Scoops of Spooky in Downtown Sulphur Springs
Hopkins County has its share of ghost towns, spooky happenings and haunted locations, but we recently learned that the Magic Scoop, located in Downtown Sulphur Springs, Texas, not only just serves up scoops of delicious ice cream – but also scoops of spooky tales!
Several employees have reported feeling or witnessing an eerie male presence as well as the presence of a male and female spirit on various occasions. The male presence has become such a beloved character at the ice cream shop that he has since been nicknamed “Charlie” by the employees. He seems to enjoy lingering in the store’s office. Any time an item is out of place or something odd happens, employees say “Charlie’s at it again!”. The female ghost seems to enjoy browsing the purses for sale in shop!
When we dug a little deeper into the history of the location, we learned that the 2nd floor above the Magic Scoop was once the site of a tragic murder! According to newspaper articles of the time, on December 10th, 1930, a well known local dentist by the name of Dr. Payne (yes, that was his real name!) was tragically shot and killed by his assistant on the stairs leading up to his dentistry practice. She immediately turned herself in and was sentenced to prison. These stairs are still there today and have not changed much since the 1930s.
Could the male presence in the ice cream shop be that of Dr. Payne trying to prevent patrons from eating too many sweets? Or maybe it’s just a friendly ghost with a love for ice cream! Either way, these ghostly presences are nothing but friendly! However, you may think twice when you pass by those eerie stairs on the west side of the square or feel something lurking behind you in the ice cream shop! While you are there, definitely grab a scoop or two of their pumpkin pie fall flavored ice cream!
Sources: The Daily News-Telegram, December 11th, 2930, Ancestry.com
