Paranormal Events
(Including a number of interesting paranormal events in other counties.)
****ALL stories are in copyright, and may not be reproduced without expressed consent.****
THE
HAUNTING OF MANSION HOUSE - 1836
Thomas Boothby was a veteran of the Black Hawk War of 1832. It was
reported in the Alton Telegraph that he had one arm and one eye; the
latter having been shot out by an Indian’s arrow. In 1836, Boothby
arrived in Alton, and rented a room at the Mansion House, a boarding
house at 506 State Street. His room was located on the southwest
corner on the second floor. People noticed that Boothby never left
the boarding house, and it became known that Boothby thought he was
being hunted by an Indian in revenge of those he had killed during
the war. During his spells, Boothby would scream, and told others
that an Indian was trying to strangle him. One night in 1838,
Boothby screamed loudly. The proprietor of Mansion House, William
Harned, rushed to his room, only to find him dead. Boothby’s hands
were at his throat as if trying to pull away the hands of his
murderer, and his one eye was staring wildly. Within a few years,
Boothby became Alton’s most famous ghost, and his former room at the
Mansion House was rented only to strangers who had never heard of
him, or his ghost. Sometimes during a storm, guests at the Mansion
House swore that they heard Boothby’s ghost cry out, and the sound
of his footsteps pacing up and down in the hallway. While the old
hotel was destroyed by fire in 2010 and its remains torn down, some
claimed the ghost of Thomas Boothby could still be heard.
MANSION HOUSE HAUNTING
The Boy in the Kitchen
Thomas Boothby wasn’t the only ghost in the Mansion House. According
to a couple of Alton residents, one of the ghosts (among others) was
the “boy in the kitchen.” A single mother rented an apartment on the
second floor of the Mansion House from 2000 to 2003. Her young son’s
(about two years old) room was located over the front door of the
building. One night her son was having trouble going to sleep, and
kept going into his mother’s room. When she asked what the problem
was, all he would say is, “Goes, mommy, goes.” She put him to bed
again, and this time she turned on a baby monitor to make sure he
was okay. It was not long after this that she heard him crying
again. She got out of bed and walked toward his room, having to
first walk through the kitchen. In the kitchen, she was startled by
a young boy, about ten or eleven years old, standing in the middle
of the room. She asked him what he was doing there, and instead of
responding, the boy ran toward her son’s bedroom. She chased him
into the bedroom, but only found her son. He was upset and sitting
up in bed, pointing towards the closet, and saying, “Goes, mamma,
goes.” The mother opened the closet, but did not find the boy, nor
did she ever see him again.
Other unexplainable activity was connected to her son’s room. At
times when the mother walked up to her son’s closed bedroom door,
the doorknob would turn back and forth. Upon opening the door, she
would find her son sound asleep. The mother spoke to the landlord
who owned the Mansion House for about thirteen years. He
acknowledged the building was haunted. Who was the young boy in the
second-floor bedroom? Was he a guest of the Mansion House at one
time and died there? Was he attracted to this apartment because of
the young boy who lived there? We’ll never know.
A STRANGE CASE OF WITCHCRAFT IN PERRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
A recent dispatch (1871) 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.
GHOSTLY VISIT AT PUBLIC INSTITUTION - 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 - 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 IN JERSEYVILLE - 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 - 1881
A FIRST-CLASS GHOST SENSATION AT MILTON CEMETERY
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
MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
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
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.
SEARCH FOR MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
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 MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
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 porkentine." 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 MILTON CEMETERY GHOST
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 AT MILTON CEMETERY
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 MILTON CEMETERY
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.
LOCAL PHYSICIAN MEETS THE MILTON GHOST
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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 1889
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 - 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.”
THE GOBLIN OF MADISON COUNTY - 1889
Appearing in the Weekly Globe-Democrat of Golden, Colorado, was a
story from Edwardsville. It was an account
of “A Ghostly Specter,” that was seen near Edwardsville in 1810:
“It was in the good old days of ox carts and cheap whisky. Two men,
well known in the American Bottom, and residing not many miles from
Salem Church (Wanda), were returning home late one night from
Edwardsville. They were pretty well loaded with ‘family
disturbance,’ or at least one was, according to the ‘majority
reports.’ The jug that was always a traveling companion to and from
town, was full on starting, but numerous embraces had considerable
reduced its contents.
