FROM AMERICAN HAUNTINGS INK
HAUNTED Alton
the history and mystery of one of the most haunted small towns in america
new, revised & updated edition (2022)
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For more than two centuries, the Mississippi River town of Alton, Illinois, has gained a reputation for its dark side. Author Mark Twain called it “a dismal little river town,” and today, it’s known as “one of the most haunted small towns in America” – all thanks to its long and bloody history of death, violence, disease, disaster, and, of course, its ghosts.
Author Troy Taylor returns to the streets of Alton for a new, updated, and revised look at the town’s weird history with more history and more hauntings than ever before. Filled with chilling tales, you’ll find many within these pages that have never appeared in print before, plus new stories and details from places like the Mineral Springs Hotel, Enos Sanitorium, Powder Mills Road, Alton Penitentiary, McPike Mansion, Illinois Glass Works, First Unitarian Church, Lewis and Clark College, and more!
This is the original book of Alton’s ghost stories in a new, revised edition and serves as the inspiration for the award-winning Alton Hauntings Tours. Discover the true story of how Alton became so haunted and how it’s earned its moniker of one of the country’s most spirited small towns!
MORE ABOUT THE NEW EDITION!
* Discover Alton’s storied history, from the days of Native American settlements to the founding of the original ferryboat landing that began the town’s importance as a riverport. You’ll find stories of outlaws, killers, massacres, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Wadlow – and the REAL story of Alton’s favorite mascot, the Piasa Bird!
* Delve into Alton’s role in the Underground Railroad, the death of the free press’ first martyr, Elijah Lovejoy, and the history and hauntings of the Enos Building – an Underground Railroad station and tuberculosis sanatorium.
* Journey along the Mississippi River from Alton to Grafton with tales of river pirates, ghost lights, “bottomless” crime scenes, four different haunted hotels, a phantom bride, a haunted hollow, and a ghostly little girl named “Abigail.”
* Find out the true story of Alton’s first state penitentiary, it’s tragic and corrupt past, it’s time as a Confederate prison camp, and the lingering hauntings of several locations connected to the prison – including Alton’s most haunted roadway!
* Discover the ghost stories behind some of Alton’s most important industries during the nineteenth century, from the poltergeist that plagued the Sparks Milling Company, the ghost of the Illinois Glass Works, the Kendall Cracker Factory’s “whistling ghost,” and, of course, the Lady in Black who haunted Powder Mill Road – an omen of doom that predicted accidents at the nearby ammunition factory!
* Be chilled by the hauntings of two of Alton’s most famous early hotels, from the Franklin House to the “one-eyed Indian fighter” who made his presence known for decades at the Mansion House.
* For the first time, discover the TRUE history and hauntings of the Mineral Springs Hotel, an Alton institution when it comes to hotels of the past, healing springs, and hauntings. See documented evidence of deaths in the building and spirits left behind, as well as first-hand accounts of the hauntings.
* Never seen in print before – read about the downtown opera house – with a number of ghosts – that existed before a popular downtown bar took its place!
* Enter the haunted hallways and corridors of Lewis and Clark College, which was presided over for decades by the beloved Harriet Haskell – a woman who loved the school – and her girls – so much that she has never left!
* Find out the TRUE story of the former pastor of the First Unitarian Church, whose suicide in the building has left a lingering presence behind. Discover first-hand accounts of the hauntings!
* Go behind the walls and fences of Alton’s graveyards, which includes the history, mystery, and hauntings of the Alton City Cemetery, vanishing hitchhikers in the region, and the never-before-told story of the Alton cemetery that was so haunted that the newspapers began calling the nightly excursions by the public a “first-rate ghost sensation.”
* We’ve heard the rumors and legends of the “Hartford Castle,” but very few people know the TRUE story behind the mysterious mansion, the tragic death that doomed the house, and the contact with the spirit world that was connected to it. It’s your chance to find out!
* Open the locked doors of Alton’s many haunted houses – including many NEW stories that have NEVER appeared in print before, from lingering suicides to mysterious rock-throwing, women in black, poltergeists, a phantom carriage, a haunted toll house, the TRUE story of the McPike Mansion, and much more!