Ghostly Happenings in Illinois

Beheaded Ghost

Cave-in-Rock State Park is located along the Ohio River and a most notorious treasure hunting spot in Southern Illinois. There were river pirates, highwaymen, counterfeiters, and horse thieves in this area between the 1790s and the 1870s. As much as one million dollars worth of stolen loot and counterfeit money changed hands here during this time. The best-known story is about the Mason gang who stashed gold in the cave. Unfortunately, Samuel Mason was captured and beheaded before he could get to the gold. Now visitors to this area have heard moans and cries echoing from the cave, and it could be the ghost of Mason looking for his gold.

The Hand of Mystery and Ghostly Apparitions

In 1893, when the Congress Plaza Hotel was built in Chicago, it was dubbed the Landmark of Hospitality. Since it has been in operation, guests and staff have reported strange noises in the ballroom even though it is empty. Hotel appliances like to turn themselves off and on, and guests have reported seeing the hotel’s former owner—Al Capone. There have been guests who have seen a ghostly gloved hand sticking out of a wall called “The Hand of Mystery." The story behind this is that a construction worker got trapped behind some drywall during construction and ended up getting walled in. Now he waves for help for all eternity. Another ghostly apparition is that of Peg Leg Johnny, the spirit of a hobo who was murdered in the building.

The Spirit of Grieving Esmeralda

The Devil’s Bake-Oven cave is located along the Mississippi River. It is part of a famous, old legend. Legend has it that there was a young lady named Esmeralda, who was in love with a riverboat captain. Her father did not approve of the romance, so they courted in secret. It was unfortunate when Esmeralda heard that her captain had been killed in a boiler explosion. Deeply grieved, she jumped into the river and drowned. Now people who visit here can hear disembodied moans, shrieking, and sobbing. Giving the story more credibility, remnants of the foundations of a manor house have been found near the cave.

The Haunting of Violin Annie

Up until 1921, Elmwood Cemetery was known as Centralia Cemetery. It is associated with a well-known ghost story that comes with the haunting strains of violin music. Visitors here have heard the music associated with a statue in the graveyard known as “Violin Annie." The statue sits atop of a large monument resembling a Greek temple. The statue depicts a young girl with long flowing hair holding a violin. In life she was Harriet Annie, the daughter of Dr. Winfield and Eoline Marshall. In 1890 she died of diphtheria at the age of eleven. During the night when the violin music is heard, the statue glows slightly.

Paranormal Activity in the Courthouse

The Pulaski County Courthouse in Mound City was built in 1911. There was a county jail in the basement. Even though no one has been hanged in years, some students from the Lovejoy School saw the apparition of a hanged man dangling from a tree on the lawn of the courthouse. It is believed that he was the last man to be hanged. His ghostly spirit also haunts the basement where he would have been held before execution.

Other ghostly spirits here include a former attorney who is accompanied by the smell of cigar smoke; the taffeta woman, a female spirit who died in an accident; and an elderly Black woman.

Meet the Ghost of Sarah Rose

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency owns and runs the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown as a bed and breakfast. It was constructed in 1820 and is the oldest hotel still in operation in Illinois. It seems that Sarah Rose, the hotel’s former owner, is haunting the establishment. Guests have seen a ghostly spirit looking like Sarah Rose on the stairway and roaming the second-floor hallways. At night she moves things around. A disembodied female voice has been heard. Even after death, Sarah Rose has chosen not to leave her home.