| Forbidden Lore As America of the 1890’s expands ever westward, the forces of the Red Death follow. Minions that are common in Illinois are most types of non-corporeal undead (Ghosts, Spectres, Haunts). It is known that there is at least one Banshee on Chicago’s south side and two more down-state. Many graveyards are prone to have ghouls and ghasts lurking around. Zombies and skeletons, created by powerful necromantic magic, are usually rare. No vampires or Liches have been recorded. Lycanthropes, in particular werewolves and foxwomen, are more common down-state. Other common minions are Will o’wisps. Ghost March of Southern Illinois The Civil War pitted brother against brother. Nowhere was that more strongly felt than in Southern Illinois. While Illinois was technically a “free” state, many farmers south of Springfield sided more with the sensibilities of the Confederate states. These farmers’ fields became the sites of some of the bloodiest skirmishes of the war. At certain times, sometime after midnight, a ghostly army arises from the mists hugging the ground. This ragged army of undead are all that remains of a Confederate Army troop sent into Illinois at the height of the war. The ghostly horde appears exactly as can be imagined; skeletal remains, with tatters of rotting flesh and gray uniforms. Their weapons, long since spent of ammunition, hang in their hands useless, but serve as constant reminders of what has lead them to this fate. Occasionally one can find a soldier that faired better than his brothers in arms. He is not as damaged or decayed, but his young innocent face is no less of a horror than the phantasms that surround him. It is unknown what prompts this ghastly march or what motivates it. Haunted Cemeteries Illinois seems to have more than its fair share of haunted cemeteries. Often these cemeteries are the source of faint apparitions or ghost lights, as in Barrington Cemetery in Barrington, home of the white ghost lights. Sometimes the activity is more sinister. Pagan rituals have been seen in cemeteries along the Des Plaines river, northwest of Chicago. Similar events have happened in cemeteries in Jacksonville, 200 miles to the south. Hickory Grove in Wrights, south of Springfield, is the final resting place for one unsavory character. Lying in a small unmarked grave southeast of the cemetery proper lies the body of man who was a doctor and a murderer, hung for the shooting death of a love rival. It is said that if you stand on his grave you can hear the sounds of a hanging rope swinging in the wind. In 1841 an unknown man was found hanging in Clement’s Cemetery east of Champaign. Whether he was the victim of a lynching or a suicide is unknown. The people removed his body and gave him a proper burial. Soon after reports came back of the “Blue Man,” a thin wispy ghost of blue that can only be seen in the light of the full moon. Old Union Cemetery in Dewitt county is considered to be one of the more haunted cemeteries in Illinois. Its first burial was in 1831. Located on the stagecoach route between Bloomington and Springfield, Union has become a “favorite” stopping place for the dead. Like many cemeteries in Illinois reports of ghostly lights abound. This place also has areas of extreme cold, even in Illinois’ normally humid summers. Others have reported feeling sick at certain points. Also located on a former stagecoach route is Williamsburg Hill, or “Cold Hill,” Cemetery. When the railroad came, Williamsburg became a ghost town; or rather a town of ghosts. The cemetery itself is placed on a large, uncharacteristic hill among completely flat farmland. Among the hundreds of mostly unmarked graves it is said a being wanders. This spectre is vaguely human in appearance. It seems to be an electrical field of some sort. Electricity can be heard crackling in the air around it. Whether it is a proper ghost or even if was at one time human is unknown. Haunted Schoolhouse Bloody Island School in Lime-Kill Hollow was a small one-room school house. Like hundreds of other schools that dotted the countryside children young and old were sent with pail and slate in hand to learn the “three R’s” from a school marm, but what the children learned here was a lesson in horror. Two teenage boys, long rivals, stabbed each other to death in front of a dozen screaming children. Town officials and the kindly young teacher, Miss Daniels, did what they could to clean up the blood of the two dead boys, but try as they might the blood continues to seep up through the floorboards and into the classroom. The floorboards have been cleaned over and over, and finally replaced, but the blood continues to flow. Plans are now to close down the school and build a new one. The Watseka Wonder  In January of 1878 a man named Asa Roff approached the Vennum family. He had a story of his daughter, Mary, who had suffered a similar affliction, but had died in Peoria’s State Insane Asylum. However, Asa believed in his daughter and wanted to save Lurancy from the same fate. During mesmerism, Lurancy spoke in the voice of Asa’s daughter Mary. Lurancy then proceeded to speak to Asa about details that only the Roff family would know. Lurancy (as Mary) lived with the Roffs, with the Vennum’s permission, for three months. She was able to identify family members and favorite things that only would have been known to the family. In May, Mary left Lurancy and she asked to be returned home. She left, bidding everyone in the family goodbye. She never again experienced any contacts with the spirits, but she would return to see the Roff family on occasion and allow Mary to speak through her. Haunted Theaters Murphysboro in Southern Illinois is a quiet town located just a few miles east of the mighty Mississippi River. This town, known more for its apples and its close proximity to the Shawnee Forest, also has a darker secret: The Ghost of the Liberty Theater. The Liberty was built at the turn of the century and Emil McCarthy was there. He started working there as a young boy; cleaning, running the spotlights and other odd jobs. Sixty years later, Emil was still working odd jobs at the Liberty. He had developed a drinking problem and a poor attitude over the years, but since he lived in the theater and had such an attachment to the place none of his supervisors had ever fired him. Any that tried usually met with fatal accidents. Emil was never suspected; he was usually in a bar or passed out in the city square when the deaths occurred. When the town decided to tear down the Liberty to put a new theater across town, Emil panicked and seemed to die of a broken heart. Plans are still underway for the new theater, but people now claim the new site is cursed. Tools disappear. Workmen get into accidents. None have been fatal, but they are increasing in number and magnitude. All is not quiet at the Liberty either. Patrons complain of noises, and cold areas. Management has reported that the curtains will open and close silently on their own. As the day of the Liberty’s demolition approaches, more incidents are reported. |
