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0Roff House - The Watseka Wonder
Watseka, Illinois
The Roff House was one of the two houses in which the Watseka Wonder took place. The Watseka Wonder was a spiritual possession said to have happened in the late 19th century to an epileptic girl named Lurancy Vennum, who was 14 at the time. One of the spirits who ...
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Vennum House - The Watseka Wonder
Watseka, Illinois
The Vennum House was the home of Lurancy Vennum, a teenaged epilectic girl who was said to have been possessed in the incident known as the Watseka Wonder. The story of the late-19th-century possession was related in the 2009 film "The Possessed." The house may be open for ghost tours ...
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City Tavern
Kankakee, Illinois
24.5 miles from Watseka, IL
Employees and diners at this popular restaurant and bar have reportedly encountered a male spirit. Known as 'David', patrons have had their hair pulled and have been pushed around by unseen hands. (Submitted by Callum Swift)
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Majestic Theater
Kankakee, Illinois
24.7 miles from Watseka, IL
Dating back to 1912, the historic theater achieved notoriety when the 'Marx Brothers' performed a vaudeville act there in 1916. However, the theatre is also renowned for its ghostly inhabitants, including a ghostly child and Julia Remmington, a former owner. (Submitted by Callum Swift)
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Locust Grove Cemetery
Ambia, Indiana
28.2 miles from Watseka, IL
Phantom sounds of an army cadence and marching are heard at Locust Grove Cemetery. Legend has it that Harrison's ghostly men are re-creating the Battle of Tippecanoe.
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Memory Gardens
Rensselaer, Indiana
29.9 miles from Watseka, IL
Memory Gardens is a cemetery with a haunted statue, locals claim. The saint statue at the back of the graveyard is rumored to move at night, keeping watch on visitors. Some say its head and arms will change position. However, the cemetery is closed after dark and trespassers will be ...
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Manteno State Hospital
Manteno, Illinois
31.8 miles from Watseka, IL
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 ...
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Saint Joseph's College
Collegeville, Indiana
31.9 miles from Watseka, IL
Some of the many oddities at St. Joseph's College include a spirit in the chapel, a rumored exorcism at Aquinas Hall and reports of witnesses hearing voices in their heads inside Drexel Hall. Also, Dwenger Hall is rumored to be possessed, and the ghost of a baby is said to ...
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Lake Prairie Cemetery
Lowell, Indiana
38.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Apparitions of deceased townspeople, ghostly mists, and orbs all have been reported at this cemetery, especially in the southern half, which is the oldest.
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Hotel Attica
Attica, Indiana
42 miles from Watseka, IL
A glowing apparition has been seen in several hotel rooms late at night or in the early hours of morning. Guests have reported seeing their closet doors open and close by themselves, as well as hearing ghostly voices and ballroom music. (Submitted by Callum Swift)
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Attica Public Library
Attica, Indiana
42.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Built in 1905, the employees of this library have heard strange noises including knocking, whistling, whispering, dragging sounds, and even the sounds of the toys in the children's area moving by themselves after closing. The employees have also mentioned seeing figures watching them or shadows darting around. They ...
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Fischer Theater
Danville, Illinois
45.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Fischer Theater was a 19th century opera house located in Danville, IL that has served many purposes over the years including housing, stores, and of course, a theater. While now a generally unknown location, the Theater has been known to be haunted when a volunteer of the Vermillion Heritage ...
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Harrison Cemetery
West Lafayette, Indiana
47.3 miles from Watseka, IL
At Harrison Cemetery, visitors have heard crying and moaning and had an eerie feeling that something is watching them. A few have been touched by something unseen or have had things thrown at them by invisible hands. Gravestones are said to move around here as well.
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Ax-Man's House - Ax-Man's Bridge
Crete, Illinois
47.5 miles from Watseka, IL
Legends told by locals say that in the 1970s, a man killed his wife, kids, and two policeman with an ax before hanging their bodies from meat hooks in his shed. When the police found out, he ran from them. The police gave pursuit and shot him in the woods ...
