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Even when Halloween isn't lurking, ghostly figures, unexplained sounds and mysteriously moving objects are the norm at the Midwest's most haunted places, which have lured ghost chasers and paranormal enthusiasts from around the world. Many are within a few hours' drive of Chicago. Be sure to take your camera, because some of these ghosts aren't camera-shy.
Sounds of footsteps when no one else is around. Unexplained voices. Shadowy figures in the balcony. Even for the unbelieving, haunted tales from this labyrinth-style theater built in 1916 can be startling. Ghost hunters claim the building is haunted by the souls of those who died during a fire when the land the theater is on was the Priest Hotel. Others claim it is the ghost of a stagehand from the theater's vaudeville days or the spirit of a woman clothed in an old-fashioned dress. Some even believe Houdini, who performed at the theater during the 1910s, still haunts its confines. The theater does a live Houdini seance every Halloween in hopes of bringing the legendary magician back to life. That's already sold out.
Web site: haunteddecatur.com
Contact: 141 N. Main St., Decatur; 217-422-1711; 888-446-7859 for ghost tours
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in Midlothian
This small 19th century cemetery on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve is where people say they see red, glowing orbs hovering above and faintly visible figures walking past them. Some 150 burials took place in the cemetery from 1844 through the 1980s. Tombstones are now covered in weeds and surrounded by a chain-link fence, which people have cut holes through to gain access to what many consider one of Illinois' most haunted burial sites.
Web site: bachelorsgrove.com
Contact: Near 143rd St. and Ridgeland Ave., on a closed road by a tower across from the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve parking lot. Forest Preserve District of Cook County, 800-870-3666. The Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. does private tours of the cemetery. Fees vary based on the number of people; 773-648-5000.
The Milton School and the old post office in Alton
Alton is known as being one of the most haunted areas in Illinois. The town's Milton School is said to be inhabited by the ghost of a little girl who was found dead in the building, as well as by the ghost of a janitor who killed himself in the school's boiler room. The town's old post office also supposedly is haunted. A former postmaster and other spirits are said to roam the basement and halls. Evening tours ($45) of the Milton School and old post office are offered at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in October and November.
Web site: hauntedalton.com
Contact: Tours begin at the Masonic Temple Franklin Lodge on Washington Avenue; 618-462-4009.
This Victorian Gothic-style building houses the oldest public library in Indiana with more than 110 years of history and, as legend has it, one resident ghost: the Gray Lady, who first appeared in the 1930s and has since spooked countless people in the basement's Children's Room with apparitions that include the smell of perfume, noises, books and furniture being moved, and the feeling of being touched on the head. From Oct. 22 through 30, try to catch a glimpse of the Gray Lady during one of the library's daily ghost tours, or search for her via the library's 24-hour ghost Web cam (libraryghost.com) that refreshes every 20 seconds.
Web site: willard.lib.in.us
Contact: 21 First Ave., Evansville; 812-425-4309
Barbee Hotel & Restaurant in Warsaw
During the 1920s, Al Capone slept in Room 301, and according to hotel staff, he still does. Since the day Capone died in 1947, people have reported smelling cigar smoke coming from the room. Other ghostly encounters include seeing an old man in one of the hotel's bar booths and hearing footsteps on the staircase as well as in the hall above the dining room. Current rates are $100 for suites and $50 for standard rooms.
Web site: barbeehotel.com
Contact: 3620 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw; 574-834-7174.
With more than 14 reported ghosts, the 1846 Mason House Inn is a hotbed of paranormal activity. Ghost sightings include Civil War soldiers, children who died at the inn when it was a hospital and two of the inn's previous owners. Guests report their beds being messed up by ghosts and being awakened by spirits tugging on their arms and legs. Still skeptical? Join owner Joy Hanson for an overnight Halloween Ghost Dinner on Oct. 24 or Oct. 31, including ghost stories and a tour of the town. You also can take photos in Bentonsport's cemetery, where people claim to see objects floating in their pictures. Rates, including dinner and the program, are $100 for a double and $90 for a single, and $120 for the Caboose Cottage.
Web site: masonhouseinn.com
Contact: 21982 Hawk Drive, Bentonsport; 800-592-3133
One of the most haunted buildings in Michigan supposedly is the three-story, Queen Anne-style Holly Hotel. "Ghost buster" Norman Gauthier claimed it's "loaded with spirits" who can be heard playing the piano, laughing and playfully rearranging cooking utensils in the building's restaurant. The hotel is no longer an inn but is open for fine dining and ghost hunts. Visitors say they can smell cigar smoke believed to be coming from a proprietor of the Holly Hotel at the turn of the last century and can smell perfume worn by another former resident, Nora Kane. A little girl also is believed to haunt the restaurant, playing with a meat cleaver and teapots.
Web site: hollyhotel.com
Contact: 110 Battle Alley, Holly; 248-634-5208
For 94 years, the Ohio State Reformatory was a working prison that housed more than 150,000 inmates during its turbulent history, which included executions, murders and the infamous "hole" below prison grounds where the prison's worst offenders were placed in solitary confinement. Some never made it out. It also was the site of the 1994 movie " The Shawshank Redemption." Today the prison is considered one of Ohio's most haunted edifices, where the voices and sounds of ghosts taunt visitors and tour guides. Those brave enough can spend the night (group rates) or do one of the daily ghost hunts ($15) taking place through October (hauntedx.com for tickets).