They drove a yoke of oxen. One ox was white, named Duke; the other
was black, and named Nik. Nik was a high kicker. The oxen trudged
along keeping step to the numerous ‘gees’ and ‘haws.’ The men
embraced the jug often; so often that one was past further
embracing. Nothing happened to mar their good time until they
reached a long hill that was crossed by the old State railroad
grade, now occupied by the ‘Madison County Central.’ At the point
where the railroad grade crossed the wagon road, the oxen stopped.
The driver urged them to go. The faithful team pulled, but to no
purpose. The cart did not move. The proverbial hoop pole was brought
into use. The oxen did their best and pulled every time they were
told to. But they were stalled on a smooth road! Yes! Duke and Nik,
the best pulling ox team on Indian Creek stalled going downhill!
The driver got out of the cart to investigate. HOLY HORRORS! What
was it? There, sitting under the cart with the back of its head
against and in front of the axle, was what resembled a dog. The
driver punched at the object with his hoop pole, but hit nothing. He
urged the oxen again. They pulled. The goblin seemed to brace itself
to resist the power of the team. The situation was becoming
desperate, and something must be done. With much difficulty, the
other man was aroused, and the trouble explained. He got out of the
cart as best he could. On seeing the dog-like goblin, he said,
‘(hic), The critter (hic) wants a (hic) drink, then (hic) it will go
(hic).’ He proceeded to pour the contents of the jug down through
the bed of the cart onto the ‘critter.’ Tradition does not say
whether the whisky was too much for his ghostship, or that it drank
its fill and vanished. It disappeared, just the same, and the
thoroughly frightened men proceeded homeward. One of the men has
descendants - children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren
residing in Madison County. They are well and favorably known. Of
the other man, we know nothing – only his name.”
The editor of the Weekly Globe-Democrat, while at large in old
Madison, tells this tale:
“Early settlers tell us that several years prior to the above
occurrence, his ghostship appeared in Wood River Township, and
stalled a funeral procession exactly the same way as the ox cart
was. Some say Milton hill [near the old cemetery] was its ‘stopping
place’ then. Milton always was noted for mysterious deeds, and I can
remember the time it almost made my hair stand on end to go through
Milton bridge or pass ‘Sandy Hook.’ How many remember the latter
place?
The ghost appeared under the cart containing the corpse, and all
efforts to proceed were fruitless. The team pulled, but it was
stalled going downhill. When all efforts to start had failed, a
young man, who has descendants residing in that historic settlement,
went forward and swore he would ‘remove the spell.’ He cut bunches
of hair from the foreheads and tails of the stalled team, and after
rolling the hair into one ball, burned it. Then the spook vanished,
and the procession proceeded and completed its sad mission. The
deceased was a young man, and left a sister, who reared a large
family not many miles from Upper Alton. There are old people now
residing within the sound of Upper Alton and Bethalto church bells,
who were in that stalled procession and could, if they would only
speak, tell more than the writer can.
I have heard that just after the first mentioned appearance of the
dog-like ghost, there was a deathbed confession. The mysterious
disappearance of a man was explained. His grave was in the railroad
grade near where the two men saw the ghost. It is supposed that some
of the ‘stalled’ knew more than they were willing to tell. Tradition
is not always reliable.”
THE MADISON COUNTY WITCH - 1889
“It is not generally known that Wood River Township was, at one
time, infested by a witch. Such was the case, or at least, ‘the
oldest inhabitants’ say so. Her tricks were many, and her cunning
was great, according to the stories told of her. Her greatest forte
seemed borrowing, and none dared to refuse any of her requests. One
well-known old gentleman, who died only a few years ago, got it into
his head that she was intending to do him mischief, as she was at
his house every day borrowing something. He made up his mind to
‘trap her,’ if that was her intention. His mode of trapping her was
in this way. He took an awl and fastened it to the underneath side
of the seat of a split bottom chair. If she meant him harm, she
could not leave the chair when once seated in it. The ….