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Crown Point Sheriff's House and Jail
Crown Point, Indiana
48.3 miles from Watseka, IL
The Crown Point Sheriff's House was built in 1882, and the jail was added on in 1926. This is the very jail from which John Dillinger made his notorious escape in 1934. He used jail-issued razor blades to carved a gun out of part of a wooden washboard. He used ...
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Baums Bridge Inn
Kouts, Indiana
48.9 miles from Watseka, IL
This inn is reported to be home to a the apparition of a man surrounded by a dim light. He is said to appear around midnight and may be a bit shy: Rumor has it that if you look at him too long, he will become enraged and appear in ...
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Reeder Road
Griffith, Indiana
53.6 miles from Watseka, IL
Local lore about Reder Road tells of Elizabeth Wilson, a hitchhiking ghost who drowned in a swamp when her car went off the road. Her ghost waits at the roadside for a ride to her former house, but she disappears from cars at Ross Cemetery, where she was buried in ...
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Dog Face Bridge
La Crosse, Indiana
54.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Spooky legends surround this old bridge. The stories involve a honeymooning 1950s couple and a dog that ran out in front of the car, causing them to drive off of the bridge. Reports of many things have been made in the vicinity, including apparitions of bodies, apparitions of a females ...
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Patrick Haley Mansion
Joliet, Illinois
54.8 miles from Watseka, IL
Egyptologist and architect Frank Shaver Allen built this mansion that's been popular with ghost hunters since the '70s. Among the spirits believed to be active here are the architect himself as well as a little boy, an older woman who died on the premises, and a nanny. Perhaps adding to ...
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Rialto Square Theatre
Joliet, Illinois
54.8 miles from Watseka, IL
The Rialto Square Theatre was built as a movie palace and vaudeville venue in 1926. Today, it is said to be haunted by a woman believed to be a former actress. Employees, construction workers and visitors have seen the female form floating throughout the theater. There are also a male ...
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Aux Sable Cemetery
Morris, Illinois
55 miles from Watseka, IL
Aux Sable Cemetery is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a mischievous young girl who has been known to play pranks, such as lowering electrical car windows when the key is not even in the ignition. The site is also said to be a portal from a ghostly ...
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206 N. Broadway
Joliet, Illinois
55 miles from Watseka, IL
Built in 1882, the Victorian house at 206 N. Broadway St. was originally a private residence, but was a school and a boardinghouse for women until the 1970s when it again became a private home. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a 19-year-old who was shot ...
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Stallbohm-Kaske House
Munster, Indiana
55.5 miles from Watseka, IL
According to locals, the original inn that stood here burned down on Halloween of 1909. And in 1949, resident Wilhelmina Kaske passed away in a front bedroom, and these incidents may have led to the house's hauntings. Witnesses have reported a figure leaning out of the barn window, a presence ...
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0Inn at Aberdeen
Valparaiso, Indiana
56.4 miles from Watseka, IL
A playful haunt at this 1830s-era inn has been known to hide guests' belongings in odd places. For example, one guest's missing lipstick turned up in a shoe. Cold spots and disembodied footsteps also have been reported, and psychic and ghost-hunting teams have determined that there are spirits of a ...
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Carolina Street Demon House
Gary, Indiana
57.4 miles from Watseka, IL
The house was said to be haunted by more than 200 demons. Witnesses have reported levitating children, swarms of flies that mysteriously appear in winter, footprints, and apparitions. The demons were believed to have possessed the three children of the family who lived there, and case workers, priests and police ...
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Camp Falcon
Watseka, Illinois
59.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Location is on 143rd street, (Midlothian Turnpike) about about a 1 mile west of Oak Park. Just a mere road across the street from Tinley Creek Woods about half a mile into the woods. It is unknown when the camp grounds were abandoned or why but location has been ...
