The Crenshaw House, known as the Old Slave House, atop Hickory Hill near Equality, Illinois Note: The Old Slave House outside of Equality, Illinois is a decaying symbol of a sordid time in Illinois history. Its own history has been clouded over the years by folklore, and some say the tales of a huckster. But […]
Haunted Old Louisville: Is this Victorian gem America’s most haunted neighborhood? A summer photo essay
In haunted old Louisville, Central Park was once the front lawn of the DuPont family mansion, one of the earliest in Old Louisville. Uncle Vic frequented the place, but spent most of his time downtown, in the Galt House hotel. It was late summer in Louisville, several decades ago and the heat had broken. But […]
Book excerpt from The Haunted History of Southern Illinois … Christmas ghost stories on the prairie in southern Illinois
Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. It’s a Christmas story, true. But take away the Christmas garland and A Christmas Carol is a classic gothic ghost story. For most people, Christmas ghosts stories begin and end with that tale. But they go much fur- ther back, and were a larger part of the Christmas tradition than […]
Tales Told By A Tombstone … on Betsey Reed, The White Lady of Baker Cemetery, and a quartet of southern Illinois hauntings from Lawrence and Crawford counties
The history of The White Lady of Baker Cemetery, Elizabeth Betsey Reed, the first and only woman hung in Illinois and other ghostly tales from Lawrence and Crawford Counties
Tales Told By A Tombstone: “Prepare For Death and Follow Me,” Secrets of the Witch’s Grave at Big Hill Cemetery
The witch’s stone in Big Hill Cemetery, Norris City IL is peculiar. But why does it carry the legend and who carved it?
The 1925 Tri-State Tornado: In search of the scars from the worst tornado in U.S. history and finding them closer than I expected … A tale told by a tombstone
The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 spent most of its duration along country roads. A look at how rural communities were torn apart.
