Ghosts of these dead men have been seen in this area by many.Īt the cemetery itself (photo below right), I experienced some strange vibes. Miscreant Union soldiers sometimes got the duty of transporting dead Confederates to the nearby cemetery, but rather than do their job, they often dumped the bodies in the woods of the hollow, spending the rest of their work assignment time drinking and playing cards. We headed down Hop Hollow (photo left), which is another venue of macabre history. As a result, and to this very day, reported ghostly sightings occur of a Confederate soldier who dismounts from his horse that is tied to the hitching post in front of the Mitchell home stands looking at the house. They didn’t care about the plight of the Rebels nor the soldiers guarding them, only for the money they received in rent payments. This property is known as the Mitchell Mansion (photo above right), owned by two brothers who actually rented out the land the prison was on. I got out of the touring vehicle to see the view, and immediately heard shrieks, but to my dismay, I was only being haunted by two large dogs who got loose from the property next door. Today, it still offers a grand view of the Mississippi River. Our tour guide and “city historian” Hawkins drove us further on up a hill to a property that overlooked the dreadful prison. Only a small fraction of the prison remains, that being a section of the wall that leads to a paved parking lot. By the time it was over, more than 1350 perished (possibly as many as 2200 total), but these men can still be heard crying for food whenever homes north of the prison are hosting barbecues. It killed six to ten victims a day, including Union soldiers, according to Hawkins. This is the result of a raging smallpox epidemic that went through the prison beginning in 1863, and continued on into the next year. A Confederate prison was established here during the war and its chilling legacy lives on today through the countless ghost sightings. One of the real watermark periods of Alton was during the Civil War. Hawkins, for what he deemed a Gilligan’s Island-like “three-hour tour.” The air had a bit of a calm but macabre thickness to it. It was a perfect summer evening without any humidity in this Midwestern town as we ventured around the city of Alton with Mr. And the fact that the Illini Indians once dominated this place along with the nearby convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers which brought in many different personalities to Alton over the centuries mixes the perfect brew for being a ghostly paradise! It is said that limestone, which is a building material that’s been used in many Alton dwellings because of its supply nearby, holds psychic energy. It’s not surprising that the spooks call this place home en masse, and have the potential of appearing to anyone at anytime at any place. Knowing that Alton is purported to be one of the most haunted places in America, my mind was unrealistically set up to see ghosts at every turn, but as I would soon learn, ghosts or no ghosts, it’s the stories about them that reflect the history of this area. Part of this city of 30,000-plus residents has lined the shores of the Mississippi River since 1817. Hawkins also gives folks tours of Alton, which is located roughly 25 miles north of downtown St. Hawkins sure gets plenty of practice too, because he resides in one of the most haunted places in America: Alton, Illinois. Yes, he boldly claims that he knows how to snatch one by the limbs, and make them screech, howl and fight until he decides to let them go. Gary Hawkins (photo left) is a computer technician who knows how to catch a ghost.
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