I had some free time on my hands (not really, I was just procrastinating) so decided to take a solo trip to do some paranormal investigation or "ghosthunting" as most people call it, down in Alton, IL - reportedly one
o f the most haunted small towns in America.
I like coming up with new things for this website so I decided why not take viewers along on my ghosthunt, teach them how to do their own paranormal investigations during their own travels?
People fear the paranormal and I've never understood this. I've had 5 full fledged NDE's (Near Death Experiences) where I was clinically "dead" and there's absolutely nothing to fear about "dying" or from those who have passed. "Death" does not exist! We simply leave the physical body behind and everything else we are remains intact. As you were in life is how you'll be in death. And in the process of "dying" you'll be every bit as conscious as you are reading this. It's an exilharating experience! No, you don't go to a "Heaven" or "Hell" (Those are human inventions), you simply move to another dimension of existence.
It's the ultimate adrenaline rush!
Nor is there anything to fear from those in spirit. The only difference between us and them is that they no longer have their physical bodies but exist in an energy form.
So there's nothing to fear in communicating and/or interacting with them.
For those who would like to try their hand at paranormal investigation
EVP Recorder
EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomenon.
An EVP recorder captures responses those in spirit make to you.
The less "static" you have in the background the easier it will be to hear what your EVP recorder picks up. (Wearing headphones during playback is still recommended, however.)
You can buy less expensive handheld recorders but I've found they don't work nearly as well.
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EMF Detector
An EMF Detector detects electromagnetic fields around you. Those in spirit are pure energy so when they make an appearance, your EMF reader will spike to higher numbers.
Apart from ghost hunting, these meters will detect dangerous EMF fields in your home!
I like the FieldSentry EMF detector available here. $50
OVILUS 5B
If I could buy only one piece of ghosthunting equipment I'd spend the bucks on the OVILUS 5B.
Unlike the traditional EVP recorder, the OVILUS contains a language database. Meaning those in spirit can answer you and you will see their answer right on the OVILUS screen in actual words. No having to strain to listen for EVP's on a traditional EVP recorder.
Yes, they're expensive at $600 but worth their weight in gold if you're serious about paranormal investigation.
You could go out and easily blow a wad of money and ghosthunting equipment but do you really need to?
If someone in spirit wants to make contact with you they will no matter what equipment you have or don't have. They communicate differently in spirit but they're perfectly capable of getting your attention by playing with electrical devices, turning them on and off; of moving objects; of using synchronicity that you'll recognize as being them, etc.
I had one client who was totally freaked out and thought she had a demonic entity haunting her house because her Christmas tree kept getting knocked over. I began laughing and said "Your dad was named Bob and he passed from a heart attack?"
"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!!"
"Your dad's trying to get your attention, it's him knocking your Christmas tree over. Next time it happens just tell him okay, you know it's him now."
She did that and her Christmas tree stopped getting knocked over.
Can you force those in spirit to make contact with you? No. They have free will just like you do. You can't force them to do anything any more than they can force you to do anything. And it's been my experience they only attempt to communicate when they have something to say. Just because you may not get a response doesn't mean those in spirit don't exist. I always have to chuckle at disbelievers and put their disbelief of the paranormal to them this way: "If you go down to the ocean, dip a cup into the ocean and fill it with water, but you don't see any whales in your cup does that mean whales don't exist?"
The paranormal exists but it's absolutely nothing to fear whatsoever.
With that, let's go ghosthunting!
After driving for 8 hours I was more than happy to arrive at my accommodations, the notorious Beall Mansion, 407 E. 12th St, Alton, IL on Millionaire's Row. This is an elegant boutique B&B that a friend had recommended to me. No, to stay there doesn't cost and arm and a leg if you book wisely. You'll see what I mean...
The grand old home sits proudly in the Middletown District of Alton alongside a host of historic Victorian and Federal-style buildings. Each room of the mansion is uniquely and classically decorated with hand-carved wood furniture, high ceilings, antique paintings and sculptures, and fine details. Original wood floors, a stately staircase, and plush oriental rugs lead to rooms that will leave you feeling like royalty. Sleep and relax first class in triple sheeted feather beds, claw-foot and Jacuzzi tubs, and enjoy continental and gourmet breakfast options, 24 hour hot beverage services, a chocolate bar, and spa services!
By taking advantage of one of their Extended Multi Night stays (Monday - Thursday) I was able to drop the price on a King room with fireplace and whirlpool from the regular price of $538 per night to an affordable $166.06 per night.
