Paranormal Events in Madison and Other Counties
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
A STRANGE CASE OF WITCHCRAFT IN PERRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Source: Alton Telegraph, June 30, 1871
A recent dispatch
says, “the town of Frankford, Perry County, Illinois, is greatly
excited over what the citizens regard as a clear case of
witchcraft, recently developed in the vicinity of that town. Two
young ladies, daughters of James Williams, are the victims. It
has been thought by neighbors for some time that something was
wrong with the girls, and a few days since a physician was
called to visit them. He failed to discover the difficulty.
Since that time, immense crowds have visited the girls,
averaging from fifty to one hundred each night.
The
girls are perfectly sane during the day, but at the approach of
night, they become frenzied and uncontrollable, performing feats
that would put first-class acrobats to shame. Scaling the house,
they will dance and “gyrate” on the comb of the roof with
perfect ease and impunity, uttering at the same time the most
hideous and frenzied screams. Very frequently, while performing
such feats, they fall perfectly rigid with spasms, but never
fall off, however near the eaves they may be. During the day, at
which time they are perfectly sane, they seem modest and
reserved. The spell comes on both at nearly the same time,
generally during the twilight, when they both break into a run.
They always run north in the direction of the house of an old
lady, who they say has bewitched them. These spells are put upon
them, they say, on account of their telling something that she
forbade them, and that she and a cat are with them on their
house-top dances. Their conversation, when laboring under these
spells, is in an unknown tongue. They catch and eat all the
flies they can get hold of, until nausea is produced, when they
both vomit at the same time. What one does, the other does at
the same time, and they seem to be moved by one controlling
power.
A VINDICTIVE SPIRIT - MURDER COMMITTED BY ONE OF THE
"MATERIALIZED"
Source: Utica, New York Daily Observer,
December 9, 1874
The St. Louis Democrat publishes the
following, commenting upon which another paper says: "if this
story is true it puts Spiritualism in a new aspect and makes it
a very practical matter of serious import to all." At Mendota,
Ill., lives a medium of extraordinary force named Betty Milton.
Although it's but a short time since her powers in this line
have been developed, she has succeeded in producing
manifestations, according to the testimony of respectable,
intelligent, and credible witnesses, which are fully equal to
any of the phenomena which have been observed among the most
advanced Spiritualists. Lately she has been troubled by the
presence of a Spirit whom she feared and dreaded, but who, in
spite of all her efforts, persistently strove to gain control of
her organization. It was evident that this spirit desired to
manifest through her some strange and dark statement, and its
nature could be guessed at by her occasional wild mutterings
concerning hatred and murder, revenge and remorse. She gradually
yielded to the influence of this troublesome spirit, and
finally, near the close of last month, to be exact, on the 23rd
of October--he stood beside her in the shape of a slender, tall
young man, with long hair and German features! There was a dozen
or more persons present, all of whom saw him and saw that the
medium was in a state of trance, while the materialized spirit
made his ghostly confession in these words, which were heard by
all in the room:
"I come to make a confession, to express
my remorse, to atone as far as I may for a wrong doing. My name,
when in life, was Carl Reystadt. On the night of May 8, 1872, I
murdered Andrew Garrity. It was my crime for which Martin Fynes
died in Alton prison. I was at the time in spirit form, but
assumed the likeness of Martin Fynes when the deed was done, in
order that he might be suspected of the crime and hanged for it.
I stole his knife; I purposely encountered two men who knew him,
that they might honestly swear to have seen him near the scene
of the murder. |I hid the bludgeon where it was found at his
house. I did all this that I might be revenged upon him for a
great wrong he had done me. I was the instrument in the hands of
an all-wise justice in taking the life of Andrew Garrity, for he
deserved his fate; but my purpose |was evil. In my later
spirit-life, in higher stages of progression I have learned
forgiveness. I have been taught to repent the deeds of my wicked
heart. For this reason I have come back to attest the innocence
of Martin Fynes."
Having finished this confession, the
form began to fade, and shortly disappeared and was never seen
again! The circumstance was so singular that inquiries were set
on foot by two gentlemen, Mr. N. Moulton, of Mendota, and Mr. B.
Longley of Centralia. They discovered that there had been such a
person as Andrew Garrity, that he had been murdered as stated in
the spirit confession, that Martin Fynes had been arrested for
murder, and that he had died at Alton. They also discovered that
Carl Reystadt been ill-treated by Martin Fynes, and that he was
dead when Garrity was murdered. In the trial the evidence was
conflicting. Two men swore they had seen Fynes, on the night of
the murder, near the place where the body was found, with a
bludgeon in his hand, and that they had spoken to him but he did
not answer them. Four other persons testified that he was at a
distance from the spot where the murder occurred and accounted
for all his movements during the night. It was proved, however,
beyond a doubt, that the knife which was found near the murdered
man was his property. Several other circumstances were put in
evidence for and against the prisoner and the entire testimony
was so puzzling that the jury could not agree and were finally
discharged. Fynes was sent to the State prison for a third
trial, but died before it could take place. In these
proceedings, there was nothing unusual or supernatural, but
there were some circumstances connected with Fynes' prison life,
in jail, and in State prison, which are entirely unexplainable
except in view of the revelation which purports to have been
lately make by the spirit of Carl Reystadt, through the
mediumship of Miss Betty Milton.
While in prison, Fynes
professed to have been visited and persecuted by the ghost of
the young German who appeared to him when his cell was dimly
lighted, even in the presence of other persons, telling him that
he (Fynes) was going to be hanged, and frightening him to such
an extent that it was thought best never to leave him alone at
night. The only person besides Fynes who claimed to have ever
seen this spiritual persecutor was one of the keepers, who
declared that he caught a glimpse of him at a time when Fynes'
cellmate was removed for a few minutes. He described the ghostly
intruder as being the exact counterpart of Martin Fynes,
standing by his side, and differing from him in no particular of
dress, or in feature. The keeper was so astonished at this
vision that he hastily closed the door and called for help. In a
few minutes it was opened, but the counterpart had disappeared,
and Fynes was lying on his pallet in a fainting condition, or in
a state of trance. Thereafter Fynes declared that the murder of
Garrity had been committed by a demon that had taken his form
and had possessed itself of his knife, and that this demon had
frequently visited him in the jail at Carlinville, and in the
State prison, terrifying him almost to death. Of course he was
regarded as insane and the keeper who declared he had seen the
vision above referred to was considered as being in no better
mental condition. Fynes died without making any confession, but
stoutly adhering to his statements concerning his supernatural
visitant, and both he and his supposed crime were forgotten
until the time of the remarkable revelation that purported to be
made through the mediumship of Miss Betty Milton. It is a
strange story as it stands, and we leave the credulous and the
incredulous to puzzle their brains over it as they please, only
adding that it is published here just as we received it.
GHOSTLY
VISIT AT PUBLIC INSTITUTION
Source: Alton Weekly Telegraph,
October 4, 1877
We hear rumors that a public institution
[possibly an early hotel] in Alton has been greatly troubled
lately by strange sights and sounds. Noises have been heard as
of stones thrown against the house, ghostly hands clasping
stones have been seen waving in the air, and other circumstances
occur that cannot be accounted for in any ordinary way. All
attempts thus far to exorcise the spirit, or whatever it may be,
have been in vain.
ALTON GHOSTS VISITS EAST NEWBERN
Source: Alton Telegraph,
March 6, 1879
East Newbern has been visited by a ghost. Last
Sunday evening, when a resident of that place, with his family,
returned home from church, they saw a gentleman, a resident of
Alton, seated at the organ with a lady sitting in a rocking
chair at his side. The lady of the house put her hand on the
shoulder of the gentleman and spoke to him, when he and his
companion melted into air, to the great consternation of the
beholders.
HUSBAND HAUNTS HOME
Source: Alton Democrat, July 16, 1880
From Jerseyville: It is unwise for the press to encourage
superstitious minds by giving prominence to such theories very
often, but the particulars of this instance are of interest and
deserve investigation. Richard Downs, a colored barber, died
recently in this city [Jerseyville], and since then his wife
says he appears every night, walks the floor for a while, then
vanishes. Mr. Downs, by the way, is nearly white, possessing one
sixth African blood in a woman of education and refinement, and
is well respected among both white and black for her noble
traits of character. She could not be persuaded to remain, and
has left the house. Other colored people say they witnessed the
strange phenomenon and vouch for the statement of Mrs. Downs.
THE MILTON CEMETERY GHOST (ALSO
CALLED THE ALTON JUNCTION, AND THE WOOD RIVER GHOST):
A FIRST CLASS GHOST SENSATION AT
MILTON CEMETERY
Source: Alton Daily Telegraph, December 15,
1881
A first class ghost sensation is now exciting the
people, it being currently reported that one of the mysterious
fraternity has lately been seen in an adjoining graveyard. His
ghostship only appears to single individuals, seeming to be
troubled with a diffidence that impels him to avoid a crowd. A
party of three or four went on a ghost hunting expedition a few
nights since, but owing to the bad weather or some other
hindrance, there was no supernatural appearance. Some
individuals, however, have been "scared out of a year's growth,"
and state that the spook is no humbug. A party of eight
Altonians visited the Milton cemetery last night, saw the ghost,
but did not venture to interview it.
THE WOOD RIVER GHOST
Source: Alton Daily Telegraph, December 16, 1881
We gave an
account yesterday of the supernatural visitor that is said to
haunt the Milton cemetery, and has been terrifying the citizens
of Alton Junction lately, and also of the trip of eight
Altonians to interview the mysterious apparition. The Altonians,
with unheard of valor, went within sight of the haunted spot,
and at about 10 o'clock, were rewarded with a view of the
mysterious being. It appeared to them as a man clothed in a
black mantle, with long, flowing hair, the height of the ghost
ranging from six to nine feet, according to the magnifying power
of the "bulging" eyes that stared at it, the company being
speechless through amazement. It is reported that they had the
temerity to stand within a hundred yards of the vision for 15
minutes, and then withdrew without disturbing the ghost in the
least, it walking back and forth a distance of 40 or 50 feet
with a military and preoccupied air that was quite startling.
Whether material or supernatural, the apparition was enough to
demoralize the Altonians and send them back to town in disorder.
One of the railroad employees at the Junction visited the
haunted spot a few nights ago, saw the apparition and bravely
approaching it thrust his arm directly through its body. This
completely unnerved him, and he retreated to the Junction pale
as the traditional ghost, and firmly convinced of the
supernatural character of the visitant. The old residents assert
that the apparition is that of a man buried on the knoll in
1839. How they know that is a matter not yet explained.
Meanwhile, Alton Junction has a sensation and is happy, though
trembling.
