HAUNTED ALTON, ILLINOIS, USA
I absolutely LOVE Alton, Illinois! I live about five minutes away from the spooky town. I've explored there a lot. I've even done my own paranormal investigations and visited some of the Haunted places in Alton. It is one of my favorite places to go. This is why I must share this Alton, Illinois blog entry with you.
Alton has a rich history of Hauntings. And a rich History in general. Alton is located 25 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1837. Alton is also considered one of the most haunted small towns in the USA! Alton even has a lot of Civil War history as well.
Here is a link to a web site that talks a little about Alton's History: http://www.villageprofile.com/illinois/alton/alton2.html#history
(But that site does not talk much about the Haunted History in Alton, Illinois.)
If you want to learn some of Alton's Haunted History go to this link: http://www.prairieghosts.com/alton.html
I'm sure if you search Alton, Illinois on the web you will find a lot more interesting information.
Anyway, Here are a few Haunted Places in Alton, Illinois, USA:
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Mineral Springs Hotel
Quote:
"The legends of the place claim there are several different ghosts that haunt the corridors and rooms of the Mineral Springs. The first is said to be that of an itinerant artist who was unable to pay his hotel bill back in 1932. His ghost apparently haunts the former hotel bar. This section of the building has served as a shop in recent years but the saloon that once existed here was decorated with fine woods and marble, ornate trim and gargoyle-like figures on the crossbeams. All traces of the bar have since vanished and all that remains behind is the supposedly unfinished mural of the city of Alton that has been painted on one wall. The stories say that the artist who lived here was allowed to paint the mural in exchange for his bill. He died before he was able to finish it and his ghost has remained here ever since."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/mineral.html
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The Cracker Factory
Quote:
"The strange happenings in the building would soon turn out not to be false alarms. As Julie prepared to open the shop for her first day of business, she carefully double-checked to make sure that the doors were locked before she left the night before. She had brand new “open” signs that had been placed in the windows and as she checked to make sure that the doors were locked, she also made sure that the signs read that she was “closed”. She was looking forward to turning them around the next morning. However, someone beat her to it! When she came in the next morning, both of the signs, on both the front and side doors, had been turned so that they read “open”. No one else had been in the building since Julie had left. The only explanation seemed to be that “someone” in the place was happy that she had opened a new antique store in the basement."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/cracker.html
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The Mc.Pike Mansion
Quote:
"The house was built in 1869. The house has not been occupied since the 1950's. It is not uncommon to find in photos of the mansion, orbs, balls of light, even figures appearing in the windows that were not seen by the human eye when the photo was taken. This Grand Ole House is thought to still house many of the spirits that once lived here. Many Psychics and Mediums have felt the presence of what they believe to be McPike family, servants, as well as some of those who resided in and owned the house since 1936. The Cellar has been a focal point of many energies felt in the mansion."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.mcpikemansion.com/
MORE INFO:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/mcpike.html
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The Legends of Alton's Milton School
Quote:
"As the years have passed, these questions have continued to be asked, although no answers are forthcoming. Rumors, stories and whispered legends floated about the school for years and while many students would never learn that the building had a dark and tainted past, others would not be so lucky. During the years when the school was still open, many students spoke of strange encounters in the building, odd events, unexplained sounds, and strange shadows that didn’t belong. Many of these stories would be dismissed as nothing more than a creepy old building settling on its foundations, or the overactive imaginations of elementary school students but others would not. Many former students can tell stories of strange experiences in the old school and also tales of their friend’s encounters with “Mary”"
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/milton.html
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Hop Hollow Road
Quote:
"The spirits of the Civil War in Alton do not confine themselves to this chapter of the book, any more than they confine themselves to the site of the old Alton Penitentiary. As noted already, there are tales of Confederate ghosts who still wander the area that was once Smallpox Island and later on, the reader will also be introduced to an officer who refuses to leave his final resting place. In addition to these haunts, there are also the Civil War spirits whose legend has taken the form of perhaps America’s most popular form of specter – hitchhiking ghosts."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/hollow.html
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The Haunting of Alton's First Unitarian Church
Quote:
"The body of Rev. Phillip Mercer, 48, a suicide, was found at 5:15 Tuesday afternoon in the First Unitarian Church of which he had been minister for the last six years and in which his study was located. The church is located at 110 East Third Street."
"A piece of sash cord about the neck, his body was found suspended from the transom of a door leading from the Sunday School room at the rear of the church edifice into a hallway from which there is a door leading into the yard of the church."
