Haunted Towns in the Midwest - Evansville, Indiana

Haunted Evansville, Indiana and the Willard Library

Once again, the month of October has come and gone…. a time for hauntings, Halloween - and all things spooky.  Yes, I know, October was officially over yesterday, but I couldn’t close our look at haunted locations in the Midwest, without an overnight visit to Willard Library. And, maybe, just maybe, catch a glimpse of the Grey Lady…

Willard Library By Moonlight

   

On a cool October night, with a full moon looming above the Gothic library, I met with the Willard Library Ghost Chatters group (WLGC) for their annual paranormal investigation of "their" library.

WLGC Investigate

WLGC https://www.facebook.com/groups/119934544279/

has been meeting here every year in October since 2000 when founder Maer Mack suggested that a few chat room friends interested in paranormal and the Grey Lady (the resident spirit of the library) meet at Willard Library once a year to investigate. One thing has led to another over the years and now the group comes from all over the country, and Canada, prepared to search for ghosts, while getting caught up with each other during their weekend reunion in Evansville.

In the Stacks

EVP Session in the Children's Room

Everyone has a story to tell - of orbs bouncing between the book stacks; books sailing off of shelves and even striking people; water turning on and off at the janitor’s sink; shadows passing up the stairs; cold spots moving through the rooms… EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon) are prevalent in the library: a little boy’s voice, a woman’s, and sometime a man's can be heard.

Paranormal Investigator Tim Harte

How many spirits abide at Willard? Hard to say – WLGC estimate that there are at least eight entities here. Tim Harte with Mesa Project http://www.mesaproject.com has been researching the paranormal for decades. Each year he brings his equipment to the library and sets up in a room, measuring a variety of energies that are associated with paranormal phenomena.

Ghostly Activity

Tim Updates the WLGC's

Harte’s equipment collects data on visible, incident infrared, and ultraviolet light intensities: “natural and artificially generated electromagnetic fields, gamma ray radiation, galvanic skin response of a human subject, infrasound, and vibration." On this night, he picks up some activity in the Bayard Room, a known “haunt” of the Grey Lady’s.

 

Willard Carpenter

Willard Library

It all began when Willard Carpenter, a well-known businessman in the Evansville community, decided to build a library that would be “for the use of people of all classes and sexes, free of charge, forever.” Willard Library opened in 1885, housed in a 3-story Victorian Gothic style building. It is the oldest public library in Indiana.

Dark Shadow (Circled)

The first report of the library being haunted occurred in the winter of 1937. The library janitor was stoking the basement furnace in the early morning hours when he came face-to-face with a woman dressed in grey. When he asked what she wanted, she simply faded away. That was the last time the janitor was in the building; he quit the next morning.

Louise Carpenter

Investigating the Children's Room

The Grey Lady has been rumored to be Louise Carpenter, Willard’s daughter. Unhappy with her inheritance, she is said to haunt the library, which received the bulk of her father’s money. But many say that just doesn’t feel right. They believe the Grey Lady may be the spirit of a former librarian. Especially since the spirit seems to like being in the children’s section in the basement.

Grey Lady on Stairs

Bayard Room

The Grey Lady is known to move furniture around, push books off shelves, or move them forward to the edge of the shelves. Footsteps can be heard when no one else is on the floor in question, and the scent of lilac or lavender perfume is sometimes noticed. She has been seen on the main staircase and has been felt as a cold spot. She also likes to touch female patrons hair or earrings – and this I can vouch for; it’s happened to me in the Bayard Room.

Moonlight Through a Window

City police take it in stride when motion sensors set off the alarm system at the library at night. Once a policeman, stationed outside during an alarm, saw a woman standing in the window of the Bayard Room. When he asked if they had apprehended her, he was told that the police could find no one in the room, or

the building…

Basement Hallway

Janitor's Sink

Sightings have continued to this day, and not just of

the Grey Lady. There is also a young boy, known as “Billy” who plays tricks on staff and patrons. Could he be the spirit that turns on faucets at a janitor's sink on the first floor, knocks or throws books off shelves, and operates the elevator for unseen patrons? There is also a male apparition called “Frank” that is

sometimes seen in the basement. And, there are also others...unnamed.

Library Director Greg Hager

Willard Library has been featured on paranormal programs broadcast on the Discover Channel, the Sci-Fi channel, CNN, and the Travel Channel, just to name a few. According to Library Director, Greg Hager, there is currently a waiting list for paranormal groups who would like to do an overnight investigation here; the next available night will be in October 2031! But the door is always open to the WLGC - the group that started the search.

Louise is Ready for Halloween

As for those just wanting to learn more about the paranormal activity here, the library offers free Grey Lady tours on select evenings in October, but reservations are strongly recommended.

The Witching Hour at the Library

Although it’s too late to catch an evening tour this year, check with the library about free tours held year-round during the daylight hours. And if you’re still wanting to see what happens in the library at the witching hour, check out the Library Ghost Cams at Library Ghost http://www.libraryghost.com and Willard Library Ghost Cams http://www.willardghost.com/

Down the Staircase

Reading Room

Willard Library is like a step back in time, full of beautiful wooden trim, long library tables with individual reading lamps, and a helpful staff that won’t look askance when you ask, “Who was that woman who just touched my hair?” 

The Grey Lady...

“Why the Grey Lady, of course,” will most likely be the reply.