[unreadable] …to go. Twas no use trying, the trap held her fast. She
knew she was suspected and the old gentleman ‘knowed’ she was going
to bewitch him or his in some way. When he thought her trapped long
enough, he very cautiously removed the awl, and the witch left
immediately and never bothered him again.
You see, Old Madison can always be relied on to come to the front,
even in ghost and witch years. Her history would not be complete
without a chapter on spooks. The writer does not swear to anything,
but knows persons who honestly believe the apparition as given
above.”
GHOST OF THE ALTON PRISON - 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.
A STONE THROWING GHOST - 1891
The Missouri Point is now in possession of what might be termed a
haunted house. For some days past, the residence of John Paltzer,
near the blue ice houses, has received a nocturnal visitation from
the ghost of some departed Missourian, who cannot rest in its
“little bed,” but at the midnight hour sallies forth and rains
stones, brickbats, tin cans, and anything on which his ghostship can
lay his hands, which are thrown onto the roof of the house. On one
occasion, several days ago, a young man, who was pulling onions, was
struck by a stone thrown from a cornfield nearby, and suffered a
severe cut in the head which blacked both of his eyes. At another
time, one of the farmhands was getting corn from the crib, when a
heavy-set man came to the door, threw a brick, and disappeared as
mysteriously as he came. Such has been the case for the last week,
“the ghost” making its visits mainly between the hours of one or two
in the morning. The neighbors on several different evenings have
watched for the spook, but so far have not solved the mystery.
Several weeks ago, a family quarrel occurred, and Mrs. Paltser left
her husband. Since that time the ghost has held full sway. Some
believe the ghost is old Paltzer himself, but they can’t detect him.
They also state that he has been very brutal to his family, and by
his midnight shower of brickbats, believes he can so frighten his
family that they will never come back again.
PETER REYLAND AND THOMAS CONVARY MEET A GHOST - 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 - 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 - 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 HAUNT ALTON NAVAL MILITIA HALL - 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 - 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 - 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 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. After her marriage to Louis, and moving in
with her brother-in-law, Minnie reportedly became depressed and
melancholic. 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, but no tombstone
marks her grave. 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.
THE GHOST OF McPIKE ISLAND - 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?
BLUFF STREET GHOST STRIKES AGAIN - 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? - 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 IS HAUNTED - 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 (it was still standing in
1976), and whatever was happening
in that home remains a mystery.
THE GHOST THAT DISTURBED THE WESLEYS - 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 - 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.
PREMONITION OF NEPHEW'S DEATH - 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 - 1907
SECOND DREAM WARNS HIM
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 GLASS WORKS - 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 - 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
WAS IT A POLTERGIST? - 1908
Mr. and Mrs. Sparks of 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 family was prominent in
the Alton milling industry.
EAST ALTON MAN SLEEPS IN MILTON CEMETERY - 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 - 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 - 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 Jr. 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 Sr., the father of William Feldwisch Jr. mentioned
in the article above, was born in Germany in 1820. He came to
America in 1846, settling in Alton in 1854. He married Yetta ______,
who died in 1864. He remarried to Anna _____ in 1864, and they had
two children – William Jr. and John Feldwisch. William Sr. invested
in a row of houses along Washington Avenue in Alton, living in one
of them. The
father operated a brickyard behind his home, where he amassed a
small fortune. This brickyard was later the site of the Sportsmen’s
Park, and later, the Alton Plaza Shopping Center. William Sr.
invested heavily in real estate, which his sons inherited. William
Jr. later lived next door to his father, at 617 Washington Avenue,
and rented out the other homes he inherited - 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?
STRANGE PHENOMENON IN CLIFTON TERRACE - 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 - 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 one 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 - 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 - 1913
Woman in Black Croons Over Graves
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 IN WOOD RIVER - 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 - 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.
FIVE DEATHS IN FAMILY AFTER WOMAN HAD SAME DREAM - 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 - 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 - 1921
(This doesn't pertain to Madison County, but I thought you'd find
this interesting.)
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. 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 wife and children.
There are two known graves in the McPike graveyard, located on the
property. One grave belongs to Katie McPike (age unknown), and the
other of Robert Samuel B. 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
An old brick house on State Street 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
Edwardsville
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 sold to the Ottwells. The inn 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 will remain a mystery.