All documented legends

South — Documented legend filings

Documented legends in Arkansas

Arkansas keeps 26 documented legends — stories that trace to a published or recorded telling, the shelf where folklore earned a citation. What is verified is the telling: the book, the article, the record that carried the story into print. What the story claims is filed as reported, not endorsed.

26 dossiers7 counties covered62% open to visitorsCrescent Hotel — deepest file

Also filed documented legend:Hawaii76 Louisiana65 Arizona60 Texas58 Virginia55 Michigan52 Illinois50 New York49

Other Arkansas shelves:local folklore19 anecdotal reports11 media-reported hauntings7

High confidence

Crescent Hotel

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Hotel in Eureka Springs; research record.

4 claims · 3 legends→

Railroad Corridor

Gurdon Light

Gurdon, Arkansas

Railroad corridor in Gurdon; research record.

3 claims · 3 legends→

High confidence

White River Monster Folklore Area

Newport, Arkansas

River in Arkansas; research record.

3 claims · 3 legends→

Devil’s Den State Park

West Fork, Arkansas

State park in West Fork; research record.

3 claims · 3 legends→

Boggy Creek / Fouke Monster Folklore Area

Fouke, Arkansas

Folklore area in Fouke; research record.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Ozark Howler country

Fayetteville, Arkansas

The Boston Mountains—home of the horned Ozark Howler.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Pea Ridge National Military Park

Pea Ridge, Arkansas

March 1862—the battle that saved Missouri for the Union.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Petit Jean State Park

Morrilton, Arkansas

The mountain named for a girl who dressed as a boy to follow love.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Rush

The zinc boomtown on the Buffalo—silent since the 1960s.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Allen House

Monticello, Arkansas

Historic house in Monticello; research record.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Keller’s Chapel Cemetery

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Cemetery in Jonesboro; research record.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Arlington Hotel

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Capone’s Hot Springs hotel—the 1924 grande dame across from the Row.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Basin Park Hotel

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

1905 limestone hotel in the crooked-street town—Eureka’s second legend.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Judge Parker’s court and the gallows—"the hangman’s" ground.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Toltec Mounds

Scott, Arkansas

The Plum Bayou mounds—1,000-year-old earthworks older than the name suggests.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Peel Mansion

Bentonville, Arkansas

Colonel Peel’s 1875 Italianate—Bentonville’s grand survivor.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Sultana site

Marion, Arkansas

April 27, 1865—the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Elaine

Elaine, Arkansas

September 30-October 1, 1919—the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history.

2 claims · 1 legend→

USS Sultana

Marion, Arkansas

April 27, 1865—the steamboat that killed 1,800 freedmen.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Old State House Museum

Little Rock, Arkansas

Museum in Little Rock; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History

Little Rock, Arkansas

Museum in Little Rock; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Maple Hill Cemetery

Helena, Arkansas

Cemetery in Helena; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Lorance Creek

Creek in Arkansas; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Mount Holly Cemetery

Little Rock, Arkansas

Cemetery in Little Rock; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

The Empress of Little Rock

Little Rock, Arkansas

Hotel in Little Rock; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Former Railroad Corridor

Crossett Light

Crossett, Arkansas

Former railroad corridor in Crossett; research record.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Full Arkansas record → state index· Every documented legend filing → evidence shelf

Record last amended October 2, 2026 · shelves recounted with the archive