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0Bachelor's Grove Cemetery
Midlothian, Illinois
59.1 miles from Watseka, IL
Beginning in the 1970s, visitors here have seen orbs, apparitions, phantom vehicles, and even a floating, shrinking, and vanishing phantom farmhouse. A mysterious black dog and figures in monks' robes also have been seen. Investigations by ghost researchers have turned up ghostly images and electronic voice phenomena.
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Midlothian Turnpike
Midlothian, Illinois
59.2 miles from Watseka, IL
Drivers on the turnpike have reported phantom cars and trucks that appear suddenly, causing the drivers to swerve. Phantom gang activity also has been seen, involving car chases full of gangsters shooting at each other with tommy guns. Some drivers have collided with the ghostly vehicles, even hearing shattered glass ...
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Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House
Valparaiso, Indiana
59.3 miles from Watseka, IL
Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House is rumored to be haunted and has been used at Halloween for a haunted house attraction. Witnesses have described many strange occurrences including orbs of light and objects that turn up missing.
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Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, Indiana
59.9 miles from Watseka, IL
At the Alumni Hall at Valparaiso University, two ghost children, age 8 or 9 and wearing jogging pants, are known to run up and down the hallways at about 2 a.m. According to some of the student residents, the ghosts have spoken to them and told them they were playing ...
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Maple Tree Inn
Blue Island, Illinois
60.5 miles from Watseka, IL
This Louisiana-style brasserie serves up classic southern fare in a historic former speakeasy dating back to the early 1920's, and is rumoured to be haunted be a former owner. Known as 'Helen', the spirit haunting the place is not pleased with the changes occurring in her former establishment, and ...
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Wolf Mansion - Josephus Wolf House
Valparaiso, Indiana
60.6 miles from Watseka, IL
Legend has it that the mansion owner went crazy after slavery was abolished, and in his rage, he killed all of his slaves and their children. Some stories say he even killed his family while he was at it. Then he killed himself. Now, folks say, an unexplained light comes ...
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Moon Point Cemetery - Moon Creek Cemetery
Streator, Illinois
61.6 miles from Watseka, IL
Moon Point Cemetery, aka Moon's Point Cemetery or Moon Creek Cemetery, is older than the Civil War and legendary with those who like to tell ghost stories. It was thought to have begun as a family cemetery for early settlers Jacob Moon and his family. The cemetery's most-talked-about ghost is ...
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Whihala Beach
Whiting, Indiana
64 miles from Watseka, IL
Some say that at Whihala Beach at night, you can see and hear phantom sailboats and apparitions of folks swimming and playing with innertubes in old-fashioned bathing suits.
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Old Porter Road
Portage, Indiana
64.4 miles from Watseka, IL
The shadowy figures that have been seen along the train tracks by Old Porter Road are a mystery. Some say they are almost doglike, with a tail and glowing yellow eyes. They have been known to run alongside trains and bay into the night.
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The Givens Castle - Beverly Castle Academy
Chicago, Illinois
64.4 miles from Watseka, IL
The 1886 limestone-towered castle built by real estate promoter and novelist Robert G. Givens is said to be haunted by his Irish wife, who passed away before she could come to America to live in her castle. Witnesses say her apparition has been seen walking up the hill to the ...
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St. James Cemetery - Monks Castle
Lemont, Illinois
64.5 miles from Watseka, IL
Ghosts here include several robed monks who patrol the grounds, chanting in Latin, and a phantom horse and carriage presumed to date back to 1897. A wildly dancing woman in white has also been seen.
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Maple Lake
Willow Springs, Illinois
65.3 miles from Watseka, IL
The ghost light at Maple Lake is, according to local legend, a reddish-yellow orb that appears over the lake and floats into the woods on the other side. It is believed to be the spirit of a man who was decapitated nearby in an accident; the light is his lantern ...