"It is the belief of Deputy Coroner Klunk that the minister had been dead at least 24 hours when his body was found. His neck had apparently been broken, and a chair, standing near the body, indicated that he had stepped from the chair after the sash cord had been affixed."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/unitarian.html
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The Franklin House
"The legend goes on to say that the room where the family of the little girl stayed while in Alton is located on the top floor of the building. During the years when the hotel was still in operation, many guests refused to stay in this room, claiming that it was too cold or that strange sounds kept them up at night. During the period after the hotel was closed down, and while the building was empty for a time, merchant policemen who patrolled the downtown area would sometimes claim to see a light burning in this room, even though the building was locked and empty. After the building was renovated and opened again, employees would report hearing footsteps roaming around in this upstairs room but would always find it empty when they investigated the sounds. They also claimed that when they would go up to check the room, they would find the door mysteriously locked. After retrieving a key and returning to the upper floor, the door would always be found standing open – as if whoever had been inside had decided to leave. The room was never occupied during those brief minutes and no one could figure out why the door behaved in the way that it did."
"Years passed after the hotel closed down and the location was eventually remodeled and renovated, then turned into several stores and a restaurant and tea room. After all of this time though, the haunting continued and employees once again began to tell stories of spirited pranks and glimpses of a little girl in a white dress. In the tea room, silverware would often move around on its own, glasses would inexplicably spill and kitchen items would sometimes mysteriously disappear. A number of guests who came to the place and went upstairs to view the Lincoln bedroom would often ask about the little girl who was playing on the nearby staircase. No one wanted to tell them that there was no little girl present in the building at the time!"
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/franklin.html
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The Enos Sanatorium
Quote:
"Legend also has it that the ornate cupola on the roof of the mansion was used as a signal post for escaped slaves coming from across the river. One light that was placed in the window was said to have been a signal that all was clear and two lights meant that there was danger afoot. The cupola, which towers over the downtown area, could be easily seen from the Missouri side of the river. The house saw quite a lot of activity during the busiest years of the Underground Railroad movement but there are no records to say just how many runaways may have passed through the house’s clever hiding place."
"Some believe that the former slaves who passed through the house may contribute to the haunting that has been reported here for many years. There were a number of tragedies that took place during the years when the Underground Railroad was in its heyday, when slaves were killed, sometimes just before reaching freedom. The Underground Railroad was filled with peril and death and many slaves never reached the north. Because of the danger of capture, sickness and hunger, a number of places associated with the Railroad have been considered haunted over the years".
"The lingering spirits of escaped slaves may explain some of the odd things that occur in this building but it cannot explain them all. The old mansion seems to have two very distinct types of hauntings, one located both in the basement and another among the upper floors of the house. The weird activity beneath the earth very well may be connected to the Underground Railroad but the ghosts upstairs are likely a part of a later era in the house – a time period when scores of people actually perished within the walls of this stately mansion."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/enos.html
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The Mansion House
Quote:
"The building was later used as a Catholic boarding school by nuns of the Ursuline Order and the Daughters of Charity. In 1864, during the height of the smallpox epidemic at the Alton Prison, the house was turned into a hospital and in fact, was the very first hospital in the city. Three Daughters of Charity nuns from St. Louis responded to a plea from President Lincoln to come to Alton and try to get the smallpox epidemic under control. They began treating the sick townspeople at the hospital and at the isolation camp on Smallpox Island. Gradually, under their watchful care, the epidemic began to subside. The legends say that many people who had come down with the dreaded disease died in the Mansion House and claim their ghosts still walk here, restless and frightened of the illness that suddenly ended their lives. And if these ghosts walk here – they may not walk alone."
"According to stories, anecdotes and even historical records, this house was haunted long before the Civil War. In fact, the Mansion House has the rather dubious honor of being one of the first documented haunted houses in the city of Alton."
"The most famous otherworldly resident of the place is the ghost of a man named Tom Boothby. He was a grizzled, old Indian fighter who came to live in the hotel in 1836. Boothby had seen more than his share of adventure during the Indian battles of the War of 1812. As a result, he had retired to Alton with only one arm and one eye, an arrow having put out the other one. Boothby took a downstairs room in the back, left corner of the house and quickly became known as an eccentric recluse. It is believed that he did not leave his room until his death in 1838 and the stories say that he had a boy who would deliver his meals to him each morning. The following day, Boothby would leave a payment, and the empty tray, for the young man to exchange for a full one."
SOURCE: READ MORE:
http://www.altonhauntings.com/mansion.html
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- Rachel Livingston
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