And the room was superb, especially the feather bed topper!
If booking, you'll have a choice of 3 different types of rooms:
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King with whirlpool & fireplace
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Queen with whirlpool & fireplace
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Full bed suite with claw foot tub
Book DIRECT here to get the lowest rates. Stay MON-THUR and save even more! (FRI and SUN are mid-price, SAT premium price)
The B&B offers 2 different breakfast options but with the Extended Stay deal you get the self serve Continental breakfast, which was fine with me. The other option is guests can also opt for a gourmet breakfast in the mansion’s formal dining room, in their own room, or even in bed!
Included in my stay was a FREE Beall Mansion Museum tour, 24 hour chocolate buffet featuring a minimum of 21 different chocolates, free WiFi, and in room spa services.
The easiest way to get around Alton is to have your own car. I also brought my bicycle along.
MCT (Madison County Transit) does offer half fare bus passes for Seniors - Seniors age 65 and up who show a valid ID and disabled individuals with a valid Medicare card or State of Illinois issued Disabled ID, who show a valid photo ID.
Alton’s main transportation hub is the Amtrak Alton Station at 1 Golf Road, which serves Amtrak’s Texas Eagle and Lincoln Service trains. The station includes a waiting room, accessible restrooms, ticket sales, and baggage assistance.
There is a $10 per phone self-guided audio tour available for a full tour of Alton. Details here
Video creit: Soul Searching
Man, did that goose feather bed and whirlpool tub feel good after an 8 hour drive!
Breakfast at your accommodations and we're off on our ghosthunting adventure!
Our first stop is going to be where any good ghosthunter starts...wherever the town's historical records are kept. In this case, the Genealogy & Local History Library, 401 State Street, Alton.
The more you know about the history of the town, the better your ghosthunting experience will be.
Eight times out of 10, those in spirit are hanging around a place because of a traumatic incident in their life, normally including their death.
What kind of tragic events happened in Alton that would help explain why it's so haunted? Who were the people involved in those tragic events? How many lost their lives due to a town's tragic events?
In the case of Alton, I was stunned at their past history dating back to the 1800's.
Wood River Massacre (July 10, 1814)A group of Native Americans, likely Kickapoo or Potawatomi, attacked a party of settlers, killing 7 and displacing dozens.
Hurricane of June 5, 1805: Swept across the American Bottom (including Alton’s area), destroying homes, trees, and livestock. No fatalities due to sparse population, but several were injured by flying debris.
Hurricane of May 17, 1838: Damaged fences, trees, and buildings; accompanied by heavy rain.
Severe Hailstorm (July 24, 1854): Hailstones reportedly weighing a pound destroyed roofs, shattered windows, and killed poultry.
Tornado of June 2, 1860: In 20 minutes, hundreds of buildings were damaged; churches lost steeples, offices destroyed, and property losses exceeded $8,000 in 1860 currency. German Catholic Church nearly destroyed; Methodist Church steeple blown off; Democrat office building wrecked. No reported loss of life but several injuries.
Great River Floods (19th Century: Six separate floods resulting in 7 deaths.
Fire: Twice the town burned to the ground.
Source: Edwardsville Spectator, February 18, 1826
At about 5 or 6 o’clock on Sunday morning, the 5th inst., the mill of Mr. Jonathan Brown in Alton was discovered to be on fire, and before any efficient means could be adopted to save it, the mill, with its contents, was consumed. The cause of the disaster cannot be ascertained, as the fire was supposed to have been left perfectly secure the night before. About three hundred bushels of grain were in the mill, besides other property. Mr. Brown, who is an honest and industrious citizen, is the principal sufferer.
Alton Cholera: Source: The Evening Journal, Albany, New York, June 30, 1835
The Alton (Illinois) Spectator says upwards of 20 deaths have taken place in that town within two weeks. The disease, however, was taking a milder form, and hopes were entertained that it would soon take its departure. The Spectator adds that Cholera prevails to a greater or lesser extent in Edwardsville, the American Bottom, through the towns on the Illinois river, and various other places in the State.
TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION IN ALTON
Source: Alton Telegraph, May 23, 1840
A little before twelve o'clock on last Wednesday night, the citizens of Alton were aroused from their slumbers by an explosion incomparably louder, as well as by far more destructive, than the discharge of one hundred pieces of the heaviest ordnance. Hundreds immediately hurried towards State Street, from the direction of which the report seemed to have proceeded; when it was ascertained that it was occasioned by the blowing up of the Powder Magazine [building designed to hold explosive powder in barrels], situated on the southern declivity of the bluff, a few rods [one rod is 16.5 feet] west of the Penitentiary, and containing at the time upwards of six tons of powder. To describe with some degree of minuteness the damage done by this catastrophe, would fill several columns of our journal. Suffice it, therefore, to remark in general terms, that scarcely one single building within the thickly settled part of the city remains uninjured, and that some of those nearest the site of the magazine have been literally reduced to a heap of ruins.
The most tragic event that occurred in the history of Alton was the murder of Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy at the hands of a mob, on November 7, 1837. Click here to read the full story of Rev. Lovejoy.
You get the idea...Alton has seen more than its fair share of woes, which would help explain why it is so haunted.
Searching out a town's historian is particularly helpful - in this case, Troy Taylor of Alton Hauntings. Troy knows everything about Alton hauntings!
Tour the Town
Before we get into our ghosthunting, take a walk through town. Even if you're not interested in the paranormal, Alton is a picturesque river town with some beautiful scenery.
The city of Alton was founded over 200 years ago in 1818, and it's had quite the history since. Not only did it play a role in the American Civil War, but it was a stop along the Underground Railroad. Alton's past was also filled with murder, disease, and death, so it's may come as no surprise that there have been numerous stories of ghostly activity around town.
Lunch: Normally I avoid chain restaurants but I'm a member of the Applebee's Club so I had some perks and a gift card I needed to use before they expired. Plus I had a free dessert coming for my birthday that month.
Applebee's was running a promo on their new New O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger - 2 for $25 - so I ate lunch for pennies on the dollar. Score!
Alton City Cemetery
1205 E 5th St, Alton
The local cemetery seemed like a logical place to start our ghosthunting adventure.
My first stop after lunch was the Alton City Cemetery.
This cemetery is believed to be haunted by any number of ghosts, but three of the ghosts are said to be the following:
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Elijah P. Lovejoy who was an abolitionist. He was shot at a pro-slavery riot in 1837. His ghost is known to appear and hang out near his monument and occasionally he’ll manifest as cold spots.
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Lucy Haskell is a 9-year-old little girl that is said to hang round the area of the Hayner/Haskell monument.
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A nameless spectral woman dressed in black that appears near the Grandview mausoleum.
It was the ghost of little Lucy Haskell that I was most interested in because children have no inhibitions about being in spirit and usually they're quite communcative. Normally they're just looking for someone to play with them so I brought a replica 1800's doll along to coax Lucy into communicating with me.
Lucy was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Haskell, prominent citizens of Alton, Illinois. Architect Lucas J. Pfeiffenberger was commissioned to design a playhouse on the grounds of their estate for her fifth birthday in 1885. Lucy died of diphtheria four years later.
No sooner did I say "Lucy, I brought you a doll to play with" than she appeared. (Works almost every time!)
What an adorable little girl! Very intelligent and precocious - although she couldn't pronounce "diptheria" right...it would come out "ditheria". LOL
The City Cemetery is inhabited by many in spirit, they were all around me. But connecting with Lucy made the trip to the cemetery worthwhile in itself.
Confederate Cemetery & Memorial
635 Rozier Street, Alton
The Confederate Memorial is part of the Alton City Cemetery that was originally a soldier's lot. Despite the existence of the lot as early as 1870, the. Alton National Cemetery is a united states national cemetery.
A Confederate monument erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 marks the collective graves of the soldiers. The names of 1,354 Confederate soldiers who died in the prison or on Tow Head Island are inscribed on six bronze plaques attached to the 58' high granite obelisk.
A rumor spread that bricks from the native limestone walls of the prison were used in the construction of Alton homes and businesses, but it has since been proved a myth- according to records, almost all bricks were broken upon demolition of the prison in the decades after its closure on July 7, 1865, and thrown into the river.
Interestingly enough, as I wandered through the cemetery the manifestation of a Confederate soldier did appear to me. He gave his name as Joseph Arnold and said he'd been a prisoner of war. I always like confirmation of what I get psychically...and sure enough, there was a Pvt. Joseph H. Arnold in the cemetery. I found this but could not locate his grave...
