Ghost Stories

From the personal blog ( http://www.jeannicolerivers.com ) of JeanNicole Rivers: Recently, I visited my hometown of Centralia, IL. While visiting gravesites of relatives with my grandma Bunny and great grandma Joyce I got to meet Harriet. Annie Marshall. Annie was the daughter of the town doctor; she died in 1890 at the age of 11. Her mother and father were so crushed by her death that they memorialized her with a grand tombstone featuring a life-sized sculpture of Annie holding her beloved violin. As we cruised through the cemetery on the rocky paths my grandma pointed Annie out and told a haunting tale. “Every evening just as the sun sinks below the horizon leaving Centralia in the dusty shadows of twilight H. Annie Marshall begins to play her violin for exactly one hour in order to soothe the souls of the dead and the damned, keeping them from raging up out of their rotted coffins in the night and taking to the narrow streets of the time-forgotten town. Before her death, A...

Ghost Hunters next stop is the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Illinois. After two years, it opened on May 24, 1926 as a vaudeville movie palace costing nearly $2 million to build. The first talking picture show premiered on October 9, 1928. Despite being one of the finest theaters in the United States, time and the weather took a toll on the building and in the 1970s, it came close to be demolished. After the Rialto Square Arts Association launched a campaign to save it, the theatre went through extensive restoration in the 1980s. It has seen it's share of notable performers over the years including B. B. King, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, The Three Stooges, and Taylor Swift. It is believed a few former visitors may have never left. There are many stories about a couple of ghosts often seen in the theatre. One talks of a little boy named "Colin". He is known to be a bit of a prankster. Another common ghost is a young woman in her 20s seen dressed in white. Her true ident...

The Milton School was built in 1904 as a four room schoolhouse, teaching kindergarten through eighth grades. One of it's well known students was Robert Waldow (The Alton Giant). In 1925, six classrooms and a cafeteria were added, twelve more classrooms were added in 1935, and finally, in 1937, the gym was completed. It's doors remained open for 80 years until closing in 1984. The school remained vacant until Gary Levi purchased it for his company Intaglio Design, a company that manufactured items of decorative glass, seven years later. A warehouse was added in 1993, covering the old courtyard and playground. When Intaglio shut down, the school again sat vacant, and deteriorated. Portions of the school was rented out to various people including Piano World and a martial arts academy. It even hosted a "haunted house". Fake blood on walls, wax, and black light paint is all that remains now. Milton School is believed to be rather haunted. However, there's not muc...

A man named John Hart Crenshaw set up a sort of a reverse “underground railroad” in 1842. Back then, slavery was against the law in Illinois. However, a law stated that slaves could be leased from other states to work in dangerous salt mines. Crenshaw took major advantage of that. He kidnapped free slaves and forced them to work in his salt mines. He also sold these people back to slave owners in the south. Crenshaw kept slaves locked up in the attic and some say he brutally tortured them. Crenshaw devised another plan, this one to create slaves of his own. He selected a slave for his size and stamina and set him to breeding more slaves with the females that could bear children. This man, known simply as "Uncle Bob" was said to have fathered as many as 300 children. He lived until the age of 112 and died in 1948. The attic at Hickory Hill was a chamber of horrors. A dozen cells opened off a wide corridor. They were small rooms with bars on the windows and with iron rings ...

Lawler Ford Road was constructed in the 1860s to provide access to the Meramec River and railroad tracks. It is unknown how the "Lawler" portion of the name came about but there was a "Ford" somewhere down the line. It obtained its' Zombie Road name in the 1950s. The original name was tossed due to many stories of a local killer named "Zombie" that supposedly lived by the river. Like any unused place, Zombie Road become the hot spot for teenagers to party, drink and hangout. I guess that accounts for the killer story. It's a good way to scare kids away from such places as well as draw them to it. Murderer stories aside, it also has a reputation for ghosts. Supposedly, the first inhabitants were Native Americans, Shawnee to be exact. A family in the 1800s claimed to have been frequently visited by their spirits. There is also the story of a man who was run over by a train. There is no record of this act ever happening (though I doesn't say i...

When a child is born, most often their parents are imagining all the possible things they could grow up to be. I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Mudgett didn't have serial killer on that list for their baby boy Herman. Born on May 16, 1860, Herman Mudgett a.k.a Dr. Henry Howard Holmes grew up to be America's most deadliest serial killer. It's believed the body count mounted in to the hundreds but only twenty-seven were confirmed. How does a person kill hundreds of people without drawing unwanted attention? Mix a big city with a large fair and you have the perfect disguise. In 1889, Holmes arrived in Chicago taking up residence in what is now know as the Englewood neighborhood. He began working for Dr. and Mrs. Holden as a pharmacist. His charming demeanor masked the divorces, frauds and indiscretions performed during medical school, leading the couple to believe they had the perfect assistant. When Dr. Holden succumbed to cancer, Mrs. Holden mysteriously disappeared. Holmes expla...

The McPike Mansion Mist Built in 1869, architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger crafted a home with sixteen rooms, a vaulted wine cellar, eleven marble fireplaces and beautifully carved banisters in Alton, Illinois. McPike Mansion was home to Henry Guest McPike and his family. A famed horticulturist, he perfect the McPike Grape and became well known across the country. It is believed the McPike family lived in the mansion up until 1936. Although there may be some discrepancies with the dates. Records state Paul a. Laichinger owned and lived in the house between 1908-1930. Either way, it has been unoccupied since 1950s. The current owners Sharyn and George Luedke bought it at an auction in 1994. They are in the process of restoring it to its former beauty. There have been many stories told about McPike Mansion. Though some believe a whole army of spirits haunt the place only two have supposedly been identified. One is a female servant of the McPikes which Sharyn has dubbed "Sarah...

No one knows how Bachelor Grove got its name but it’s one of those must visit places to find strange phenomena. Hundreds of reports have derived from there and it began in 1844 when the land was set aside to be a burial ground. The first burial was that year and was in steady use until 1989, when the last burial was. It was in the middle 1800’s when it received the name Bachelor Grove. Trouble began in the 1960’s when the road leading to the cemetery became a popular “lovers lane” and vandals left it in terrible condition. It was officially closed in 1965. However, in the 70s, satanic and occultist groups performed ceremonies there, leaving remains. Many tombstones were stolen and some returned which could have given origin to legends that they moved by themselves. Some have witnessed ghost lights, voices, apparitions, and sightings of unbelievable creatures. The cemetery would soon be forgotten if it weren’t for the numerous ghost stories. One of the most interesting stories is th...

A man named John Hart Crenshaw set up a sort of a reverse “underground railroad” in 1842. Back then, slavery was against the law in Illinois. However, a law stated that slaves could be leased from other states to work in dangerous salt mines. Crenshaw took major advantage of that. He kidnapped free slaves and forced them to work in his salt mines. He also sold these people back to slave owners in the south. Crenshaw kept slaves locked up in the attic and some say he brutally tortured them. Crenshaw devised another plan, this one to create slaves of his own. He selected a slave for his size and stamina and set him to breeding more slaves with the females that could bear children. This man, known simply as "Uncle Bob" was said to have fathered as many as 300 children. He lived until the age of 112 and died in 1948. The attic at Hickory Hill was a chamber of horrors. A dozen cells opened off a wide corridor. They were small rooms with bars on the windows and with iron rings...

In 1856, Hull House was constructed by Charles J. Hull in one of the most fashionable sections of Chicago. However, after the Chicago Fire of 1871, most of the upper class moved to other parts of the city and Italian, Greek and Jewish settlers began taking their place. By the 1880s, Hull House was surrounded by factories and tenement houses. It later became one of the most famous locations in Chicago. Jane Addams and college friend Ellen Starr Gates opened the house in 1889 to provide education to the newly arrived European immigrants. West of what was once known as the wealthy section of Chicago was plagued by crime, vice, prostitution and drug addiction. Jane Addams became the "voice of humanity" for the less fortunate. Addams and Gates turned the house into a shelter mainly for women but also provided for the homeless. Over time, Hull House expanded as more space was needed. Twelve buildings were added but removed later on when the house was renovated. In 1935, Jane A...