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- THE FIRST INTERPRETED HAUNTED TOUR OF ALTON, OCTOBER 17, 2002
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- Riverboat Molly’s History & Hauntings Book Co.
 at 515 East
Third Street is the place where we, nine of us, the deaf and hard of
hearing people along with two interpreters, met and started the History
& Hauntings Ghost Tour. Troy Taylor, who authored two of the several
books about the hauntings of Illinois and Alton, led the tour; and,
then, we rode on Holly the Trolley while he as well as another man,
pointed out several haunting places.
Click on picture to enlarge it
- Before we went on the tour, the speakers mentioned that the purpose
of the tour is educational, historical, and entertainment. I raised my
hand and asked a question, “Why Alton has one of the most haunted places
around the area?” He replied, “That is the purpose of the trip and for
us to find out.” Then, he related the history of Alton, how the people
came and founded the city, how the ghost thrives (lives) with disaster,
disease, and death, and because most of the places are private property,
we could not go and enter the places, but only see the places from the
windows of the Trolley.
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- Here are some of the highlights of the tour. The first stop of the
haunted places was Enos Apartments at Third Street and George,
one of the sites of Underground Railroad (which runaway slaves traveled
from South to North) and nearby hospital which is no longer there.
Unusual activities such as noise, objects disappearing and appearing in
other places, lights effect occurred in that place.
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- We rode on a State Road, that spans from Godfrey to Riverfront, was
the first state toll road. We saw The Manson House of State
Street, turned hospital, which is now apartments. There is a story about
Capt. Tom Botkin, a Indian Fighter with one eye and one arm who lived
there, who was choked to death by his own hands. He thought the Indians
were coming after him and we would hear his screams nowadays. Also,
there was smallpox epidemic and a lot of suffering and deaths occurred
in the place where the nuns took care of them.
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- There are historic and architectural buildings around Alton’s
downtown district. At Franklyn House, 208 State St., where
Abraham Lincoln stayed, a girl died on the plank outside of the
building, she is now seen as a roaming ghost around the area. We stopped
by Stefan’s to buy some snacks and drinks. There is a historical sign of
Lincoln Douglas Square nearby where Lincoln and Douglas had their last
debate before Lincoln became the US President.
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- The site of a former warehouse near Broadway and Mill, is now an
empty area near two large grain mills where Elijah Lovejoy, an
editor of an anti-slavery newspaper, his printing press had been thrown
away in the Mississippi River and eventually, he met his death by a
raging mob. Some people, who visit there, could feel the energy of
frustration, anger, and tribulation Elijah Lovejoy
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- The Blaske Building near Broadway and William, now occupied
by the people of Madison Urban League, was one time owned by Capt.
Sparks. One story is that an office occupant stayed late one night and
held the papers, and for some reason they flew to his face from his
hands.
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- At the site of the Alton Penitentiary and Confederate Civil War
Prison near Broadway and William, north of the Blaske Building, only
a part of prison wall remains. Visitors can read the historical
information about the place. It was the first State Prison and a site
where many prisoners and wardens died from the epidemic of smallpox.
Uncle Remer’s Park nearby is now a parking lot. One of Troy Taylor’s
books mentioned that several of the blocks which made up the prison
walls were taken away to build new foundations or walls of houses, or
fences of such as the Unitarian Church and McPike Mansion
some years ago. There is a theory that the suffering of people with
diseases or anger and frustrations were created an atmosphere that was
impressed on the stones of the prison, and that some people nowadays
pick up their feelings from the walls or foundations of the church or
mansion, for example, when they visit nearby. Troy explained that it is
like an old film loop, which means the place is replayed over and over
for many years. That is what he calls Residual Haunting.
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- Mineral Spring Mall, an antique mall, has some traces of an
old hotel and had an underground mineral spring which supposedly had
medical properties. One story is about a lady who was involved in an
affair and was caught by her husband one evening in one of the rooms
near the top of the stairs. What had happened between the wife and
husband we don’t know, but she fell down the stairs and died. Staff
members and visitors, when visiting that area, caught whiffs of her
pungent jasmine perfume. Aside from this, a Belleville psychic
personally told me not too long ago that she experienced when she was on
a tour and on that spot!
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- The last stop was the Alton Cemetery, Troy Taylor and his
friend took us to the place where the Lovejoy Monument stands. It is
where Capt. Sparks, Harriet Haskell of Monticello Seminary (now Lewis
and Clark Community College), E. Lovejoy, other prominent people of
Alton, and Union Solders of Civil War are buried. (See note below)
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- Interpreters of Deaf Way for the Haunting Tour was provided by
Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation and were sponsored by
Susan Prail of IMPACT, Inc. and Paul Pyers of Jacksonville Area Center
for Independent Living.
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- Bibliography:
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- Chicago Haunts, Ursula Bielski (1998)
- Field Guide to Illinois Hauntings Jim Graczyk & Donna
Boonstra (2002)
- Haunted Illinois, Troy Taylor (1999, 2001)
- Haunted Alton, Troy Taylor (1999)
- Ghosts of the Prairie On-Line:
www.prairieghosts.com
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- Note: Paul Pyers worked at Lewis and Clark Community College
for nine years as a counselor for the deaf and hard of hearing students
(Monticello Seminary) and at the Mineral Springs Mall and heard some of
the ghost stories. For further information and/or questions, contact
Paul at:
paul@jacil.org or
pyers@csj.net
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