THE MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
Source: Alton
Daily Telegraph, December 19, 1881
The nightly pilgrimages to
the Mecca of wonder lovers, Milton Cemetery, still continue, but
with but little success for the past two nights, although some
peculiarly gifted individuals still claim to see the mysterious
nocturnal visitor. The Upper Alton students say that no one sees
the ghost now, for the simple reason that one of their crowd
shot it a few nights ago, and in proof of this assertion, they
have an ungainly form suspended to a wire in Pie Town, in such a
position that all desiring to do so can communicate with the
"remnants" by telephone. One man who visited the ghost's walk
last night states that the only "appearance" that he saw was a
paper image hung to a tree, although a spirituous influence was
quite manifest on the crowd he went with. This man is now the
"guest" of the city, and can be interviewed by any curious
inquirer. It is said that the grave reputed to be the
apparition's resting place is somewhat stirred up near the head,
at the place where the spirit would naturally make its exit and
entrance, looking something like a mole had been at work.
PARTY OF MEN SEARCH FOR MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
Source:
Alton Daily Telegraph, December 19, 1881
A party of men in a
wagon went to Milton cemetery last night in search of the
celebrated ghost. They had a supply of liquid refreshments
along, and although they failed to see the spook, some of the
number were so overcome by the influence of the "spirit" of the
kind that appears from a bottle, that they became excited and
unruly, and finally created such a disturbance at a house in
"Glass Avenue," on their return, firing pistols and kicking at
the door, that Policeman Schielle arrested one of the rear guard
and locked him up. He was fined $10 and costs this morning, by
Justice Noonan.
THE GHOST REDIVIVUS - MILTON CEMETERY
Source: Alton Daily Telegraph, December 21, 1881
From the
reports received from the haunted Milton cemetery a few days
ago, we labored under the pleasing illusion that the ghost was
laid and its "manes" pacified, but it seems that this was a
flagrant error. The trouble heretofore has been that the
investigators have been of timid and "retiring" dispositions,
fearful of offending the apparition, and hence have not
displayed the proper courage. Monday night, however, a valiant
little party, men who did not know what fear was, the "bravest
of the brave" went to the place, resolved to do or die. As an
evidence of their valor, not to say rashness, they sat down
cooly, lighted their pipes, and patiently awaited the mysterious
appearance. Luckily they did not have long to tarry. About 10
o'clock one of the number looked over the ground and beheld a
sight that caused each individual bristle to stand erect on his
head, like the "quills of a frightened forkentine." About twenty
paces off stood a form, eight feet high, with a long, white
beard and tremendous eyes, big as a couple of holes burned in a
blanket. It glared upon the intruders with optics having no
speculation in them. The discoverer of this horrid sight
exclaimed in an awe-struck whisper, "Boys, there it is," and
immediately there was a stir; the "veterans" rose to their feet,
a few ineffectual shots from revolvers were fired, and as the
apparition glided toward them, its footsteps silent as the
grave, the "bravest of the brave" took to flight. They hurried
slightly, in fact it would be no exaggeration to say that they
ran so wildly and aimlessly that they missed the entryway and
lit into a hedge, tearing their garments and scratching
themselves terribly. But they escaped the ghost, and say that
they have had enough of the search after the supernatural.
THE WOOD RIVER GHOST
Source: Alton Telegraph, December
22, 1881
We gave an account last week of the supernatural
visitor that is said to haunt the Milton cemetery, and has been
terrifying the citizens of Alton Junction lately, and also of
the trip of eight Altonians to interview the mysterious
apparition. The Altonians, with unheard of valor, went within
sight of the haunted spot, and at about 10 o'clock, were
rewarded with a view of the mysterious being. It appeared to
them as a man, clothed in a black mantle with long, flowing
hair, the height of the ghost ranging from six to nine feet,
according to the magnifying power of the "bulging" eyes that
stared at it, the company being speechless through amazement. It
is reported that they had the temerity to stand within a hundred
yards of the vision for 15 minutes, and then withdrew without
disturbing the ghost in the least, it walked back and forth a
distance of 40 or 50 feet with a military and preoccupied air
that was quite startling. Whether material or supernatural, the
apparition was enough to demoralize the Altonians and send them
back to town in disorder. One of the railroad employees at the
Junction visited the haunted spot a few nights ago, saw the
apparition and bravely approaching it thrust his arm directly
through its body. This completely unnerved him, and he retreated
to the Junction pale as the traditional ghost, and firmly
convinced of the supernatural character of the visitant. The old
residents assert that the apparition is that of a man buried on
the knoll in 1839. How they know that is a matter not yet
explained. Meanwhile, Alton Junction has a sensation, and is
happy though trembling.
GHOST HUNTERS
Source: Alton
Telegraph, December 22, 1881
This city and surrounding
country are so thoroughly aroused by the thrilling stories of
the appearance of the ghost at the Milton cemetery, that the
subject is the general theme of conversation among all classes.
A strange circumstance in connection with the matter is that the
bravest individuals are those farthest from the scene of action.
A crowd, estimated at over 300, went to the haunted graveyard
last week, resolved to fully investigate the matter; they were
like an army with banners, except that they had numerous torches
and lanterns instead. The company made a great deal of noise,
some even using unseemly, disrespectful language in respect to
the ghost, consequently that individual did not appear, although
the "hunters" crowded the place until after 12 o'clock, the
witching hour when graves are supposed to "yawn and give up
their sheeted dead." A gentleman, who is well posted in ghost
lore, states that apparitions will only appear to particular
favored individuals, and that when the right person comes the
visitant from the other world will speak, relieve its perturbed
mind, and then rest in peace. It is no use to try to shoot one,
for the fool-hardy individual who would attempt it would,
undoubtedly, receive the bullet, even though he used a silver
one, in his own person. In the meantime, the excitement
increases and many authentic, blood-curdling ghost stories are
related to admiring listeners, around the kitchen stove, while
the harrowing suspense of the desperate men, who go out at night
with their lives in their hands, as it were, and their "pocket
pistols" duly charged, can be better imagined than described.
The latest report is that some of the more sedate ones, who
remained after the noisier part of the crowd left, were rewarded
by a view of the supernatural visitant, much such an appearance
as we have already described. The ghost has been interviewed, as
we learn, by a gentleman who wishes to remain strictly
incognito, to whom it stated that it was the spirit of a man
murdered on the railroad near Alton Junction a few years ago,
but having been carelessly prepared for the grave, unbecomingly
arrayed, laid in the coffin in an uneasy position, with a nail
reaching through the casket and penetrating the body, it was
impossible to rest under the circumstances, and this was the
cause of the restless spirit's materialization in the cemetery.
GHOST OF ALTON SIX TO NINE FEET HIGH
Weekly Graphic,
Kirksville, Missouri, Friday, December 23, 1881
Alton,
Illinois has a ghost which has placed that little city and
vicinity in a fever of excitement. Unlike ghosts in general,
this one dresses in black and has long flowing hair, and is said
to be from six to nine feet high.
A REMARKABLE GHOST STORY - EXPERIENCE OF A PHYSICIAN YEARS AGO
Source: Alton Daily Telegraph, December 9, 1890 and the Alton Telegraph, December 11, 1890
Editor Telegraph: One ghost story is nearly always productive of another. There is something peculiarly mysterious about ghost stories, although no one yet has been found who has felt that he could say positively that the apparition he saw was someone, who had at some time inhabited a tenement of flesh and blood and walked among men. A number of years ago, the writer was sitting in the office of - at that time - a well-known physician. The subject of apparitions happening to come up by the report that a ghost had been seen in the eastern end of the city, the Doctor said: "If you have no objection, I will tell you my experience with ghosts." The Doctor was a good storyteller, and could always have an audience when professional duties permitted. Settling myself in a chair comfortably, I said to the Doctor: "go ahead; I am fixed for ghosts tonight." After pondering a second or two, and casting a glance around him as if looking for someone, he began:
"Some ten or twelve years ago, I had a very large practice in the American Bottom, east of Alton. I would frequently be called out at night in that neighborhood, and spend a large portion of it in making calls and in returning to my home. On these occasions I always took my driver along. He was a tall, muscular Irishman, strong as an ox, and apparently without fear. We both had weapons with us in case of need, although we never had occasion to use them. The night in question I was called to attend a family living about six or eight miles below the city, on the St. Louis road. It was one of the handsomest nights I ever saw. The moon was full and cast such a glorious light that the trees and houses seemed illumined. The air was keen and crusty with frost - a typical December night. We reached the homestead of the family where the call came from about 9:30, and found two cases of diphtheria - in almost the last stages. I stayed with the family for a couple of hours, affording such relief as I could. Between eleven and twelve we started on our return. I felt somewhat blue over the prospects for the recovery of my two patients, and with foreboding fears that more of the family might be taken down with the dread disease. I said nothing to my driver, meditating upon how little a physician could do, with all his much-vaunted skill, when death put in a claim.
We
had reached, shortly after 12 o'clock, that part of the road
lying near the old cemetery at Milton. As is well known, Milton
cemetery is on the top of the hill, overlooking the road.
Noticing the hill, my thoughts ran to the many ghost stories
that had been told of that famous spot. My attention was
suddenly called by an exclamation from Patrick, my driver: "By
all the saints, Doctor, what's that ahead of us?" Quickly
glancing in the direction, I saw a figure, some two hundred
yards in advance of us, standing in the middle of the road and
apparently facing us. It seemed to be of the height of an
ordinary person, and appeared to be covered with a sheet. I
thought it was someone trying to frighten us. I told Patrick so,
and we drove on until the horse caught sight of the object and
would go no farther. Fearing that the animal might break the
vehicle, I said to Patrick to hold the horse and I would go and
investigate the apparition.
I took the buggy whip in one hand and my pistol in the other, prepared, as I supposed for the would-be ghost. As I drew near it, I saw that holes appeared to be cut in the sheet about where the eyes and nose ought to be, but there was no movement in any part of it. It was as cold and as stiff looking as a marble monument. A little closer I observed that feet, clad in white stockings, protruded beneath the sheet. I shouted, when within a rod, "who are you and why do you stand there trying to frighten my horse?" There was no sound uttered, or movement made by the figure. I was astonished beyond measure. My heart thumped and beat so loudly that I was sure Patrick could hear it, and the ghost too if it had ears. At last, mustering up courage, I made a rush for the figure. I raised my whip and brought the heavy end down with all my strength on the figure's head. But imagine my surprise, instead of striking the creature, my whip cleaved through it and struck the place where its feet stood. The next instant the most unearthly, the most horrible yell that ever pierced the ears of any mortal, came from the spot where the blow from my whip was aimed. The shriek of a dozen catamounts [wild animal of the cat family] could not have equaled it. I was paralyzed for a few seconds. When I came to myself, there was nothing to be seen. The echo had died away.