Name: J H Arnold
Enlistment Date: 5 Mar 1863
Enlistment Rank: Private
Muster Place: Arkansas
Muster Regiment: Co. A, 47th (Crandall's) Arkansas Cavalry
Muster Information: Enlisted
Date Captured: 7 Oct 1864
Place Captured: Pilot Knob, Missouri
Place Imprison: Alton, Illinois
Date of Death: 5 Mar 1865
Place of Death: U.S.A Post and Prison Hospital, Alton, Illinois
Cause of Death: Small Pox and Anemia (He had told me he'd died of smallpox so that matched)
Side of War: Confederacy
Survived War?: No
Burial Place: Alton, Illinois Source
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of him either.
Confederate Prison (Old Alton Prison) - Civil War (1861-1865)
All that remains of the Confederate Prison today
Photo credit: Madison County ILGenWeb
During the Civil War, as the number of captured Confederate prisoners of war increased and Union prisons were filling up, the Federal government decided to use former Illinois State Penitentiary at Alton (which closed in 1860) for a military post and prison. Beginning on November 01, 1861, captured Confederate prisoners, Union deserters, and war criminals were housed in the prison, including a small number of women.
Conditions in the Prison were horrific. In 1863, a smallpox epidemic spread throughout the prison. Some of the affected prisoners were housed in the small prison hospital, but as the number of affected prisoners grew, fear began to spread among the citizens of Alton that they too would be infected with the dreaded disease. Officials in charge of the Alton prison wanted to house the smallpox patients in a separate tent hospital near Alton, but Altonians would have none of that. It was finally decided to house the patients on Sunflower Island, directly across from Alton. This was the same island that Abraham Lincoln and James Shields were to hold their duel in September 1842. The men went to the island, but came to an agreement and canceled the duel. The island soon earned the nickname, “Smallpox Island.” In May 1862, the regular prison hospital was moved into a three-story building at the corner of Broadway and Alby Streets. This was used until a new hospital within the prison walls was constructed in July 1864.
Those who died at the military prison in Alton were buried at the cemetery on Rozier Street in North Alton. Those prisoners confined to the hospital on Smallpox Island were buried there on the island. Most of this island no longer exists, as it was flooded when the Alton dam was constructed in 1926.
At the end of the Civil War (1865) the prison was closed permanently. Those remaining prisoners were sent to St. Louis or released. The prison was then slowly dismantled, except for a small portion of a wall, which was relocated in 1970 near William Street in downtown Alton. This wall still stands, and is now a historical site.
Over 1,400 died due to the smallpox outbreak so stories of hauntings abound.
A Confederate monument erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 marks the collective graves of the soldiers. The names of 1,354 Confederate soldiers who died in the prison or on Tow Head Island are inscribed on six bronze plaques attached to the 58' high granite obelisk.
Enos Sanitarium
325 East Third Street, Alton
The tunnel in the basement: Part of the historic underground railroad
What was once the sanitarium is now an apartment building but the Underground Railroad tunnel is still there, just as it looked in the 1800's. The underground tunnels exist 15 feet below 3rd Street and resemble Roman catacombs. The basement of the apartment complex contains a sealed tunnel that reportedly held a passageway to hidden rooms where enslaved people rested during the day before traveling at night to the next stop on the Railroad.
Paranormal reports include dark figures appearing, cold spots, phantom touch sensations in basement tunnels, objects disappearing, water faucets turning on and off by themselves, and dishes rattling among other things.
Nathaniel Hanson was an ardent abolitionist. With Alton situated across the river from slaveholding Missouri, the town was an active stop on the Underground Railroad in the years prior to the Civil War. Hanson built his home precisely to accommodate that cause. Built on a high bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River, the cupola atop it was visible from afar. Nighttime lanterns inside the cupola reportedly alerted slave runners across the river if the coast was clear or if threats prevented crossing. Additionally, Hanson had tunnels carved into the limestone beneath the house, allowing fleeing slaves a safe place to hide when arriving in Illinois.
In 1911, Dr. W.H. Enos purchased the mansion and converted the building into a tuberculosis sanatorium. Soon after, a fourth floor was added and an adjoining nurses home constructed, making the building look as it does today. Tuberculosis was an incurable disease at the time, and scores of suffering patients died in the mansion during the next several years. Today, many believe a few of these unfortunate souls continue to roam the halls and make themselves at home.
There was definitely very heavy, intense energy in the place, although I couldn't go into any of the apartments.
Dinner: Castelli's, 3400 Fosterburg Road, Alton.