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St. Mary's Cemetery
Evergreen Park, Illinois
65.9 miles from Watseka, IL
The cemetery and surrounding areas have seen a lot of violent deaths, but despite that, not a lot of ghostly phenomena have been reported or known here. However, drivers past the cemetery late at night have seen a man leaning against the fence and looking at them as they passed.
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Hamilton Road
Mulberry, Indiana
66 miles from Watseka, IL
Stories about Hamilton Road are of the urban legend type. For example, a ghost of a short man will chase you if you stop on the third bridge and flash your lights four times, then cross the bridge. Phantom flames are said to come from the woods where an 1800s ...
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Ghosts of Springfield and Southern Illinois & Other Haunted Tales from the Prairie State
Rachel Brooks Posadas
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The Irish Legend
Willow Springs, Illinois
66.2 miles from Watseka, IL
Formerly a speakeasy, this 1915 building was a popular hangout for gang members, including Al Capone. The place has a very violent history, and is haunted by several spirits. These include a bartender who was allegedly pushed down a flight of stairs by a gangster who took a dislike to ...
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Willowbrook Ballroom
Willow Springs, Illinois
66.2 miles from Watseka, IL
The 1921 Willowbrook Ballroom, formerly called the Oh Henry Ballroom, is a dance venue and banquet facility and is believed to be the last place famed Chicago hitchhiker ghost Resurrection Mary danced before she died. Her ghost is said to appear here and sometimes dance with ballroom patrons. Another interesting note: ...
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Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Park, Illinois
66.3 miles from Watseka, IL
The phantom hitchhiker in this ghost story is a teenaged girl who looks for a ride to Evergreen Park, where she vanishes from the vehicle. Legends say her body is buried in Evergreen Cemetery within the park, but her identity or the reason for her restlessness is unknown. This ghost ...
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Archer Woods Cemetery
Willow Springs, Illinois
66.7 miles from Watseka, IL
Legend has it that only those leaving the cemetery can see and hear a white, filmy, hovering spirit of a sobbing woman.
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Grimes Sisters Murder Site
Burr Ridge, Illinois
67.1 miles from Watseka, IL
The Grimes sisters were kidnapped and murdered between December of 1956 and January of 1957. Their bodies were found along this part of the road and the murders were never solved. Photographs have been taken around only to have a young woman appear in the photos. Submitted by Chris Berglund
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0Resurrection Mary
Justice, Illinois
68 miles from Watseka, IL
Resurrection Mary, according to popular local legend, was a pretty young girl who was killed in a hit-and-run accident while walking along Archer Avenue. She had just left the Oh Henry Ballroom after a fight with her boyfriend. The driver left Mary to die. Her grief-stricken parents buried her in ...
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Williams Hall
Normal, Illinois
68.3 miles from Watseka, IL
Illinois State University's Williams Hall was the site of the university's first library, and is thought to be haunted by the spirit of the first librarian, Angie Milner. Even though a new library was eventually built in her name, and the old one was turned into Williams Hall, the ghost ...
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Atkin-Colby Hall
Normal, Illinois
68.5 miles from Watseka, IL
Atkin-Colby Hall at Illinois State University is rumored to be haunted on its 11th floor. One witness claims to have been pushed down the stairs by the ghost. Also described by witnesses are doors opening, whispers, strange noises, and an overwhelming feeling of discomfort and that you are not wanted ...
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Kemp Hall - International House
Bloomington, Illinois
68.8 miles from Watseka, IL
Kemp Hall International House, or I-House, is said to be haunted by a ghostly Lady in Red. She is believed to be Mrs. A. E. DeMange, former owner of the mansion. She passed away after living here only a year, in 1908. Mr. DeMange sold it to the Illinois Weslayan ...
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St. Rita of Cascia
Chicago, Illinois
69.4 miles from Watseka, IL
This site is known for a harrowing experience said to have happened on All Souls Day (November 2) in the 1960s. Reports say a small gathering of parishioners witnessed the organ begin to play by itself as 6 robed monks, 3 in red and 3 in white, advanced toward the ...
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