Illinois is Home to Most Haunted Small Town in the US

One of the things I'm interested in the most is paranormal. Everything about it fascinates me. I don't wait for the spirits to come to me, I seek them out. I'm constantly searching for places that are thought to be haunted by spirits.

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This time my search lead me to a city in the midwest. Let me introduce you to Alton, Illinois, and the reasons that this small town is the most haunted in America.

The happenings at McPike Mansion

The mansion, built-in 1869, hasn't been occupied since the 1950s. The current owners wanted to bring the mansion back to its original beauty. But, they soon found out that the house they bought was haunted.

Discovery/YouTube

According to riversandroutes.com,

...people see orbs, balls of light, and even figures of people in the background of pictures taken at the mansion...Some claim the haunts date back to the property before the mansion was even built with detections of Native American ghosts and a residue from a possible Underground Railroad stop. Other mysterious stories include servants of the building, a cook in the kitchen, and the strange death of a woman in the bathtub...Some even believe that Eleanor and Henry McPike still roam the corridors of their former home.

Most of the activity of the paranormal activity is centered in the cellar of the mansion The mansion has been the focus of many paranormal investigations and featured in several television shows about places that are known for paranormal activity.

Spirits roam throughout the Smith Campground

Brad/Airbnb

The Smith Campground, the largest piece of wooded land in Alton, is now known as Ghost Camp and can be rented out as an Airbnb.

Ghost Camp is located on the Smith Campground in Historic Haunted Alton Illinois...Six lots of vacant land are located at the end of Kennedy Ave. and Smith St... Alton is famously known as the "most haunted small town in America." Good luck...If guests get too spooked we have volunteered to provide support. Just give us a call and we'll come to the rescue.

- Brad - Airbnb

People have reported seeing apparitions, like the one in the photo, all the wooded campground.

The First Unitarian Church

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The haunted history of this Alton church involves church fires and suicide.

...built in 1830 and was first called St. Matthew's Catholic Church. 20 years later, the church burned to the ground. The Unitarian Society purchased the land and rebuilt a church for themselves. Another fire occurred in 1901, burning the church down to its foundation yet again. The church that stands now was rebuilt in 1905.

- Rivers and Routes

Legend says that in 1934 Reverand Phillip Mercer, a well-respected minister became ill and was ultimately found, by his friend, hanging in his office doorway.

Ever since the reverend's death, there have been accounts of people seeing ghost-like figures and hearing voices coming from the basement. Some have said that the church piano also starts playing randomly with no one actually playing it.

Ghost of Milton School

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This is the story of a little girl named, Mary. She went to Minton School but met a tragic fate.

The website, Roads, and Rivers, tells the legend of what happened to Mary.

Mary was finishing up a seasonal bulletin in her classroom while everyone else in the building had left for the day. As the sun started to go down she realized that she ought to get home before her mother worried about her. As she was skipping down the stairs toward the gymnasium doors when she heard a noise behind her. The next morning, Mary was found in the girl's locker room battered with blood all over her and her torn-up clothes.

Now, the old school is the site of a factory. Those who work at the factory say they have heard footsteps. They also say they have lost things that will just reappear without an explanation. as to where the time had been.

One report said that they saw the figure of a little girl in the building.