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Haunted: Stories of Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends, Lore and Ghosts in the Rialto Theater and Downtown El Dorado, Arkansas
Imagine for a minute; a ghostly theater, a historic gunfight, a lawless oil boom, and a cast of scoundrels. Now add thirty brothels, characters such as H. L. Hunt—who got his start in Downtown El Dorado—some racy women, and finally sprinkle it all with gobs of money as a roaring 1920s oil boom swept over this little community of 3500 and blossomed it to 40,000 in 18 months. You’ll find an “OK Corral” gunfight, mules drowning in muddy streets, and yes, most importantly, you’ll find an old 1920s theater surrounding by numerous other old buildings.—and they’re all filled with spirits! Is Downtown El Dorado, Arkansas the most haunted town in the country?
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2013
5 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Richard Mason
36 books69 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Richard Mason has always managed to incorporate writing into his accomplished life, whether writing professional reports as a geologist, books in the Sahara Desert, or columns about environmental issues. But it wasnt until six years ago that he started writing seriously when he heard Studs Turkle remark that more writers should write about life. Mason took this comment to heart and began writing remembrances from his childhood in the 1940s and 50s.
As a young boy Mason lived on a small farm in southern Arkansas. He is able to vividly capture an era of American history, before air-conditioning, television and modern technology. His writings reflect a time of brown sunburned feet, shirtless summers and very special country Christmases.
Mason earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in geology from the University of Arkansas. He worked for the King Ranch in South Texas, followed by an overseas assignment on well-sites deep in the Libyan Sahara Desert. Thirty years ago Mason started his own company, Gibraltar Energy in El Dorado, Ark. of which he is currently CEO and President.
In the early 1990s he was the president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and wrote a monthly column covering state environmental issues. Mason also wrote an environmental column which ran in newspapers around the state and hosted an environmental radio show, both called Natural Solutions.
Additionally, he and his wife, Vertis, enjoy restoring historic buildings and have restored 17 buildings where they reside in El Dorado, Arkansas. As a result, the National Main Street organization named it one of the top 15 Main Street communities in the country.
Masons love of writing has become one of the most fulfilling things he has ever done. He reflects on his start many years ago, As I think back to the time, when I sat in a hot trailer in the Libyan Desert writing my first novel, I can truly say my interest in writing, which expressed itself under such meager circumstances, continues today.
Richard Mason has always managed to incorporate writing into his accomplished life, whether writing professional reports as a geologist, books in the Sahara Desert, or columns about environmental issues. But it wasnt until six years ago that he started writing seriously when he heard Studs Turkle remark that more writers should write about life. Mason took this comment to heart and began writing remembrances from his childhood in the 1940s and 50s.
As a young boy Mason lived on a small farm in southern Arkansas. He is able to vividly capture an era of American history, before air-conditioning, television and modern technology. His writings reflect a time of brown sunburned feet, shirtless summers and very special country Christmases.
Mason earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in geology from the University of Arkansas. He worked for the King Ranch in South Texas, followed by an overseas assignment on well-sites deep in the Libyan Sahara Desert. Thirty years ago Mason started his own company, Gibraltar Energy in El Dorado, Ark. of which he is currently CEO and President.
In the early 1990s he was the president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and wrote a monthly column covering state environmental issues. Mason also wrote an environmental column which ran in newspapers around the state and hosted an environmental radio show, both called Natural Solutions.
Additionally, he and his wife, Vertis, enjoy restoring historic buildings and have restored 17 buildings where they reside in El Dorado, Arkansas. As a result, the National Main Street organization named it one of the top 15 Main Street communities in the country.
Masons love of writing has become one of the most fulfilling things he has ever done. He reflects on his start many years ago, As I think back to the time, when I sat in a hot trailer in the Libyan Desert writing my first novel, I can truly say my interest in writing, which expressed itself under such meager circumstances, continues today.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 6, 2023
I love ghost stories and history. The author does admit to fictionalization in order to bring the stories more to life, which I appreciated, but the history of the area was real. The stories were interesting and entertaining. I visited El Dorado after finishing the book and was able to visit the places depicted in the stories and read further about the history of this town. Its fascinating.
Displaying 1 of 1 review