Castelli’s opened their doors in 1937 and is run today by the family’s fourth generation. They serve steaks, seafood, and pasta, but are best known for their fried chicken. In fact, 70% of their customers order their fried chicken so I decided to give it a try. Very good!
Toasted ravioli and “Roman” house salad dressing are also favorites.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Wednesday - Thursday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Friday - Saturday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
I'd just gotten into my lounging clothes when there was a knock on my door...
Well this was a welcome surprise!
Morning: Breakfast at your accommodations
First Unitarian Church
110 East Third Street, Alton
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Pastor Phillip Mercer
Founded in 1836, the First Unitarian Church's original structure here was built on the site of the St. Matthew's Catholic Church, which had burned down. Both churches were stations on the Underground Railroad. But that church also burned down in 1905, and the church that now stands here is said to be haunted.
The most well-known ghost here is former pastor Phillip Mercer, who, for unknown reasons, hanged himself from a window transom in a hall behind the auditorium in 1934. His apparition has been seen in the church by visitors and church officials alike.
In 1928, Philip Mercer became pastor of the church. Mercer was an Englishman who came to America at age 18 in 1886. He lived in St. Louis for a time and worked for the railroad. Then he decided to become a minister and took posts in Minnesota and North and South Dakota before arriving in Alton.
Church members and others in Alton knew little about Mercer’s personal life. He never spoke of family. He spent long hours at the church in study. But he was friendly and outgoing and well liked. He enjoyed social events, concerts, and conversation and often told others that coming to Alton marked the happiest days of his life.
In 1934, Mercer went on vacation and came back a strangely changed man, who went into a sudden health decline. First he complained about his weight, and he lost pounds rapidly. Then he complained about feeling weak. He consulted a doctor, who told him nothing was wrong but advised him to get some rest. He became moody.
One Sunday in November of 1934, Mercer exhibited odd behavior as he delivered his sermon. He seemed agitated and in a hurry to get the service finished. He was sweating profusely.
The next day he was seen around 1 P.M. leaving the church by a woman who lived next door. He did not return home by evening, which worried his friend James MacKinney. Mercer was known to spend the night in St. Louis occasionally when he took in a play or concert, but he had mentioned no such plans to anyone.
On Tuesday morning, MacKinney telephoned the church repeatedly but no one answered. He went to the church and saw lights on inside. MacKinney entered, and to his horror, he saw Mercer’s body hanged by a cord in a doorway of the church. A kicked over chair was beneath him.
Mercer’s death was ruled a suicide, committed on Monday, November 20. He left behind no note or clues as to why he was driven to take his own life, and his death remains unsolved to the present day. His body was taken to the Klunk Funeral Home where funeral services were held. No one knew where to bury the minister, and so the body was removed to the local mausoleum pending instructions from England. But no instructions or acknowledgment ever arrived. Mercer’s body remains at the mausoleum.
Was he really murdered? There is no evidence to support that rumor. Papers in Mercer’s church study appeared to have been rifled through, as though someone were looking for something, but he could have done that himself.
Though Mercer had never mentioned family to anyone in Alton, his personal papers showed that he was in fact engaged to be married to a woman named Dorothy Cole, who lived in Minneapolis. At the time of his death, they had been engaged for six months. According to Cole, Mercer had slipped into depression, and she had been unable to help him.
While touring the church Jay was fooling around with my OLIVUS I'd brought along and while fooling around asked "Hey Reverend...how did you die?"
The word MURDER appeared on the screen.
What was interesting about that was I discovered a 2015 article in the Telegraph that stated Reverend Mercer was now believed to have been murdered even though his obituary stated he'd died by suicide. Interesting too is the fact that one of the tour guides said she's heard hushed arguing when no one else is in the church. She also reported seeing imposing shadowy figures (plural) and feeling her hair pulled in past visits. This even though Mercer was alone in the church when he allegedly hung himself.
One is in death as they are in life. Their personality doesn't change. By all reports Mercer was friendly, well liked and had stated his days in Alton were the happiest days in his life. He'd just gotten engaged to be married. Personally, I can't see a man fitting that description appearing as an "imposing shadow figure" or going around pulling women's hair. From a law enforcement perspective, if it was a suicide it was an atypical suicide.
From a paranormal perspective, those who most often stay connected to the earth plane once they've died are usually victims of a sudden, unexpected death because they want someone here to know what happened to them that caused their death. The death of someone intent on committing suicide is not an UNEXPECTED death. They've made a conscious decision to end their life. Homicide is another matter entirely as it's sudden and unexpected.