the boy would answer them with loud bursts in the water. As time went on, the boy’s parents eventually passed away. Finley locals would continue to visit the banks and “talk” to the spirit, otherwise known as the Finley Ghost.
With this, the Tri-Cities’ ghost stories and conspiracy theories keep their mysteries alive. Whether fact or legend, they continue to spark curiosity and imagination in all who hear them. Let us know if you know any other stories, and that’s it for today.