Turning towards my buggy, the horse was prancing and jumping. When I reached it the animal was covered with sweat, trembling like an aspen, and Patrick was speechless. After having spoken to him several times, he stammered, "What was it Doctor?" I didn't tell him. I didn't say anything. We drove off in silence, and as we passed the spot where the figure stood, the horse shied and plunged, and a peculiar odor seemed to pervade the atmosphere. In the course of ten or fifteen minutes, Patrick told me that just after the screech the figure seemed to flit through the air, its white stockinged feet protruding beneath the drapery, towards the cemetery on the hillside, and disappeared in the ground. That was all I ever saw. Patrick could not be hired to pass that way again. He soon after left my employ and went from the city. I did not speak of the apparition to anyone, because I must have a driver, and I was confident that it would be almost impossible to secure one that would pass along that road, if it was told.
I made the same trip the next night, and many nights since, and never again saw the strange visitant. No one else, that I ever heard of, saw it afterwards. I have often thought of it and tried to reason it out. Had not Patrick and his horse seen and heard it I should have persuaded myself that it was an illusion. You are the first person to whom I have told it. Never speak of it until I am gone. Then you may publish it if you want to." The old physician relapsed into silence. He never mentioned the story again. A few years afterward he passed away, having served his generation well.
HORSE BOLTS WHEN NEAR MILTON CEMETERY - WAS IT THE GHOST OF
MILTON CEMETERY?
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, February 7,
1902
Two young men hired a horse and sleigh from C. Seibold
last night, and started off towards East Alton. When near Milton
cemetery the horse started to run away and upset the sleigh. The
young men were thrown out, but not much damaged. The sleigh was
badly used up and the horse becoming detached from it was caught
by Bill Henry at East Alton. The horse dragged Mr. Henry about
forty feet before he was stopped.
MYSTERIOUS WARNINGS
Source: Alton Daily Telegraph,
November 24, 1883
A gentleman tells of two mysterious
occurrences in his experience – events that cannot be accounted
for by natural causes, but serve to illustrate the strange,
unknown forces at work throughout the moral and physical
universe. On one occasion, he and his wife were sitting by their
fireside in Alton, when a window sash in the room was violently
shaken. This happened three times, the night being calm, with no
wind blowing to account for the occurrence, and no person being
near to cause the noise, as was the first natural supposition.
The hour of the occurrence was noted, and a few weeks afterwards
the gentleman received the sad news of the death of his father,
which took place in Germany at the exact time of the mysterious
noises.
The same gentleman afterwards heard a loud,
distinct, unmistakable tapping on a window pane, a bright
moonlight night, at the hour of the death of a brother, which
took place in England. This was also heard by his wife. Neither
of them is at all superstitious, but they were convinced that
the sounds could be accounted for by no natural means. Happening
at the time, in both instances, of the death of a near relative,
they made a strange, startling impression.
HEADLESS GHOST ON CHOUTEAU SLOUGH
Source: Edwardsville
Intelligencer, March 1889
A headless ghost in Nameoki has
been parading the banks of Chouteau Slough recently, and several
young ladies have become nervously agitated by the ogre. It is
supposed to be a deserter from one of the numerous tombs in the
Ebenezer Ridge Cemetery.
NOTES:
The Ebenezer Ridge
Baptist Church was established on Chouteau Slough in 1842. It
was destroyed by flood in about 1904. The Ebenezer Ridge
Cemetery is in very poor condition, and only a handful of stones
remain. It is located off of Rock Road, west of Rt 3 in Granite
City.
What did the young ladies see? Was it a headless
ghost from the Ebenezer Ridge Cemetery? Chouteau Island, just
west of Granite City, is home to an old French settler
graveyard. Was the ghost one of the French settlers? You decide!
SHOWER OF ROCKS FALLS ON ALTON HOME NIGHTLY
Source: Jersey
County Democrat, October 10, 1889
(From the Alton Sentinel
Democrat)
Mystery of the supernatural shower of rocks that
has been nightly falling on the residence of Mr. Gottleib Kaeser
at Third and Cherry Streets for the past two weeks still remains
unsolved. The excitement concerning the mystery, however,
continues to increase, and Second Street [Broadway] was lined
with people last night enroute to the scene of the strange
unearthly happening. A preconcerted effort was made last night
to discover, if possible, from what direction the missiles came.
A crowd of several hundred completely surrounded the house at
eight o’clock, and awaited with anxious eyes and bated breath. A
superstitious stillness pervaded the crowd, and the force of
numbers is all that prevented many of the spectators from taking
flight. The careful vigil was without avail, however, and the
concourse of curious watchers were doomed to disappointment, as
the shower failed to come. Though much disappointed at not
getting to see the mysterious sight, the crowd was not sorry to
leave, as the atmosphere in that vicinity was very disagreeable
on account of the chilly sensations imparted. The residents of
Hunterstown are loath to believe in omens, prognostics or
spirits, and they are determined to ferret out the mystery. That
the shower of rocks comes there can be no denying, and who and
where it comes from is what they intend to find out, if it is in
any way possible.
NOTES:
Rock showers are a paranormal
event that is common throughout history. It is usually
unexplainable. Was it caused by a ghostly poltergeist in the
home? Or was the rock shower caused by a “human agent” who
unconsciously caused it? The Gottleib home, at 302 Cherry
Street, where the rock shower occurred, is not far from the Rev.
Elijah P. Lovejoy home. Was there a connection? Gottleib was a
local carpenter, who died in November 1907. An explanation of
the rock shower was never discovered.
GHOSTS IN UPPER ALTON
Source: Alton Telegraph,
January 15, 1885
The family living in a certain house in the
east edge of town have been very much exercised of late, over
some supernatural proceedings about their premises, which they
attribute to ghostly visitations. The spirit is given to
unlocking and unbolting doors, even removing bars and braces. It
also terrifies the inmates of the house by “long-drawn groans
and sounds of woe.”
GHOST OF THE ALTON PRISON
Source: Auburn, New York Daily Bulletin, July 5, 1889
A ghost
with the lockstep is one of the rarities of spiritualism, but
that is what they say has been heard near the old prison at
Alton, Ill. [Note: a lockstep is a way of marching in very close
file, in which the leg of each person moves with and closely
behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead.
PETER REYLAND AND THOMAS CONVARY MEET A GHOST
Source:
Alton Daily Telegraph, May 31, 1892
Last Friday evening,
Messrs. Peter Reyland and Thomas Convary had quite an experience
with a spirit from the other world. The gentlemen left the
residence of Mr. Reyland in a wagon about 5 o'clock to cut a few
bean poles. They drove along slowly, being in no hurry, to a
thickly wooded patch of scrub oak, back of Upper Alton, to a
place known as the John Smith farm near the cut off, arriving
there about sundown. With an ax, both began to cut small shoots
and trees such as could be used for their purpose. Each had cut
several poles and were proceeding to another spot, when Mr.
Reyland beheld a ghost. Both men were spellbound and stood for
several seconds as the spectre with fiery eyes came toward them.
The weird scene in the lonely place was too much for the pole
cutters, and they ran with might and main towards where their
horse was tied. A barbed wire fence was scaled in one leap and
both men, much exhausted, reaching their wagon, put whip to the
horse and left the spectre in possession of the lonely woods.
Messrs. Reyland and Convary cannot describe in words
what they saw, but will never go to the spot again by night. The
place where the ghost was seen is a lonely place. On both sides
of the woods are deep ravines, thickly covered with underbrush.
Probably the gentlemen cut a small tree under which slumbered
some one of our ancestors, who aroused from his rest, resented
the intrusion. The little experience will be remembered.
NOTES:
The John H. Smith farm was located north of Upper
Alton, between Humbert Road and Seminary Street. The woods and
ravines are located behind the Farm & Home Store. Peter Reyland
was the son of a respectable Alton businessman, who conducted a
store at Ninth and Henry Streets. Both he and Convary were well
known and well liked in the community. Whatever frightened them
that evening in 1892, I’m sure they did not venture there alone
again. Perhaps the spectre with fiery eyes was an old settler or
Native American who was buried there. Would you dare to walk
there in the night?
GHOST OF FOURTH OF
JULY HILL
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, December 21, 1895
According to Mr. Harry Johnson, the ghost of Fourth of July Hill
has broken out again, and is once more preventing sleep from
embracing some of the colored citizens of the vicinity. It must
be a very discourteous, sour old ghost that would disturb the
peace and dissolve joy, at this, the merriest time of all the
year, and he should "be laid."
DUTCHTOWN GHOST
Source: Edwardsville Intelligencer,
February 7, 1896
A real ghost is reported to be making its
appearance in Dutchtown nightly at about 11 o’clock. Quite a
crowd witnessed its perambulations in Jim Bailey’s vineyard the
other night.
SPOOKS AND SPIRITS HAUNT ALTON NAVAL MILITIA HALL
Source:
Alton Evening Telegraph, November 23, 1897
"Didy" Woods had
an experience yesterday at Naval Militia Hall which he will not
soon forget. He had been given the keys and sent over to clean
out the hall, but it was only a short time till Didy returned
with the keys, declaring he had seen and heard strange things,
and under no circumstances would he complete the job. Didy had
not been at work long, he says, before a shadow crossed his
path. Turning around quickly, a man's head was seen, which
gradually dwindled into the shape of a rat. Then it disappeared,
and strange sounds took its place. There were weird shrieks and
laughing under the stage, then rappings; then a stove pipe in
the same place began to roll around. To cap the climax, Didy
swears the shovel, which was standing in the corner, began
jumping up and down just like it was dancing a jig. The ghost
may have cut up other antics, but if it did, Dionysius did not
see it, for the very good reason that he left the hall as fast
as his feet could carry him.
Didy was almost a pure
white when he came to deliver up the keys. The boys will
organize a search party at the drill meeting tonight and explore
under the stage. If they should happen on Mr. Ghost, they will
no doubt endeavor to explode the theory that a ghost is
impenetrable. At any rate, if he has several bayonets thrust
through him, it will only partly repay him for the fright Didy
received.
The most serious feature of the business is
that Didy has been the grand "Mascot" of the Navy boys since the
organization of the company, and now that he has begun to see
"ha'nts," they will have to look up someone else. They do not
want "uncanny" people around, and if Didy has the faculty of
calling spirits from beneath the stage, from the stove, from the
chimney, and even from arc lights, he will have to go. Didy
persists "dat dis house am 'ha'nted,' suah."
NOTES:
The Alton Naval Reserves was mustered in February 1, 1896, by
Captain D. C. Daggett of Moline, then Commander of the Second
Battalion. Prior to the mustering, a group of forty young men
banded together under the name of the "Morrell Guards," and were
fully officered. They held regular drill meetings in the McPike
building, which was formerly the Root Opera House on Belle
Street (now where Mac’s Time Out Lounge is located). While this
was going on, several prominent citizens, headed by Senator C.
A. Herb, were doing all in their power to obtain a position for
the "Morrell Guards" in the Second Battalion, Naval Militia.
About January 24, 1896, word was received that Captain Daggett
would muster the organization into the Naval Militia, and this
was done February 1, 1896. The Alton Naval Militia served during
the Spanish-American War (1898).
