Slaton Cemetery has earned itself the nickname “Blue Light Cemetery” because of its ghostly blue light that is said to float around here. Cold spots and bushes that move without a breeze also have been reported, as has a mysterious tractor beam that dragged in a driver’s car while something called his name over and over. Another legend tells of a couple who went into the cemetery to make out but were later found dead, with their faces frozen in fright.
Slaton Cemetery
Baker Mansion
At Baker Mansion, built in 1894, the ghost of original owner JD Baker’s son Charles, who mysteriously disappeared in 1908, is said to walk. The subsequent owners of the home noted shadows on the stairs, eerie figures, violent pounding from the basement, and touches from unseen hands.
Blood’s Point Cemetery
Blood’s Point Cemetery, named after the area’s first white settle, Arthur Blood, is said to be a hot spot for the eerie, such as orbs, a vanishing barn, phantom vehicles and a ghost dog that sports glowing red eyes. To add to the spookiness, the nearby railroad bridge was said to be the setting for a school bus accident as well as several hangings. Electrical anomalies and ghostly children’s laughter have been reported here.
Ramsey Cemetery
Ramsey Cemetery, established in 1851 with the burial of namesake Alexander Ramsey, is also known as Casbar Cemetery and is a nighttime teen hangout. Besides the graves, rock shelters and sandstone caves are nearby, covered with carvings from its many visitors. A young man committed suicide inside a chapel that stood in the cemetery from the 1920s to the 1960s; the chapel has since been demolished. Among the many legends here is a story of a man in a black cloak with red glowing eyes who is a manifestation resulting from occult activity that took place here in the past. Another legend tells of a werewolf that lives in the caves on the grounds, and yet another says those who put a penny heads up on a tombstone will come back later to find it upside down.
Manteno State Hospital
The 1930s Manteno State Hospital suffered a typhoid fever epidemic in 1939, and more than 50 patients and staff members died. The hospital eventually was renamed the Manteno Mental Health Center; it ceased operations in 1985 and the complex became business rentals, a bank, part of the Illinois Diversatech Campus and a private home. In this vicinity, witnesses say apparitions of patients and nurses can be seen, and ghostly voices come over the nonfunctional intercom system.
Peoria Players Theatre
Peoria Players Theatre is said to be haunted by a playful ghost named Norman, a former theater director who died in 1960 at age 34, and a more sinister entity whose identity is unknown.
Salem State University
Salem State University is reported to have many ghosts, including the spirits of a student who hanged herself and a man in black in Gramley Hall, two girls who were electrocuted at Gramley Library, a little girl who died in the elevator shaft at Clewell Hall, and a haunted portrait in Babcock Hall.
Anna Maria College
Anna Maria College is believed to be haunted, but the college has somewhat of an affinity for its ghosts. At the Zecco Performing Arts Center, according to resports, two seats are kept open at each performance for ghostly visitors.
Framingham State University
At Framingham State University, visitors may hear ghostly laughter or feel cold spots, and orbs are often photographed at Horace Mann Hall. And in Peirce Hall, residents have awoken to find all the mirrors in the rooms have been stacked outside in the hallways, piled with the reflective sides facing the walls.
Millicent Library
Millicent Library is believed to be haunted by its namesake, the daughter of Huttleston Rogers, a well-known financial backer of historical buildings in Fairhaven. Rumor has it that Millicent was buried in the library’s foundation, and her apparition, say witnesses, walks in that very building, haloed by a blue light. She also has been spotted in the windows of the closed tower section. The ghost of a former janitor who died in the building is rumored to be here too, keeping Millicent company.
