Robber’s Cave Truths, Legends, Recollections by Joel Green
On June 5, 2018, a book signing for Robber’s Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections by Joel Green was held at Blue Blood Brewing Company. After purchasing a book, we made our way downstairs into the area just outside the entrance of the cave where Joel awaited his fans. As people made their way through the line, Joel personally thanked each one, as he chatted and signed the books.
Robber’s Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections was written out of the passion to share the importance of one of Lincoln’s landmarks. Green spent over ten years collecting research, conducting interviews, providing tours, and compiling photographs and images to complete the most extensive history of the cave ever published.
Robber’s Cave is known locally as being haunted and is shrouded in folklore. From ghost stories involving disembodied voices to full bodied apparitions and tales involving Jesse James, the Underground Railroad, and hidden underground passageways linking various buildings together, Robber’s Cave has incited the imagination and curiosity of multiple generations. Over the years, thousands of people have visited the cave, both legally and illegally. Some of the names carved into the sandstone have dates as far back as 1875. The use of the cave has ranged from being used as a brewery, a place for initiations into clubs and fraternities, a public place to spend the afternoon, an area for unguided tours, up the present day where it is being used again as a brewery and for guided tours. Places that contain such an extensive history and continuous flow of visitors can create an energy that remains long after the rooms remain silent.
Although Green mentions some of the ghost stories shared through tours and interviews, he has never had an experience that he would claim to be paranormal in nature. He, like many people, find the cave to be simply intriguing on a level associated with the legacy and history linked to the cave. However, many people have reported paranormal activity over the years, some claiming to have even seen apparitions.
In a paranormal investigation held in the cave on October 22, 2016 by radio station KX 96.9 with physic medium Cheryl Ann Fletcher several interesting reports were made. Although the cave is much cooler, generally a steady 55-degrees, the investigators experienced much lower temperatures than normal. Other activity included flashlight malfunctions, photographic evidence of orbs, sudden feelings of illness, and flashes of hot skin when the presence of a murderer was felt in one of the tunnels. The most interesting pieces of evidence included two eyes appearing just above one investigators head, the presence of a young girl following an investigator around, the presence of a man who had died in the cave, and the sounds of a woman crying (Green 82).
An account of a ghost story in The Courier from November 1894 claims that a young man decided to stay in the cave overnight. He set up his sleeping spot near the back of the tunnel and spent the rest of the evening watching the cave entrance because he couldn’t sleep. After a while, the young man could see a light in the mouth of the cave, followed by two men, one of whom was carrying a large object. As the men drew closer, the young man could see that the object was a woman. Stricken with horror, the young man watched as the two men carried the woman up a ladder and dropped the body over the edge. All he heard after that was the sound of the woman crying out before landing at the bottom (Green 83).
Over the years, people have reported hearing laughter, whispers, and chanting throughout the tunnels. Others have heard the sound of a woman crying in a specific area of the cave. Green experienced flickering lights while setting up for a tour one evening. When he reached the center of the first tunnel, the lights stopped flickering and a single light above his head was the only one that remained on. The sense of being watched and the presence of apparitions have also been reported in the cave. Although people have experienced ghostly activity while in the cave, the area is peaceful and worth visiting.
Robber’s Cave: Truths, Legends, Recollections may not go into detail about the origins of ghost stories revolving around the cave or delve too deeply into the paranormal activity reported over the years, but learning the history of any place that is known to be a haunted location is incredibly important. Green provides an in depth historical experience that provides multiple levels of understanding the history, importance, and lasting legacy the cave has provided. By understanding the past, the ghost stories gain momentum and the tales live on.
You can purchase a copy of Robber’s Cave Truths, Legends, Recollections at:
https://www.robberscavebook.com/
You can also pick up a copy of the book at Francie and Finch Bookshop (in the old Telephone Building) at 301 S. 13th Street, Lincoln, NE
Check out Francie & Finch Bookshop at: http://francieandfinch.com/
Check out Joel Green's Facebook page for more information at: https://www.facebook.com/robberscavebook/
Tours of Robber’s Cave are conducted on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sunday’s at various time periods throughout the day. Tours are 10 dollars and come with a 5-dollar voucher that can be used in Blue Blood Brewery after the tour is completed for any food or drink item on the menu. Tickets are available at Blue Blood Brewing Company or can be purchased on their website. Each tour can take up to 30 people at a time.
Check out Robber's Cave tour information at:
Work Cited
Green , Joel. Robber's Cave Truths, Legends, Recollections. Mighty's Son Publishing, 2018.