Dionysius “Didy” Woods,
a youth, was a popular "mascot" of the Alton Naval Militia, and
accompanied the men on their outings. He was also given the task
of cleaning the hall. Whatever happened that November night in
1897 was never explained. He would not return to the hall alone.
The men later found a black cat in the hall, but that would not
explain all that Didy experienced. Whispers of a ghost at the
Root Opera House were often heard previously. Does the ghost
still walk Belle Street?
PHANTOM BUGGY IN UPPER ALTON
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph,
May 23, 1901
Upper Alton has a mystery which bids fair to
rival State street's woman in black. It has been named by one
worthy citizen, the Phantom Buggy. For several weeks this
noiseless vehicle, drawn by a shadowy steed whose movements are
so slow and quiet that they are scarcely perceptible, has
appeared in the gloom of the evening on different streets of the
village, and has excited no little curiosity and speculation.
The buggy is rigged with a closed top and appears to contain two
muffled forms which neither speak nor move. It was last seen by
a college professor, whose veracity has never been questioned,
as he was returning from a faculty meeting. On the loneliest
part of the way he saw this mysterious equipage and immediately
recognized it and thought to challenge it, but the awful
stillness appalled him and he fled in terror, thinking he was
followed by a ghostly cavalcade [procession] of horsemen and
carriages. College professors are all given to more or less
theorizing, and he now believes they are the phantom of men and
horses whose lives were lost in the mud on College avenue during
the past two winters, and that only the paving of that street
will soothe these unhappy spirits.
GHOST OF WOMAN WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE
CAUSES FAMILY TO
FLEE HOME
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, July 11, 1902
The family of Fred Nichols on Bluff Street was driven from its
home Wednesday night by what they supposed to be the specter of
Mrs. Minnie Nichols, who committed suicide in the house a few
weeks ago. Late in the night the neighbors were aroused by the
members of the family who said they could not stay in the house,
and left the place in alarm. They believed that the place was
haunted, and they were so frightened that the father, mother and
five children left the place. The frightened members of the
family said that they were sure the disturbance in the house was
caused by something ghostly. A careful investigation of the
place had failed to reveal anything uncanny.
************
NOTES:
Minnie Nichols, daughter of Herman Engelhardt of
Brighton, was the wife of Louis Milton Nichols. The
newly-married couple (Minnie was 20 years of age when she died)
stayed in the home of Fred Nichols, his brother, on Bluff Street
in Alton. Unfortunately, the address of the home was not given.
After her marriage to Louis, and moving in with her
brother-in-law, Minnie reportedly became depressed and
melancholic. It was supposedly due to domestic troubles,
possibly abuse. On June 19, 1902, she drank three tablespoons of
carbolic acid, and in less than fifteen minutes, was dead. Her
father took her remains to Brighton for burial. According to the
Fred Nichols family, Minnie’s ghost remained in the home,
frightening them to the point that they could no longer live
there. With her dreams of a happy life destroyed by marital
problems, Minnie’s spirit may have tried to take revenge. No
tombstone marks her burial place in the Brighton City Cemetery.
Her husband, Louis, died in October 1946, at the age of 70
years. After Minnie’s death, he remarried to Emma Johana (maiden
name unknown), and worked as a machinist for the Western
Cartridge Company in East Alton. Louis is buried in the Upper
Alton Oakwood Cemetery. Even today Minnie’s ghost may walk the
home where she once lived.
THE GHOST OF McPIKE ISLAND
Source: Alton Evening
Telegraph, October 19, 1904
According to some Missouri
Pointers, a ghost makes nightly visits to McPike island, but why
it is "ghosting" around such a lonely place is not exactly clear
to them. "Deaf Bill" Lee, a fisherman who formerly lived on the
island, reported to the police of Alton a few years ago that a
man and his wife came to his cabin one day and asked to be
allowed to stay until the man, who gave his name as John Snow,
could earn money enough to take them to Tennessee. Bill allowed
them to remain, but Snow, according to Bill, became intensely
jealous of Lee and very angry at the woman because she seemed to
like the host better than the husband. Snow started across the
river to Alton with the woman in a skiff, Bill told the police,
and lost the woman on the way over, and he alleged that Snow
knocked her in the head with an oar and tumbled her overboard.
The skiff was found tied on this side of the river [Alton] but
nothing was ever heard of Snow or his wife, although the police
investigated Lee's story at the time. Now fishermen and others
who happen to be on McPike's island at night say a ghost with
clanking chains and hollow eyes as becomes a ghost cavorts
around the vicinity of the old Lee shack and moans and makes
noises as if something ailed it, and John Kenney is of the
opinion that the wraith is that of Snow's wife, but he cannot
understand what she is doing around Lee's former abode instead
of being where Snow is. "Bill never did nawthin' to her," says
Kenney, "only love her little, mebbe, and treat her a blamed
sight better than her husband did, and besides there is no call
for her to be making all these here unearthly noises from no
point of view."
NOTES:
McPike’s Island, originally
called Sunflower Island, and later Smallpox Island, was located
directly across from Alton near the Missouri shore. Most of the
island was flooded when the lock and dam was constructed. It was
on this island that Lincoln and Shields were to have their duel,
and where the victims of smallpox were taken during the Civil
War, and many were buried there. It was later owned by the
McPike family. The island was used by fishermen, including
William “Deaf Bill” Lee (the same man who was mummified after
his death and kept for years at the funeral home). Reports of
moaning and chains rattling were told those who visited the
island. Was it the wife of John Snow who mysteriously
disappeared? Or could it be the ghosts of the Confederate
soldiers who were buried on the island?
The Bluff Street ghost was notorious for creating mischief in
various homes in the area. It seems that the William Redmond
family was visited by the ghost in 1904. (Address of the home
was not given.)
BLUFF STREET GHOST STRIKES AGAIN
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September 1904
William
Redmond, the well-known East Second Street [Broadway] harness
dealer, is "dead game." He proved that last night when shortly
after midnight, he and his wife were awakened from their sleep
at their home on Bluff Street in Alton by noises made by the
sound of someone going down the stairs.
"Wake up Will,"
said Mrs. Redmond, "there is someone in the house."
"I know
it," said Will, "I've waked up. You get up and see who it is."
Both got up, and Mr. Redmond said to his wife, "Now you go
downstairs first and carry the lamp. I will follow after you
with a revolver, and if the burglar attempts to do anything to
you, I will kill him."
Mrs. Redmond followed
instructions, and a thorough search of the house was made by
both, but without discovering anybody. They found the door was
securely locked. The couple believes it was the once notorious
Bluff Street ghost that formerly irritated and agitated Bluff
Street residents. Whatever it was, it badly scared Mr. Redmond -
and the scare was worse after nobody could be seen.
*******
NOTES:
The newspaper article did not give the address of
the home on Bluff Street, so that remains a mystery. Mr. Redmond
is certainly not the bravest man – sending his wife down the
stairs before him! I wonder if the Bluff Street ghost still
haunts the area!?
ALTON'S REV. ROBERT WEST SPEAKS
FROM THE GRAVE?
Source: Science and a Future Life, by James
H. Hyslop, Ph.D., LL.D, 1905
Mr. W. H. Savage had a sitting
with Mrs. Piper, and after several remarkable incidents she
(Phinuit) said, "Ah! Here is somebody from the outside - he says
his name is Robert West. He wants to send a message to your
brother. Apparently, this Robert West took control, for there
immediately followed: "I wrote an article against his work in
The Advance. I thought he was wrong but he was right." When
asked to describe him, he was described in language which Mr. W.
H. Savage says was "photographic in its truth." Phinuit said,
"He died of hemorrhage of the kidneys." A little more than two
weeks later Dr. Minot J. Savage, the brother, had a sitting, and
this Robert West purported to communicate with him. He said that
he had been buried in Alton, Illinois and gave the epitaph or
text on his tombstone saying that it was "Fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord." On inquiry of an editor of a newspaper in
Alton, it was found that the Rev. Robert West was buried there,
and that the text on his tombstone was exactly as said. Mr. W.
H. Savage had personally known this Robert West in Jacksonville,
Illinois and he had been editor of The Advance in Chicago, and
had written a severe criticism of Dr. Minot J. Savage's
doctrines and work. Dr. Savage, being a Unitarian, and Mr. West
a Congregationalist. Mr. W. H. Savage had not seen the
criticism, and Dr. Minot J. Savage did not know that Mr. West
was dead. Both Mr. W. H. Savage and Dr. Minot J. Savage did not
know the cause of Mr. West's death, and on inquiry of The
Advance, his death was ascertained, and in the Congregational
Year Book it is stated that he died of Bright's disease on
October 25th, 1886, a little more than two years before the
sitting. At the same sitting of Dr. Minot J, Savage, the death
of a Rev. C. L. Goodell was correctly announced, but was not
known by Dr. Savage until verified afterwards.
[Editor's
note: *Phinuit was purported to be a French doctor and first
spirit guide of Leonora Piper, a spiritual medium. Robert West
was a former pastor of the Congregational Church in Alton, and
died October 24, 1886 at the age of 41. West is buried in the
Alton City Cemetery beside the grave of his father.]
OLD
PLANK ROAD HOUSE IN ALTON SAID TO BE HAUNTED BY SPOOKS
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, July 29, 1905
There is
always something doing to attract the attention of the skeptic
and cause him to wonder, if after all his doubts which he calls
convictions, there is not more to life than what we see of it on
earth. Mysterious manifestations, many of which have never been
explained, have been of frequent occurrence throughout the
country, and Alton has not been entirely neglected in this
particular either. According to residents of Upper Belle Street,
or "the old plank road" as it is yet called by many, there is
something uncanny going on in a house above the Dixon stone
quarry, and the ghosts, or whatever they are, do not wait until
night, as most regulated ghosts have done from time immemorial,
to begin their pranks either. Often in the middle of the day
occupants of the house hear the flapping of wings as if some
great bird was in the room and close to descent upon the
listeners. Nothing can be seen, however, and the sound continues
sometimes for five minutes, while the bewildered occupants
listen and tremble and wonder. Queer noises are heard in the
cellar of the house at all hours or any hour, and sometimes the
sounds are said to issue from the walls of the house apparently.
"Things disappear very mysteriously sometimes," the lady of the
house says. "Oftentimes they disappear almost before your very
eyes, but no trace of them is ever found again, and where they
go or by what influence they are controlled cannot be learned."
NOTES:
Upper Belle Street was once a plank road, with a
two-story brick toll house at the corner of Belle and E. 16th
Streets, where those who wanted to use the plank road would pay
a toll. This house was different, in that it appears many
reported strange happenings there - the sound of a large bird
flapping its wings, strange noises in the cellar, and items
disappearing right before their eyes. The location of the home
was at Five Points, near Cave Springs and the Fourth of July
Hill. This area was frequented by Native Americans because of
the fresh water coming from the spring. A petrified Indian
maiden was supposed to have been found in the cave (although
this has never been verified), and when it rained, early
settlers would say that it was her tears. When Rufus Easton,
founder of Alton, first mapped the area, he named it Fountain
Springs. Years ago the spring was routed into the Piasa Sewer.
