Currently decked out in its Christmas wonderland regalia, the Vaile Mansion at 1500 North Liberty in Independence, Missouri, is hiding a few dark secrets that the tour guides don’t like to discuss with visitors. In fact, most of them will deny the validity of these disturbing legends of atrocious events associated with the residence and tell you that, “The public has simply misinterpreted the history.”
Independence native, Michael Broadway isn’t buying that story, and he’s working on a project that will bring those legends into the light. He has just published a new Kickstarter project to fund production of his documentary-style video, and a companion ebook, that will take the viewer behind the scenes and reveal what he believes to be the truth.
The culmination of a six month research project, THE VAILE MANSION: HIDDEN SECRETS is the final result of acquiring and sifting through tons of data in order to arrive at the facts upon which the dark rumors are based. And apparently Broadway is the first to create such a product.
“While researching,” Broadway stated, “I found no videos regarding this property, other than a couple of lighthearted, short productions covering the Strawberry Festival. There’s more to this story than that.”
Broadway’s video includes a brief history of the years before construction of the mansion, Harvey Vaile’s association with the Old Star Mail Route, and the mail fraud accusations associated with it. It moves from there to October 12, 1881, when Harvey and his beloved wife, Sophia, move into their mansion. And while most of the history of the Vaile Mansion centers on a beautiful love story, the video reveals the mansion’s darker side—including morphine addiction, suicide, metal cages, and lobotomies.
“According to my sources,” Broadway said, “the museum staff is very tight-lipped when it comes to discussing the details regarding the more distasteful and disturbing things that occurred when the home was used as an insane asylum after the death of Colonel Harvey Vaile. They probably won’t mention that the State of Missouri closed the home down because of the abuse and inhumane treatment of the mental patients.”
If you visit the mansion today (and it’s well worth the $6) you will experience a beautiful Christmas wonderland created by the dedicated volunteers of the Vaile Victorian Society. Enjoy the Christmas trees, the lights, the ornaments, the stockings, but don’t waste your time asking about the third floor, or the basement, because you won’t get much information on those two areas. They’re off-limits to visitors. And, while the society emphasizes the love story that surrounds this Victorian home, they won’t mention the reports of spirits, or the wailing, or the glass-topped coffin.
To view a short teaser video describing the project and what the video covers, you can visit the Kickstarter page at: www.kickstarter.com
CONTACT:
Michael Broadway
michaelvette@gmail.com
913.787.3637
