Could Alton Be The Most Haunted Town In America?
Alton, Illinois has been said to be one of the most haunted small towns in America by various people. Even Mark Twain said that Alton was “A dismal little river town” because of its history and aura surrounding it. The town is a rather old one that stretches back to the days of the civil war, but the ghost stories and and legends of curses and other odd things stretch back even further.
Alton is one of those towns that has a history that’s extremely dark, nothing good really happened in that town for a very long time. There are various stories as to why this town is so haunted, it could be because of the array of death, murders, disease, violence, and treatment of those who escaped there through the Underground Railroad.
Paranormal Hotspot Or Average Midwestern Town?
Alton is now a average Midwestern quiet town but its history is one that isn’t going to be forgotten for a very long time. Those who have traveled through the town say that there’s a creepy aura behind it. Almost like they can feel the past creeping up behind them. Even though most of the towns creepy side has been swept under the rug, you can still feel its presence. Today if you were to go to Alton, you probably wouldn’t know it was haunted or known for being creepy.
Check out the video and see all the places that are haunted in Alton. Sometimes stories can get a bit out of hand as the years go on, that is for certain places. However if the location has a terrible past behind it, sometimes that past doesn’t stay hidden for very long. Check out the video and let us know your thoughts on the town. Let s know if you know someone or may live in the town and would like to share you story.
Alton Illinois
Source – Extreme vision paravlog
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It's not that Alton is so much haunted, no more so than Batavia, or Elgin, it's that Alton is just Dead, and hopeless, and infected with the gloom of a population that has no energy or desire to raise the town into anything productive ever again. The architecture is beautiful, and it could be a real tourist place, but it's just too pathetic.
If you'd like to learn more about Alton, Illinois and its history — including Elijah Lovejoy, the Underground Railroad, the old Confederate prison and Smallpox Island — you might want to read my book "Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois" (The History Press: ISBN 978-1-60949-328-8). If ghost stories titilate your fancy, my other book for the History Press, "From Christmas to Twelfth Night in Southern Illinois" (ISBN 978-1-59629-913-9), contains a chapter titled "The Ghosts of Smallpox Island." It's a tale told to me by my great-uncle that deals with the Confederate POWs who fell victim to the smallpox epidemic that broke out in the Alton prison during the Civil War.
Spellcheck malfunction! The above post should read: "If ghost stories **titillate** your fancy…." Sorry about that!