Perhaps the spirits of the Native Americans object to the white
man using their sacred ground, as not only was the toll house
haunted, but residents on Fourth of July Hill often complained
of strange happenings there. The toll house was torn down years
ago, and whatever was happening in that home remains a mystery
THE GHOST THAT DISTURBED THE WESLEYS
Source: Alton
Evening Telegraph, December 16, 1905
[Note: This article,
while not pertaining to Madison County, was an interesting
paranormal story. I thought you might enjoy it.]
An Illinois
reader of "Matters and Things" asks me if it is true that John
Wesley, the founder of Methodism, actually believed in ghosts
and witchcraft. He, like many learned men of France and England
and New England, thought that there was such a thing as
witchcraft. According to Tyerman and other writers, he was a
firm believer in apparitions after his father's adventures with
what is called "Old Jeffrey's ghost" at the Wesley rectory.
While John was at school in London, there occurred some
mysterious noises at home which have not been satisfactorily
explained. They were first heard one winter day in 1715 by Mrs.
Susanna Wesley, the great preacher's mother. She was in her
bedroom when suddenly startled by a clattering of the windows
and doors, followed by several distinct knocks, three by three.
At the same time, the maid servant, Nancy Marshall, heard in the
dining room something that sounded like the groans of a dying
man. On these things being told, the young ladies of the family
were especially alarmed. John's father was as yet a doubting
Thomas. He was a man of scholarly attainments. As poet, writer
and preacher he enjoyed the acquaintance of such men as Defoe,
Pope, Swift, Richard Baxter and John Bunyan. He was also
possessed of great courage. So when Mrs. Wesley gave it as her
opinion that the noises were supernatural, he exclaimed: "Sukey,
I am ashamed of you. These girls and boys frighten each other,
but you are a woman of sense and should know better. Let me hear
of it no more." but the following night he was aroused from his
slumbers by nine loud and distinct knocks. Raps and knocks
indeed were heard throughout the house. The next night the
noises were as boisterous as ever - and Mr. Wesley became less
doubtful. On the contrary, he drew a pistol to fire in the
direction of the sounds, but desisted. A few days later - in the
evening - as he opened the door of his study, it was thrown back
with such violence that he was almost thrown down. He went into
his daughter Amelia's room adjoining, and the noises continuing,
he said to her that "as spirits love darkness," she could blow
out the candle and "perhaps it would speak." Though he asked
questions aloud, there was no reply, of course. He then
requested Annie to go downstairs. Imagining that something might
have happened to his son Samuel, who was away, he said aloud:
"If thou are the spirit of my son, Samuel, I pray thee knock
three knocks, and no more." No answer came, and all was quiet
for the night. There is something ludicrous in the picture of
the stern and accomplished Samuel Wesley here presented -
trembling in superstitious fear. But let us remember that he was
troubled by a mystery that no one has since been able to explain
for all the wisdom of today. Dr. James Buckley tells us that
almost a month later, when the family were at prayer, the usual
knocks were heard when Wesley prayed for King George, and a
thundering thump at the "amen." Noises continued, latches were
uplifted, doors flew open, the house shook from top to bottom,
the rector's trencher danced upon the table at a Sunday dinner,
and beds were uplifted. A number of clergymen advised him to
leave the old rectory. "Let the devil flee from me," he said, "I
will never flee from him." The attic from whence the noises came
was by Emily Wesley called "Old Jeffrey's chamber." The supposed
ghost was named "Old Jeffrey after an old woman who died there.
Dr. Buckley thinks that the mysterious noises were produced by
someone coming through the dormer window of the attic, and that
the gypsum floor, which reverberates through the house in a
remarkable way, had something to do with them. Dr. Prestly
supposes the sounds were a trick of the servants, assisted by
neighbors. But does this explain all the happenings aside from
the noises? The mystery had a powerful influence on John Wesley.
He took the trouble of obtaining minute particulars from his
mother, from his four sisters, and from Robin Brown. He likewise
transcribed his father's diary containing an account of the
disturbances, thereby showing the intense interest he felt in
the affair. "In fact," avers Tyerman, "It would seem that from
this period John Wesley was a firm believer in ghosts and
apparitions." Our forefathers were very superstitious. The elder
Wesleys were rather gloomy and austere, and I think this
accounts for their readiness to believe the mystery of
supernatural origin. There are no ghosts - really and truly?
SLAYER OF DAN WRIGHT TORMENTED BY GHOST
Source: Alton
Evening Telegraph,1906
In 1904, Dan Wright – a notorious
desperado of Upper Alton – was killed by Lawrence Slaughter in
self-defense. Both were African-Americans who lived in the Salu
area of Upper Alton.
Dan Wright had been paying attention
to Slaughter’s young daughter, Sarah, aged 15. The girl had
repeatedly spurned his proposals of marriage, and the father,
Lawrence Slaughter, tried to stop Wright from entering their
home, but Slaughter was a man of small stature, while Wright was
a “physical giant.” One evening, Wright called at the Slaughter
home and forced his way in. He soon turned his attentions upon
the young girl. When she refused him, he pinned her against the
wall with one arm, and struck her a blow in the face that nearly
rendered her unconscious. The father, who was weak from
“rheumatic troubles,” had no ammunition in the house to use in
his firearms to defend his daughter. Wright left the home,
vowing to return the next night.
Slaughter bought some
powder and buckshot and loaded his two old army muskets and a
revolver. He laid in wait for Wright behind locked doors. Wright
came back the next night, very drunk and noisy. Slaughter begged
him to go away, but Wright insisted upon entering the home,
saying he would cut the throat of Lawrence Slaughter. Slaughter
then told his daughter to throw open the door, which she did. He
brought his gun into position as Wright advanced with a knife in
one hand. Slaughter fired, and Wright fell dead outside the
home.
Lawrence Slaughter gave himself up to Constable
Harry Streeper. The Alton police refused to lock him up, but was
allowed to sleep at the police station overnight. They were
relieved that Wright, a former criminal, was dead. An inquest
was held over the body of Wright, and the jury rendered a
verdict of justifiable homicide. Friends and neighbors visited
the police station, and donated money, not only for his defense,
if he needed it, but as a thanks for his brave deed. Daniel
Wright was buried in the Milton Cemetery in Alton.
As
time went on, Lawrence Slaughter became wrecked with worry over
having killed Dan Wright. He claimed he was being haunted by Dan
Wright’s ghost. Each evening after supper, he would sit in his
chair as if expecting some terrible event. He would then become
wildly excited, as he exclaimed he could hear the footsteps
coming through the door. He began to fight an invisible foe with
all his might, as if holding back two arms to keep them from
reaching his throat. Each evening the scene was repeated, and he
never recovered his peace of mind.
After the murder of
Dan Wright, the neighbors steered clear of the Slaughter home
out of superstition. They feared his ghost would return, and
none gave aid to poor Lawrence Slaughter as he relived the event
every night. Slaughter died in August 1906, his body thoroughly
weak from fear and worry. He was buried in the Upper Alton
Oakwood Cemetery.
MRS. JOHN KELLY HAS PREMONITION OF
NEPHEW'S DEATH
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September 25,
1907
The superstitiously inclined, and those who believe in
signs, omens, etc., can point to the experience of Mrs. John
Kelly of east Third street antedating the calamity that befell
relatives of her yesterday as substantiating their belief
somewhat. Mrs. Kelly is a sister of Mrs. Jack Thomas and was
greatly attached to her nephew Will, who was killed outright
yesterday afternoon at Armstrong's quarry. Mrs. Kelly was uneasy
and anxious all day yesterday and told several of her neighbors,
it is said, that she knew something awful was about to happen to
some one belonging to her. She had no idea what form the
calamity would take, nor who the victim would be, but she felt
sure someone akin to her was about to suffer severely. Monday
night she was aroused from her sleep by a something which she
described as "a feeling that there was someone in the room." She
arose and examined not only the room but the entire house
occupied by her family, but found nobody. The experience was
repeated several times Monday night, according to the story and
to add to the mysticism of it, every time she turned on the
electric light in the kitchen during her investigation tours, it
would suddenly go out or be turned off. It was following the
above experience that she declared her belief in an approaching
calamity.
MAN'S DREAM OF TRAIN WRECK COMES TRUE
SECOND DREAM WARNS HIM OF INJURIES IN WRECK
Source: Alton
Evening Telegraph, October 22, 1907
John Greagory, brakeman
on the Alton bridge train, will take a layoff. He is not
superstitious about dreams, but when they are of a nightmarish
kind and then they come true, and he has another one of a worse
character, he believes it is time to dodge a hoodoo and let
someone else take it. Greagory dreamed last Friday night his
train was wrecked, and he saw plainly in his vision the position
of the cars as they lay on the embankment. He told it to his
fellow trainmen, and they laughed at him, but on Saturday
evening the wreck occurred just as he had dreamed and had told
the men who worked with him. They were astounded when they
recalled what Greagory had told them in the morning. Today he
said he had another dream, and this time it was worse, as he saw
himself badly hurt in a wreck. As the first dream was realized,
he is thinking the second one may be a warning too, so he will
take a leave of absence for a short time in the hope of dodging
what may be the realization of a warning that fate had something
bad in store for him.
GHOST AT THE GLASSWORKS?
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, 1908
The glassworks has a
ghost according to one of the night watchmen, who reports having
seen his ghost ship flitting around the yards from one house to
another frequently of late. The ghost never enters any of the
houses or furnace rooms, possibly because it is hot enough for
him where he comes from and he is desirous of a change. The
report of the ghost presence has caused considerable
nervousness, it is said, among the colored helpers at the works,
and they stick close to the houses and their work. There is no
more roaming around the yards at night by workmen and perhaps
that is what the ghost is there for.
DISTURBANCE IN PIANO - DOESN'T
BELIEVE IN SPOOKS
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, January
25, 1908
Fred Browning, agent for the United States Express
Company, is still worrying over a happening at his home last
Thursday night. He was sitting alone in his home reading a copy
of a St. Louis paper, when suddenly he was startled by a crash
coming from the piano in the same room, as though six or eight
of the strings had broken at one time, and the sound of their
snapping, together with the rattle and the twang of music that
was given forth, almost made him fall out of his chair. He made
a hurried investigation and could find no strings broken in the
piano. Everyone was intact, and the piano has been giving forth
just as sweet music since as it did before Mr. Browning was
given the sudden start. There was no one in the house with him,
and no rats in the house to make the noise in the piano. If any
strings had been broken, the mystery would have been explained,
but the piano is as good now as it was before. Some student of
the occult may explain the mystery.
