Ghosthunting Illinois. John B. Kachuba

      Introduction

      WHY IS IT WE MORTALS ARE TERRIFIED by the prospect of encountering ghosts and yet so many of us harbor a fascination and yearning for just such a meeting? Why do so many of us share this morbid obsession with ghosts? As children we read ghost stories under the bedcovers at night or huddled around a campfire, afraid to look over our shoulders, as someone told us a ghost story. Some of us grew up near old, abandoned houses that we were certain were haunted, houses that simultaneously repelled and attracted us. We learned, almost instinctively, that we had no business being in cemeteries after nightfall. We learned to whistle in the dark.

      One explanation for such an intense interest in ghosts and the world of the paranormal may be a simple one: our fear of death, of life simply coming to an end. If ghosts do exist, then we can be assured that there is some existence for us beyond the grave. Many theologies presuppose an eternal existence after death, often connected to concepts of reward or punishment based upon the lives we led here on earth. These theologies provide comfort for their adherents, but some lingering doubt often remains. After all, has anyone returned from Heaven—or Hell for that matter—to tell us what those places are like?

      But then there are ghosts, creatures once living, now dead who exist on a plane somewhere between these eternal realms and that of the living. It is the ghosts who appear to us, speak to us, and let us know that existence in some form goes on. Death is not the ultimate destination of the living, they tell us, but only a transfer station of sorts to somewhere else. Ghosts connect us in varied ways to a future we cannot comprehend and to a past we may have known little about. There are many stories of ghosts of deceased family members appearing to living relatives to offer comfort or advice in difficult times. There are also as many stories about ghosts who are able to help shed light on past mysteries or injustices, such as unsolved crimes. It may be these connections that stoke our interest in ghosts.

      In 2003, I set out to explore this fascination with ghosts. I traveled throughout my home state of Ohio, visiting more than thirty haunted locations. My experiences were published the following year as Ghosthunting Ohio. But far from answering my questions about ghosts, my experiences led to more questions and my interest was piqued. I decided to extend my ghosthunting experiences and Ghosthunting Illinois, the second in the Haunted Heartland series, is the result.

      Throughout much of 2004–2005, I roamed Illinois, checking out almost forty haunted locations. I started off with a lengthy list of haunted locations drawn from many different sources. The Internet sites of various ghost groups, as well as books written by other writers, gave me some ideas for places to visit. The Internet, of course, can lead you down many interesting paths. I would never have guessed that there was actually a Museum of Funeral Customs, or that it was in Illinois, right outside the gates of Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery, where Abraham Lincoln is buried, had my wife, Mary, not discovered it while doing some research on the Web.

      Some of the places were found not so much as a result of research as much as from a stroke of dumb luck, maybe a hunch. As Mary and I passed by an old bed-and-breakfast in a small Illinois town, Mary said she thought the place was probably haunted. I stopped at the house and spoke with the owner, who admitted the house was haunted but didn’t want it written about in the book. A similar hunch of hers, however, resulted in the chapter about the C. H. Moore Homestead. You just never know.

      Each of the places in the book is open to the public and is part of an eclectic list of haunted theatres, churches, restaurants and bars, hotels, historic sites, cemeteries, museums, and libraries. Mary accompanied me on several of these ramblings, so we were able to trade notes and compare our experiences. I went to each of these places with an open mind and no preconceived notions about the existence of ghosts. I had read too many books about hauntings from writers who see ghosts on every street corner and, frankly, I find such books unbelievable. I am not a “sensitive,” “psychic,” or “medium.” In fact, I’m an extra-large. I’m an average person, just like you, with a curiosity about things paranormal. My intentions as I wrote this book were to accurately and objectively describe for you my observations and experiences, as well as the experiences of others I met along the way, and then let you draw your own conclusions about ghosts and hauntings.

      I encourage you to visit these places and explore them for yourself. Some may require calling ahead for appointments; others may be open only on certain days during the week. Check the “Visiting Haunted Sites” section in the back of this book for complete information. In addition to addresses and phone numbers, the section also gives you their Web address and hours of operation if available for each location as well as important travel tips.

      Having visited close to sixty haunted sites over the last two years, I’ve developed some guidelines for ghosthunting that I think you may find useful in your own research: