Alton, Illinois is a picturesque town that sits along the bank of the Mississippi river just north of the city of St. Louis. If you aren’t from the area, you may have never heard of it. If you are from the area, you may have visited once or twice or at least know where it is. For those of us lucky enough to spend time there, we know this little town to not only be rich in historical significance but brimming with paranormal activity as well.

I’d like to take you back to 2022 to a pre-paranormal investigator Lauren time. I was one of those people that had been to Alton a time or two, but little did I know that one event would change the entire projection of my life. On a whim I purchased tickets for myself and my mother to attend an investigation of the infamous Mineral Springs Hotel. We had been fans of shows like Ghost Hunters and Kindred Spirits since I was a teenager, so we thought why not give actual ghost hunting a shot. That chilly October night wandering the halls of the once lavish hotel sparked a curiosity in me that propelled me into the realm of paranormal investigating. Within two years I was leading haunted history tours at the very building that started it all.

But we aren’t here to talk about me or my story. We are here to learn more about the town that started it all for me. You see, The Mineral Springs is just one location on a long list of places around Alton known for paranormal activity. All within a stone’s throw from one another, there is the YWCA, the Unitarian Church, Franklin Masonic Lodge, The Memorial Site of the first Illinois Penitentiary, McPike Mansion, Alton Memorial Cemetery, The Milton Schoolhouse, The Lincoln Lofts, and many others. This doesn’t even cover half of the locations on the haunted roster of this small town. These are just some of the ones I have personal experiences with.

The Luer Brothers purchased the land on which the Mineral Springs Hotel now sits back in 1910 with the plan to build an ice storage facility for their butcher shop down the street. Quickly after breaking ground, a spring of mineral water was discovered beneath the dig site. Plans quickly changed as Mineral Water was all the rage back then and many thought it had curative and medicinal properties. This was going to be much more fruitful than a storage facility. Plans for a hotel were put into place, and this hotel would become a luxurious travel destination in the Midwest for many years. However, that status only lasted until the 1950’s when regulations regarding medication were implemented and the Mineral Springs was forced to cease their claims that mineral water could cure anything. By the 1960s rooms were being rented by the hour and by the 1980s the once extravagant hotel was all but vacant. (Haunted Alton) Now, along with a few shops, the Mineral Springs Hotel is mostly known for its ghosts. Featured on shows like Ghost Adventures, the hotel is known to be home of several entities including Pearl, a woman who sadly ended her life in the second-floor corner room (shown in photo). There is also Clarence, a young man who unfortunately drowned in the pool, and William, a cranky spirit of unknown origins who likes to pull women’s hair in the basement. All in all, this place is pretty haunted, and I have quite a few experiences there. Sadly, the building is now closed to paranormal investigations, but you can still visit one of the shops and spend some time in the lobby.

The First Unitarian Church of Alton was established in 1836. The congregation met in homes until a plot of land was purchased in 1854. The purchased plot had originally been home to St. Mathew’s Catholic Church but the building was destroyed by fire in 1853. The Unitarian Church was built in its place. However, a fire destroyed the original building in 1905. (A History of the Congregation) That is when the construction on the current building began. Several years later, in November of 1934, tragedy struck the church yet again when the Reverend Philip Mercer took his own life in the building. To this day they can’t say with certainty what happened to the Reverend. Did he end his own life or did something more sinister happen? For many years now reports of phantom footsteps and voices can be heard throughout the building. Occasionally the piano in the sanctuary will play by itself. People have also reported a dark and heavy presence in the basement of the church. Could this be connected to the underground railroad tunnels connecting to the back of the building? Nobody truly knows.

Today, the building pictured here simply houses apartments. Most nights you can see friendly folks spending time on their back balcony waving to people on tours. What people don’t realize is that at one time this building not only served as a sanatorium for those suffering from tuberculosis, but it also shone as a beacon of hope to those traveling from St. Louis, MO on the underground railroad. The mansion was easily spotted from the bank of the Mississippi River, and a candle in the cupola on top of the building would signal when it was safe for escapees to move to their next destination. If you ever get a chance to go on a haunted walking tour in Alton, one of the highlights is getting to see one of the tunnels (pictured above)that runs beneath this building that was once used to transport those traveling the underground railroad to their next destination. It is also paranormally active along with the building itself. Residents of the building often hear the sounds of furniture being moved in vacant units, screams in the hallways, and witness their belongings turning up in places they did not leave them. In the tunnels people have experienced the sounds of children crying, shadow figures, and being scratched. I have personally been scratched while on one of these tours. Even if you are just driving by this building leaves you with an eerie feeling that something inside just isn’t quite right.

The last place we are visiting on our haunted journey through Alton is the prison memorial. The crumbling stone structure may not seem much now, but it is the only remaining piece to memorialize the countless lives lost due to ridiculously substandard living conditions in the state’s first penitentiary. Built in 1833, the original structure was meant to house 24 inmates. By the time it closed in 1857 the structure held 254 cells. (Alton Military History – Wikipedia) It was closed due to the opening of the new State Prison in Joliet. The building stayed vacant until 1862. During that time, the military needed a place to house confederate prisoners during the Civil War. The war prison saw over 11,000 prisoners and during this time over 1,500 prisoners died on the property. Living conditions were so terrible that most people died from the spread of disease, particularly smallpox and rubella, along with exposure to the elements and unsanitary conditions like unsafe drinking water. Things were so unsanitary that disease spread like wildfire and there was no way to stop it. Prisoners were either buried or burned on property, taken to be dumped off in a field, or taken to an island in the Mississippi river to be buried. Many people think that the strong emotional damage done on this land is what causes paranormal activity that lingers despite the destruction of the building in the 1860s. People have reported seeing apparitions of men in tattered clothing walking the grounds that suddenly vanish before their eyes. There are also reports of shadow figured walking amongst the trees down on Hog Hollow Road, where confederate bodies were often dumped and forgotten. The spirits of those that struggled or lost their lives here are assuredly still hanging around making sure their stories are heard.

These were just a few of my favorite stops in this amazing small town. If you’ve never experienced Alton for yourself, I would highly recommend paying a visit to see the history and hauntings for yourself. This town is alive with paranormal activity and filled to the brim with stories waiting to be told. Come visit and take a tour or investigate a building. Who knows, you may leave with a ghost story of your own.

Written By Lauren Cornwell

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Sources:

A History of the Congregation – First Unitarian Church, Alton Illinois

Haunted Alton – Troy Taylor

Alton Military Prison - Wikipedia

The Most Haunted Small Town in America

Open, Sesame

Roll for Fear