NOTE:
Fred
Browning lived on E. 6th Street in Alton, with his wife, Leila,
daughters Blanche and Dorothy, and mother-in-law, Elizabeth
Murphy. He was alone at the time of the disturbance, which was
never explained. Fred was a reputable man who didn’t believe in
ghosts, yet this disturbance left him shaken and wondering if
perhaps they did exist. What do you think? Have you ever had an
unexplained event in your home?
MYSTERY
AT THE SPARKS HOME
FURNITURE UPSIDE DOWN, BOOKS THROWN
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, May 6, 1908
Mr. and Mrs.
Hosea B. Sparks of 410 Prospect Street in Alton, are very much
puzzled over something that happened in their home last Monday
night, which might require the mind of a Sherlock Holmes to
solve. When they went to bed Monday night, everything in their
front parlor was in an orderly condition - the furniture was in
the usual places and the books in the bookcases were where they
had been kept for a long time. When Mr. and Mrs. Sparks entered
the parlor the next morning, the place had the appearance of
having been visited by the miniature tornado. The parlor
furniture was turned upside down and moved out of place, the
books had been taken from the bookcases and strewn about the
floor of the room. Someone had made an effort to make the place
as untidy as possible, as if playing an April fool joke. No one
could offer any solution to the mystery. Nothing has been
missed, and it is believed no one broke into the house. It
remains a mystery.
NOTES:
The Sparks home, located at
410 Prospect Street in Alton, was built in four stages. The
earliest was a small house in the rear portion, which contained
a sleeping loft. The front portion (circa 1860) has 14 ½ foot
ceilings, beaded woodwork, two marble fireplaces, and original
plaster molding. The lights on the outside of the home are from
the battleship USS Maine. The Sparks family were prominent in
the Alton milling industry.
Hosea Ballou Sparks was the
son of David Rhodes and Anna Davenport Sparks. The Sparks family
moved to Alton in 1869, and purchased the home on Prospect
Street a few years later. After the death of David and Anna
Sparks, Hosea Sparks and his wife continued living in the home.
What was it that caused the mysterious happenings in the front
parlor? The couple had no children, so it wasn’t any other
member of the family. Did a poltergeist visit the home? A ghost?
We'll never know.
EAST ALTON MAN SLEPT ALONG GRAVES
TO SHOW HE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS
Source: Alton Evening
Telegraph, May 7, 1909
William Rampenthal of East Alton can
reasonably boast of a good amount of nerve, for he slept in the
Milton cemetery half the night last night and won a bet of $3
from a friend. Rampenthal and friend were talking with ex-mayor
R. E. Douglas in the Douglas saloon at East Alton last night
when the conversation turned on ghost stories, and Rampenthal
declared that he wasn't afraid of them. The friend offered to
make a wager of $3 with him that he wouldn't sleep the rest of
the night in Milton cemetery alone. Rampenthal accepted, and the
money was placed in Douglas' hands. The friend and several
others accompanied Rampenthal in a doctor's buggy to the
cemetery, and laid him down far back in the cemetery. Rampenthal
had previously provided himself with several large blankets in
order to keep warm. Wrapping these around him, he fell asleep
between two graves and slept soundly until 5:30 o'clock this
morning, when Dr. Pence had to go out and pummel him in order to
wake him up for work. Rampenthal was not hurt a bit by his
experience, and was today at his usual work in the shell
department of the Equitable Powder Plant. He didn't see any
ghosts.
KATZENJAMMER HOUSE BADLY
FRIGHTENS VISITORS
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September
24, 1909
There is a house or place at the east end street
fair which is called "crazy house," "katzenjammer shack," or
"bug house right" by the folks living down that way, and it is
said that a party of young men and girls were so badly
frightened last night when they visited the place that they
bolted from it, jumped over fences and other obstructions and
made their get-a-way before their fright left them. Ask Harry
Wentz or "Doc" Strubel about it; they were in the party, it is
said.
FREE RENT FOR HAUNTED HOUSES
Source: Alton Evening
Telegraph, February 23, 1910
There is a man at O'Fallon,
Missouri, a telephone operator there, who has been taking a
lively interest in a supposed haunted house in Alton. Someone
went over there and told the O'Fallon man, who seems to be
unduly credulous, that William Feldwisch of Alton has a couple
of houses here which are haunted. The story went that Mr.
Feldwisch could get no one to live in the houses, and that
despairing of breaking the hoodoo, he would give a year's rent
to anyone who would live in the houses that length of time, and
finally would give one of the houses to the person who would
brave the "spooks" in the haunted houses for twelve months. The
O'Fallon man first wrote a letter and got no response. Then he
called up on the telephone and wanted to know about it. Now he
is planning a trip to Alton to make an investigation. He is
deeply interested in Mr. Feldwisch's alleged "haunts," and is
willing to fight it out with the "spooks."
NOTES:
William Feldwisch Jr. was born September 27, 1867, in a home
next door to where he lived his entire adult life – 615
Washington Avenue in Alton. He was the son of William and Annie
Feldwisch Sr. His father, a man of high moral character, was
well respected in the community. The father was born in Germany
in 1820, came to America in 1846, and settled in Alton in 1854.
He owned property along Washington Avenue, including a brickyard
he operated, which was later the site of the Sportsmen’s Park,
and even later, the Alton Plaza Shopping Center. His father
invested heavily in real estate along Washington Avenue, which
his son, William Jr. later inherited. The son lived in one of
the homes next to his birthplace, and rented out the other homes
they owned. That is, until there were complaints of the homes
being haunted. It became such a problem for him, that he put the
word out that he would rent the homes for one year for free if
someone would live in them. What was it that made people so
fearful of the homes? Whispers of ghosts were spread throughout
the community, and most people stayed clear of them. I wonder if
ghosts still walk there today?
CLIFTON TERRACE RESIDENTS POINT
WITH PRIDE TO STRANGE PHENOMENON
Source: Alton Evening
Telegraph, October 26, 1910
Residents of Clifton Terrace are
swelling up and pointing with more or less pride to a citizen
there who is distinguished in a couple of ways more than other
men. The citizen is James Minard, and he lives at Clifton
Hollow. He is 56 years old and has lived many years in that
vicinity. His nearest neighbor is a Mr. Wilhelm, and the latter
was in Alton Wednesday, and was interviewed by a Telegraph
reporter concerning a report prevalent about Mr. Minard. Mr.
Wilhelm said it is true that Minard, who lost his teeth some
time ago, now has a full set of second growth teeth, better than
the teeth he had the first forty years of his life. This
includes new jaw teeth. Mr. Wilhelm says, "I have worked with
and alongside of him for twenty years or more, and I know he
lost his teeth and I know too that he now has perfect natural
teeth," is the way Mr. W. put it. About six weeks ago Mr. Minard
started to raising his residence and remodeling it completely,
and since then has been living in a tent nearby. The second
distinction comes in here. Constantly, whether the sun is
shining or not, the front of that tent is kept moist and
dustless by rain it is said. It doesn't rain hard; just
sprinkles, but it keeps at it and spreads out no farther than
the width of the tent. Mr. Wilhelm said he watched the rain for
an hour the other day while sitting in Minard's tent looking
out. Other Cliftonites who corroborate this story without
attempting any explanation of the phenomenon are William
Gradolph and Mr. and Mrs. James Frasier. They told Alton
residents the rain falling incident is true and that they
visited the Minard tent and witnessed it. The Telegraph gives
the story just as the above witnesses gave it.
SKELETON DUG UP BY DOGS - STRANGE HAPPENINGS
Source: Alton
Evening Telegraph, June 18, 1912
Captain W. D. Fluent has a
skeleton at his docks of a man who was buried sixteen years ago
by the Captain and Messrs. Gruse and Ruckmann. The body was
buried on the lowlands of Missouri Point, and has gone through
eleven high water in sixteen years, but was becoming uncovered
in places and was found by the dogs belonging to Fluent. It was
decided that the best thing to do was to dig up the bones and
re-bury them at some future time. The skeleton brings to mind a
number of strange things, and although the Captain is sure it is
the same on he buried there sixteen years ago, a jack knife and
a whiskey bottle buried with the man cannot be found. The
leather in the shoes is still good, but the stitches are gone
while the old hob nails hold them together. A belt buckle was
found alongside the skeleton, but all other clothing is gone and
the flesh has completely disappeared. The death of the man was a
strange one. He was supposed to have been a quarry worker and
was found drowned in the Alton slough sixteen years ago. On his
person was a whisky bottle and a jack knife. There was then no
coroner in Missouri, and the body was kept in Alton for over a
week while someone who knew him could be found to identify him.
No one came, and it was decided to bury him on the point. The
body was laid to rest without any services. Whether the man was
intoxicated and fell in the slough, as the men were led to
believe from the remains, or whether he was drugged and left to
drown with the whiskey bottle near him to do away with suspicion
was never learned. Two of the men who helped to bury him are
dead, namely Ruckman and Gruse, and Fluent is the only one
alive. He says that the skeleton was uncovered in the same spot
the man he buried was put. The bones at present are lying in an
old box in the oil house on the docks, with a little cloth over
the box.
SPOOKS TORMENT BURGLAR AT LAKEVIEW CASTLE
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, March 1913
All the horrors
of the Evil Eye, as Edgar Allen Poe depicted them in his
hair-raising story, were nothing as compared with the terrible
night Mark Podner, about 24 years old, of Mt. Olive, Illinois,
spent in the big house of J. J. Bizant at Lakeview last night.
Podner had heard there were spooks in the big house at Lakeview,
and last night he went there, cut a window pane out, and entered
the home. With a bullseye light, he started out to investigate,
and perhaps to rob the home.
The Lakeview home is a
perfect maze of mirrors in every room, and when Podner shone his
searchlight across the room he saw the ghost of a man crouched
down with coat collar up, hat slouched down on head, and all in
all a terrible looking man. Believing in spirits himself, terror
seized the burglar, and he fled up the stairs. There he saw the
same figure staring at him, wildly, and he ran from room to
room, only to be faced by the figure, as he believed a ghost,
who masked and tried to frighten him. After an hour of this
terrible experience, he rushed down the stairs and the bullseye
showed the same figure rushing up the stairs to meet him. This
was too much, and the young burglar collapsed at the bottom of
the stairs.
In the morning the keeper of the house,
Henry Meyers, found Podner, arrested him, and took him to
Edwardsville, where he turned him over to the authorities. A
pair of slippers found on the young man caused a charge of
larceny to be entered. Podner is mentally unbalanced as a result
of his terrible night, and declares that the house is haunted
and shrinks back in horror when someone talks to him of his
terrible night. He is held to the grand jury, but his mental
condition may be inquired into.
NOTES:
Lakeview
Castle was a 14-room mansion built in 1897 by Benjamin Biszant,
a Frenchman, who purchased 38 acres near the Cahokia Creek Canal
(near Hartford) in the 1890s. A moat, stocked with goldfish, was
dug with teams of horses. The dirt from the moat formed the rise
on which the castle was constructed. A drawbridge and white
turrets on the home completed the “castle-like” appearance. Much
of the materials for the home were imported from Europe.
After the death of his wife, Biszant took her remains to
England for burial, passed Lakeview down to his son, J. J.
Biszant, and moved to California. J. J. Biszant, a widower,
moved to Los Angeles and was swindled out of his money by
spiritualists, who claimed they could help him contact his dead
wife, Lily. He fled back to Lakeview, in fear of his life after
helping to expose the mediums who had taken his money. He stated
that he worried that the mediums would burn down the castle in
revenge.
The castle later changed ownership frequently -
housing a boys’ military school, a home for unwed mothers, and a
speakeasy during Prohibition. It was then sold to a Wood River
couple. Whispers of hauntings at the castle were exchanged by
local residents. Strange happenings began to occur, and nearby
farmers avoided the area at night.
The castle then
became a target for vandals, who ripped fireplace mantles from
the walls, smashed chandeliers, and gouged holes in the walls.
It was condemned by inspectors. The castle was destroyed by fire
March 21, 1973. Today, only remnants remain of the once
beautiful castle.
What did young Podner see in the
mirror? Was it his own reflection? While being held in the
Edwardsville jail, Podner swore it was not his face he saw in
the mirror. He told the authorities of hidden passageways, a
musty dungeon, terrifying moans, and high-pitched shrieks and
cries of pain from various parts of the house. He was so
tormented from his experience that he tried to commit suicide.
I could find no further information on Podner. He
probably spent a small amount of time in jail and was released.
The property of Castle Lakeview (also called the Hartford
Castle) sits silent today, where ghosts can freely walk among
the ruins.
MYSTERY AT JERSEYVILLE (IN NEIGHBORING JERSEY COUNTY)
Woman in Black Croons Over Graves at Oak Grove Cemetery
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, September 11, 1913
A third
of the population of Jerseyville watched at Oak Grove Cemetery
until a late hour Wednesday night, waiting for a glimpse of the
mysterious "woman in black" who has appeared there nightly since
last Friday. At 11 o'clock, when their vigilance had gone
unrewarded, the majority of the crowd departed, although some of
the bolder ones remained until long past midnight. The visits of
the woman, which have mystified the entire population of
Jerseyville, are ghoulish. She walks among the graves, crooning
softly to herself. She does not apply her attention to any grave
in particular, but strolls aimlessly about for more than a
quarter of an hour and departs without speaking to anybody. Her
face is always heavily veiled on these occasions, and it has
been impossible to learn her identify. Negroes of Jerseyville
make a practice of avoiding the cemetery by a margin of at least
three blocks.
THE "WOMAN IN BLACK" ... IS THE STORY
TRUE?
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, October 19, 1914
A
mysterious woman in black is causing considerable discussion in
Wood River. There are few who really believe that there is a
woman in black who takes her stand nightly at 12 o'clock on the
corner of the Wood River school, apparently waiting for someone,
and then when no one appears, leaves as mysteriously as she
came, but the story has gained considerable circulation. Marshal
J. T. Phipps is one of those who claims to believe the story. He
said he watched her Friday night last, and followed her to a
certain house, but he will say nothing further about it. A party
of foreigners claim to have lain in wait for the woman in black
Saturday night and watched her disappear. Real serious-minded
persons, who profess to know the truth of the matter, say that
the story was started by anxious parents who wanted to scare
their children so that they would get in at nights by the time
the curfew bell rang, and if anyone saw a woman in black it was
probably some woman going home at a late hour from the
interurban car.
THE CURSED BOX
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, October
1916
In about 1913, Mrs. Charles Silk sailed from her former
home in England to America. In her possession was an old metal
box that belonged to her mother. How it came into the hands of
her mother is unknown, but the box had a grisly history. It once
belonged to a young Englishman, who along with a friend, started
out in search of adventure. The Englishman used the metal box to
hold his clothing. They journeyed to Africa, and were captured
by a tribe of cannibals. While the friend escaped with some of
their possessions – including the metal box – the young
Englishman was killed and eaten by the natives. The friend went
back to his home in England, and revealed to his family what had
happened to the young man. The box then fell into the hands of
Mrs. Silk’s mother, who passed it down to her daughter.
Mrs. Silk, who was preparing to sail to America, decided to
paint the box white, which obliterated the name of the poor,
unfortunate victim of the cannibals. And here our tale begins to
take a dark turn. It seems the former owner of the box didn’t
appreciate his name being painted over, and began to exact his
revenge. Onboard the ship, Mrs. Silk was injured. At about the
same time, Mr. Silk, who was in Alton, had an accident which
almost proved to be fatal. Mrs. Silk, after arriving in America,
took the train to Illinois. She was put off the train at
Springfield by mistake, and while sitting at the train station
all night, she was robbed by two men. A few days later after her
arrival in Alton, Mr. Silk nearly lost his eyesight when a small
explosion at the Sparks Mill, where he was employed as Assistant
Engineer, caused metal to enter his eyes. Later, the tip of one
of his fingers was pinched off, and he had to endure four
operations on the finger. Mrs. Silk had to have surgery for
appendicitis, and a few weeks later she fell and sprained her
ankle. Mr. Silk stepped on a spike and severely injured his
foot. He was later attacked by two firemen and beaten severely.
They began to wonder if the box which Mrs. Silk had brought home
was the cause of all their troubles. But still, they would not
get rid of it.
The friends of the Silks took notice of
the terrible incidents that occurred since the arrival of the
metal box. They begged them to get rid of the box, but the Silks
would not abide by their warnings. One night, after seeing the
pair suffer still another accident, they decided to take things
into their own hands.
Seven friends of the Silks dressed
in costume to hide their identity, and stormed into their home
at 1312 State Street in the dead of night. Mr. Silk tried to bar
them from entering, but he failed. They presented a written
demand for the box, but Mr. Silk refused to give it up. While
this was going on, three of the friends climbed to the attic and
found the box, carried it outside and hid it in a garden a block
away. By the time they had returned, Mr. Silk had relented, and
agreed to give them the box. When he went to retrieve it from
the attic, he discovered it was gone. The friends then told him
what they had done, and he decided to join them and be rid of
the box once and for all. The Silks and their friends climbed
into the automobile of W. E. Harlow, district manager of the
International Correspondence Schools, who had organized the
whole affair. Together they drove to the riverfront. They walked
out onto the Fluent dock in Alton, and after a short ceremony,
tossed the box, weighted with rocks, beneath the waves of the
Mississippi River.
After the box was tossed into the
depths of the river, the luck of the Silks began to change. They
bought a new home, and soon a baby boy was born. And not only
that, the stork visited three of the women who attended the
sinking of the box. Another individual who attended regained
their health and increased their business. Was the curse of the
metal box lifted? Or does it lay on the bottom of the
Mississippi, waiting for its next victim? If you found the box,
would you open it??
THE GHOST OF THE MINERAL SPRINGS HOTEL IN
ALTON
Stories have been passed down regarding possible
ghosts of the Mineral Springs Hotel in Alton. "Legend" has it
that there are three ghosts that haunt the corridors and rooms
of the old hotel. One is said to be an itinerant artist who was
unable to pay his hotel bill, and offered instead to paint a
mural of the city of Alton to pay his bill. The mural was never
finished. His ghost apparently haunts the former hotel bar,
which is now an antique store today.
Another supposed
ghost is one who haunts the hotel swimming pool. The story is
that one of the couples staying at the hotel had a volatile
relationship, and the husband flirted and danced with a number
of young women until his wife, in a fit of anger, hit him in the
face with her shoe, causing him to collide with one of the
columns next to the pool and fall into the water. The husband
drowned. His ghost is supposedly seen standing near the side of
the pool, angry and brooding over his untimely death.
The
most famous reported ghost is the legendary "Jasmine Lady."
According to the story, the lady was a guest of the hotel and
had become involved romantically with another guest. Her husband
caught her in the affair. In the course of the violent encounter
with her husband, she ran away, somehow falling down a staircase
and breaking her neck. Her pungent Jasmine perfume still scents
the air to this day, so some say.
In my research, I have
been keeping an eye out for any proof of a death at the Mineral
Springs Hotel, to attribute the haunting to. The only one I have
found thus far, is the suicide of L. M. Harwood, an implement
dealer from Carrollton. In his suicide note, he stated that he
had been sick for five years and could not recover, and felt he
was about to die anyway. He shot himself with a pistol. This
suicide was committed in the hotel bar. Could this be the ghost
which haunts the former hotel bar? You decide.
~Beverly
Bauser, Madison County Coordinator
CARROLLTON MAN ENDS
HIS LIFE IN HOTEL
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, November
15, 1916
L. M. Harwood, an implement dealer at Carrollton and
Kane until a few years ago, and well known in Alton, took his
own life in the bar room at the Mineral Springs Hotel Wednesday
morning. In two notes he left he stated that he had tried to
"come back" and had failed. He also intimated that there were
some other reasons for ending his life, but he stated these were
no one's business. Very little concerning his family connections
are known at Alton. He had visited here from time to time and
came to Alton yesterday. He spent Tuesday night at the Mineral
Springs Hotel. In the morning before leaving the hotel, he told
the clerk, E. M. Reed, that he was not certain whether he would
need a room for the night or not. He said, "I might want a room
tonight, and if I do I'll be back for it." A little later a shot
was fired in the bar. It was heard all over the hotel. There was
a moaning sound for a few minutes and Harwood was dead. He had
entered the bar room from the street and after seating himself
in the first booth, had pulled a gun and some papers from his
pocket. He placed the papers on the table and then put the gun
to his breast and fired. Robert Spence, the bartender, was the
only one who witnessed the shooting. William Banks, who was
mopping out the bar room at the time, heard the shot but he did
not see the man end his life. Harwood fell forward on his face
and by the time people rushed from other parts of the hotel he
was almost dead. He never spoke again. One of the notes he left
contained the names of a list of friends in Alton. Some of these
on the list stated that he was a man about 50 years of age, and
that they had known him as being engaged in business in
Carrollton and Kane up until a few years ago. He was said to
have a wife and two children and some hinted that family
troubles might have been part of the cause for his act. The note
he left explaining the cause for his act read as follows: "To
Patriot and Gazette (Newspapers at Carrollton): Just a Word. I
have been sick for the greater part of the time for five years.
I have tried to come back but I can't quite do it. Then why
should I stick around in the way? You will say, "He was a
coward." Just sit around contemplating something of the kind for
a month or two at a time and see. If there are any other reasons
for the act, it is no one's business. Yours truly, L. M.
Harwood." The other piece of paper contained information that
would help the Alton authorities get him identified. It read:
"L. M. Harwood, Carrollton, Ill. Just to get out of my misery.
Notify S. E. Simpson and Co., undertakers, Carrollton, Ill.
People in Alton that can readily identify me are Dr. Bowman,
Pink Bowman, Bird Ashlock, Jess Staples, barber, H. V. Green
with Anheuser-Busch." The body was turned over at once to Deputy
Coroner John Berner, and was taken to the C. J. Jacoby
undertaking rooms where an inquest was held. An effort was made
at once to get in touch with some of his relatives or friends at
Carrollton. A telegram was sent to the wife this morning and she
answered that she would come at once to take care of the body of
the husband.
FIVE DEATHS IN FAMILY AFTER WOMAN HAD
SAME DREAM
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, November 5, 1917
Mrs. Carrie Taylor of Edwardsville, who yesterday entered a St.
Louis hospital to undergo an operation, declared that the death
of her husband last week in a railroad accident was the fifth
death in her family to occur after a dream. The dream each time
presented to her a scene depicting the narrow escape from
drowning of her son, Marion Dickinson, aged 19. Each time the
mother in her vision rescued the boy. The first time she dreamed
this, another son died shortly afterward. Several years later
the vision came to her again and within a month her twins died.
A year ago it was followed a telegram announcing the death of
Taylor's father at Cuba, Mo. Two weeks ago Mrs. Taylor arose one
morning and announced that the dream had come to her once more.
The doctors had told her she must go to a hospital for an
operation, and she was sure that her death was the one
indicated. She ordered a casket and shroud, and had her will
written. Last Wednesday her husband died.
GHOSTS AT THE ALTON JAIL
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph,
July 1919
Ghosts have been reported at the Alton city jail.
Only one man has spent a night in the jail in the past month,
and it is feared that on account of its not being used, that
ghosts have taken charge of the jail part of the city hall
building. According to those who have been in that part of the
city hall building, it would be a good place for ghosts as no
one else could live there. Many suggestions have been ordered as
to what the ghosts might be, but the mystery still remains
unsolved.
Deskman Henry Kremer tells of the ghost story.
Kremer went into the jail recently, and as he opened the door in
the back, he heard a rattling of irons, much the same as when
prisoners were kept in the jail. At first, he believed it was
the heat that was affecting him that way, but he entered the
jail. As he was standing near one of the big old-fashioned iron
cell doors, it rattled as if someone from the inside were
shaking it and trying to get out. In its sixty years, the Alton
jail has held many notorious criminals. Those people who believe
in ghosts might think that it was one of these whose soul had
cursed the night he spent in the Alton jail and had returned in
spirit to haunt the jail of a city that would maintain such a
place. The other city officials are not worrying about ghosts in
other parts of the building. "It is old enough, and it is
falling to pieces fast enough," said one of the city officials.
"But no ghosts have been reported in this part of the building."
NOTES:
The Alton city jail was located in the basement of
the old city hall, at the corner of Piasa and Broadway. This
building was destroyed by fire in 1924. It seems that Henry
Kremer disturbed a ghost who decided to take up residence in the
jail - perhaps one who had spent time in the jail during its
lifetime.
COMFORTS OF HOME, SAYS CONAN DOYLE
(This doesn't pertain
to Madison County, but I thought you'd find this interesting.
Source: Alton Evening Telegraph, December 20, 1921
London
(AP) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and
one of the leading spiritualists in England, describes heaven as
a place with all the comforts of home. In a church address, he
said: "In heaven, all old people will become young, and the
young will grow to adult age. When I am there, I will have my
books, my wife and my children with me. We will have about us
the things we love." Discussing spirit communications, Sir
Arthur said he had been in direct communication with the dead,
voice to voice, on twenty-one occasions. The writer declared he
had spoken to his own son, who spoke in his natural voice, a
year after the latter's death. He asserted he had also seen his
mother, who happened to him in a cloak of red light.
THE
HAUNTING OF McPIKE MANSION
The McPike Mansion, at 2018 Alby
Street in Alton, is one of the better-known hauntings in Alton.
Visitors claim seeing orbs, mist, and ghostly apparitions. The
house is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a piano-playing
woman.
The owners of the home – Sharyn and George Luedke,
had the home blessed twice when they bought it, but that hasn’t
stopped the reports of other-worldly visitors. A reporter, who
was allowed to tour the home before it was closed to the public,
stated that weird happenings were definitely occurring inside.
The home (known as Mt. Lookout because of its location on
the highest point in Alton) was completed in 1871. It was built
for Henry Guest McPike - Mayor of Alton from 1887 to 1891, and
partner in the Alton City Mills. McPike also established a box
factory in Alton. The mansion has 16 rooms and a vaulted wine
cellar. McPike was also a noted horticulturist, and grew
beautiful flowers, rare shrubs, and grape vines which yielded
award-winning wine. He died in 1910, and his property was
divided among his children.
There are two known graves in
the McPike graveyard, located on the property. One of Katie
McPike, and the other of Robert Samuel B. McPike. Both are
children of Henry McPike. Samuel died on July 17, 1866, at the
age of 6 months and 17 days. He was the son of Henry and Mary
(Burns) McPike. Strange phenomenon has been reported near the
graveyard.
Today, campouts are held on the property of
the mansion, where visitors hear the ghost stories of the
mansion. The home is under renovation, and touring the inside is
not allowed.
THE HAUNTING ON LOGAN STREET
Strange happenings occur at a
home in the 900 block of Logan Street in North Alton, which was
built in 1892. The main ghost is a small blond boy, whom the
family living there nicknamed “Bernie.” They estimate the boy to
be between 4 and 7 years of age. He is usually seen in the
yellow room off the kitchen, and often appeared when the
children of the owner were home, either during the summer or on
weekends. The owners report that often the scent of bayberry or
citrus can be detected. The first time the owner saw the little
boy was in the Spring of 1977. She and her neighbor saw him at
the same time. They were sitting around the oak kitchen table,
while two of her own children and three other kids played
upstairs. Soon four children came down the stairs, but only
three went out the kitchen door. The two women thought the
fourth had hidden under the table, but no one was there. The
women checked upstairs, and found two children still playing
there.
After this, the little boy would appear from time
to time. Although the face of the little boy has never been
clearly seen, but his clothes are recognizable. A neighbor saw
him riding a bicycle in knickers and an old-fashioned cap. When
she did a “double-take,” he was gone. Books have fallen off
shelves, doors shut, and windows closed. Also seen in the home
were a man and women. The youngest of the children told his
mother there was a “funny man in a funny hat who was painting.”
No one was ever found.
THE HAUNTING OF THE MILE HOUSE IN ALTON
The old brick
house at 1800 State Street (at the corner of State & McPherson)
was once an inn called “The Mile House.” The inn earned its name
from being about one mile from the stagecoach stop at the
Franklin House (later called Lincoln Hotel) on State Street.
There were two sisters who married Civil War soldiers. One of
the sisters met her untimely death at the hands of her husband
while staying at The Mile House.
A former owner of the
inn stated that when she moved into the home in 1948, an elderly
man who was working on her furnace told her of the haunting,
which he knew of from the time he was a little boy. The owner
heard loud knocks on the front door, but no one was ever there.
Guests at the home heard footsteps coming from the top floor
rooms, and a lady in black was seen walking mournfully to and
fro in the upper story of the home. It was this lady in black
who gained fame in the State Street neighborhood. She was seen
not only on the upper floor of the home, but walking the streets
near the home. When approached, she seemingly disappears.
Was the lady in black the young bride who was murdered at
the hands of her husband? Or is it the ghost of her sister, who
mourns the loss of a loved one? Does the lady in black still
walk in and near the home, mourning her demise? What would you
do if you encountered the lady in black?
THE EAST ALTON “LADY IN BLACK”
Another “lady in black”
haunting has been associated with early day explosions at the
powder mill in East Alton. According to legends, the lonely
black figure walks along Powder Mill Road when an explosion is
about to occur at the mill.
THE
HAUNTING OF THREE MILE HOUSE
Three Mile House, a former inn
and tavern located northeast of Edwardsville, was destroyed by
fire in 1985. There are many stories of the hauntings at the
inn. Former owners reported seeing sparks of light and darting
shadows, and loud banging has been heard – primarily from the
attic and basement. Family members reported being waken by the
voice of a young girl.
Originally called Gaertner’s Three
Mile House, the inn opened its doors to travelers along the St.
Louis – Springfield stagecoach road (Rt. 159) in 1860, although
construction began in 1858. The tavern and inn were constructed
by Frederick Gaertner, a St. Louis barber who used the major
part of his savings to purchase 70 acres northwest of
Edwardsville from John Deterding to build the establishment. It
was constructed with handmade bricks, fired on site. The walls
of the inn were 18 inches thick. White pine was shipped up the
Mississippi River from the south for the door and window trim.
The arched windows were constructed using forms called “arch
centers,” on which the bricks were set. The ornamental eave
struts, shutters, and roof shingles were made by hand.
Gaertner gained a reputation as a genial and generous host. His
Three Mile House (so named because it was three miles from
Edwardsville) became a prominent place where local well-to-do
residents attended lavish balls and parties. As the business
prospered, Gaertner enlarged the north portion of the building
to include a dining room, kitchen, tavern, grocery store, and
post office on the main floor. There were 10 to 15 sleeping
rooms on the second floor, and a large floored attic which could
be used for additional sleeping quarters when needed. A
blacksmith shop was built next door in 1863. Some say that
Abraham Lincoln was a guest at the inn, but this has not been
verified. Lincoln was a close friend to both Joseph and Matthew
Gillespie, and it is possible he may have stayed at the inn.
The inn flourished until the 1880s, when the growth of the
railroad began to have an impact on stagecoach travel. Gaertner
closed the inn and returned to his birthplace in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
The inn stood vacant for nearly 25 years,
when Gaertner’s son, Tony, sold it to Orrie Dunlap, a road
contractor. Dunlap had the contract to build and pave Route 112
(now Route 159) in 1927, and used the inn as headquarters for
his construction crew. A succession of owners followed. In the
1940s, the inn was operated as a roadside tavern.
In
1976, the inn was purchased by the Elliotts for use as a
restaurant. They repaired and renovated the building. In 1982
they sold it to John Henkhaus, who continued the restaurant
operations until it was destroyed by fire in 1985.
Stories have been told that the inn was used as part of the
Underground Railroad. Tunnels were said to exist under the inn
and eastward toward Route 159, but they have not been found. One
story was told that a slave died and was buried at the inn, and
that it was this slave who haunted the premises, seeking a
Christian burial. Clergymen and lay people came to the inn to
dig in and around the basement searching for the grave.
Occultists held seances at the inn, and parapsychologists
attempted to “read” the premises, but no grave has ever been
found. Some of the employees of the inn stated that they were
tripped before falling, that items disappeared without
explanation, and a face was seen in a mirror in the basement.
Whatever was haunting the old inn may never be known.