~ Joy

Haunted Towns in the Midwest - Alton, Illinois

Haunted Alton, Illinois and the Mineral Springs Hotel

Once again, the month of October is upon us…. a time for hauntings, Halloween - and all things spooky.  This month, A Grave Interest is traveling around the Midwest, taking ghost tours and getting a look at some ‘lively’ places, and, maybe, the spirits who make them so…

I decided early on that it would be smart to get some guides for these haunted jaunts. And who better to seek out than the local experts on all things paranormal in their towns.

On a cool, rainy night about 30 people milled around in the foyer of what was once a grand hotel in Alton, Illinois. First, let me preface by saying that Alton has the reputation (well earned, I might add) of being one of the most haunted towns in America.

The building we were in was, at one time, the Mineral Springs Hotel; given the name because of the mineral springs that flow below the building. At the turn of the century sulfur springs were thought to have healing properties. Here the water was pumped up inside the building to be bottled and used as cures for a variety of aliments. The hotel opened in 1914 and thrived for several decades before finally closing in 1971.

Mineral Springs Hotel Building

The building was reopened in the late 1970s as an antique mall and has had a rocky time since then. Today it is home to a few shops, the Torture Museum, and Mineral Springs Haunted Tours, which is where we began this night with tour owner, Janet Kolar.

Alton Cemetery

"Pearl"

After “checking in” we proceed to our vehicles and followed the Mineral Springs Haunted Tour hearse "Pearl" to the Alton Cemetery. There we were told about several prominent Alton residents from the past as we visited their graves.

Sarah Bell's Stone

Tour in Cemetery

At the plot of the Bell Family, our guide told of a young girl, Sarah Bell, who died when she was around 10 years old. A small limestone marker was placed in the family plot to mark her grave, but it soon disappeared. Her mother was inconsolable and continued to search for the stone until her death some years later. After she died, an apparition of a lady in black was seen walking in this area of the cemetery, apparently searching for something.

Alton to Edwardsville

The story could end there but circumstances added a final chapter. A few years ago, a man in Edwardsville, Illinois (18 miles from Alton) contacted the cemetery wanting to return a tombstone he had found buried in his backyard. He had unearthed it while digging a foundation. The stone was that of Sarah Bell, missing for over 100 years. Since it has been returned to the family plot, the lady in black has not been seen…

Lovejoy's Grave

The grave of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy is also located here, inside a small iron fence. Lovejoy began printing an abolitionist newspaper called The Alton Observer in 1837. But one year later a pro-slavery throng attacked his printing store in an attempt to destroy his press. During the melee, Lovejoy was fatally shot. Orbs and lights can sometimes be seen streaking past his grave, as if he is still trying to run his presses.

Cemetery Seance

Cemetery at Night

About midway through the tour, a séance was held down a dark cemetery road. Several took part, although participation was optional. Orbs and streaks of light were reportedly seen in the cemetery at that time.

Lobby Area Today

We then headed back to the warmth and light of the old Mineral Springs Hotel where refreshments were served in the Crystal Room. Then we began a tour of the old hotel, which has been called the most haunted building in Alton – and in this town, that is claiming a lot!

Using Rods

Things have gone “bump in the night” here for years. And tales of murder, suicide, and vengeance are abundant. Former employees, shop owners, and guests report phantom footsteps, cold spots, and an eerie feeling of being watched throughout the hotel.

Basement Pool Area

In the basement is a swimming pool; said to be haunted by several sprits including a young girl, a man, and a woman. Wet footprints have been seen near the pool, which has been without water for years. Splashing sounds have been heard in the basement but when investigated there are no sounds, and again, there is no water.

Mural of Alton

Another spirit that seems to linger here is that of Charlie, a painter who could not pay his lodging bill in the 1930’s. Instead of running out on his tab, Charlie offered to paint a mural of Alton on one wall of the bar. The owner agreed and Charlie worked off his debt, while also working behind the bar at night. Legend has it that something made Charlie despondent and he took his life one night.

Staff and customers have reported smelling alcohol in this section of the building and of having the feeling of being watched. The guide on this tour said that Charlie has been known to follow some women from the tour back home, but once he’s told to go away, he returns to Mineral Springs.

Probably the best-known ghost is that of the Jasmine Lady. The story goes that a woman and her husband came to the hotel to enjoy the healing waters around 1925, but while staying here she became involved with another guest.

Jasmine Lady's Room

Down the Hallway

One evening, when her husband was gone, she entertained the man in her room. Her husband returned unexpectedly and found the two. Panicked and terrified, the woman ran from her room and plunged down the stairs in an attempt to reach the safety of the lobby. What really happened is not known; did she trip while running down the stairs, or did her husband push her?  Either way, the result was a broken neck during the fall. She died immediately.

Haunted Stairs

Several employees, staff and guests have witnessed the replay of the Jasmine Lady’s fall down the stairs. Some catch a whiff of jasmine perfume that seems to linger around the staircase. Others have reported feeling something brush past them on the stairs, and some have seen business signs in the hallway swing back and forth as if moved by a sudden gust of air.

Mineral Springs Haunted Tours offers several walking tour adventures, after dark, in the downtown area, and in the cemetery, which also includes a tour of the hotel. Or, if you’re feeling very spirited, you might consider an exclusive overnight camp-out in the pool area.

Tour Group

For more information about tours and times, visit their web page at www.mineralspringshauntedtours.com and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MineralSpringsHauntedTours?ref=br_tf

Haunted Lobby

This is one hotel, that as the song says, “You can check out anytime you like” - but at Mineral Springs Hotel it appears that there really are some former guests “who can never leave…”

~ Joy