Web site: mrps.org
Contact: 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield; 419-522-2644
The Lofts in Columbus
Claimed to be the most haunted inn in America, this former 1800s warehouse (now a 44-room boutique hotel) is where a warehouse worker supposedly was crushed by a pallet of bathtubs, leaving the ghost of a white-haired woman in a long Victorian dress crying as she wanders the halls. Guests and hotel staff have reported seeing the ghost and hearing unexplained voices. The hotel's clocks also randomly change time. Standard rates start at $159.
Web site: 55lofts.com
Contact: 5 E. Nationwide Blvd., Columbus; 614-461-2663
Haunted Hills Ghost Express Train in Hocking Hills
If you love a good ghost story, reserve a spot on the Haunted Hills Ghost Express train. On Oct. 17, the train will depart from the Nelsonville Depot and make its way to some of the Hocking Hills area's most famous haunted sites, including an asylum and the Moonville Tunnel, believed to be haunted by a man crushed by a train. More than a dozen ghost tales will be recited during the 90-minute ride, and at the end of the tour, passengers will receive a booklet to use for their own ghost hunting and research. Rides are $17, $15 for people 60 and older and $12 for children 3-12.
Web site: hvsry.org/home_page/ghosttrain.htm
Contact: 33 E. Canal St., Nelsonville; 800-967-7834
Legend has it that Wisconsin may have more ghosts per square mile than any other state, and it also might have werewolves, which people have been claiming to see since the 1930s, including the Bray Road Beast, which first appeared on Bray Road near Delavan in 1999. But large, hairy creatures aren't the Dairy State's only claim to haunted fame. The Octagon House in Fond du Lac has spooked many guests who tell tales of hearing voices and feeling ghostly chills. It is believed the house is occupied by spirits from its history as a fort and trading post in 1856 and then as a safe house for runaway slaves during the Civil War. The scariest parts of the house are its nine passageways, including an underground tunnel. Ghost hunters can spend a few hours or even the night at the house searching for paranormal activity, or they can sign up for a special dinner and candlelight haunted tour Oct. 31 ($45). Period costumes will be available for rent ($25).
Web site: octagonhousefdl.com
Contact: 76 Linden St., Fond du Lac; 920-922-1608
Illinois
The Lincoln Square Theatre in DecaturSounds of footsteps when no one else is around. Unexplained voices. Shadowy figures in the balcony. Even for the unbelieving, haunted tales from this labyrinth-style theater built in 1916 can be startling. Ghost hunters claim the building is haunted by the souls of those who died during a fire when the land the theater is on was the Priest Hotel. Others claim it is the ghost of a stagehand from the theater's vaudeville days or the spirit of a woman clothed in an old-fashioned dress. Some even believe Houdini, who performed at the theater during the 1910s, still haunts its confines. The theater does a live Houdini seance every Halloween in hopes of bringing the legendary magician back to life. That's already sold out.
Web site: haunteddecatur.com
Contact: 141 N. Main St., Decatur; 217-422-1711; 888-446-7859 for ghost tours
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in Midlothian
This small 19th century cemetery on the edge of the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve is where people say they see red, glowing orbs hovering above and faintly visible figures walking past them. Some 150 burials took place in the cemetery from 1844 through the 1980s. Tombstones are now covered in weeds and surrounded by a chain-link fence, which people have cut holes through to gain access to what many consider one of Illinois' most haunted burial sites.
Web site: bachelorsgrove.com
Contact: Near 143rd St. and Ridgeland Ave., on a closed road by a tower across from the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve parking lot. Forest Preserve District of Cook County, 800-870-3666. The Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. does private tours of the cemetery. Fees vary based on the number of people; 773-648-5000.
The Milton School and the old post office in Alton
Alton is known as being one of the most haunted areas in Illinois. The town's Milton School is said to be inhabited by the ghost of a little girl who was found dead in the building, as well as by the ghost of a janitor who killed himself in the school's boiler room. The town's old post office also supposedly is haunted. A former postmaster and other spirits are said to roam the basement and halls. Evening tours ($45) of the Milton School and old post office are offered at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays in October and November.
Web site: hauntedalton.com
Contact: Tours begin at the Masonic Temple Franklin Lodge on Washington Avenue; 618-462-4009.
Indiana
Willard Library in EvansvilleThis Victorian Gothic-style building houses the oldest public library in Indiana with more than 110 years of history and, as legend has it, one resident ghost: the Gray Lady, who first appeared in the 1930s and has since spooked countless people in the basement's Children's Room with apparitions that include the smell of perfume, noises, books and furniture being moved, and the feeling of being touched on the head. From Oct. 22 through 30, try to catch a glimpse of the Gray Lady during one of the library's daily ghost tours, or search for her via the library's 24-hour ghost Web cam (libraryghost.com) that refreshes every 20 seconds.
Web site: willard.lib.in.us
Contact: 21 First Ave., Evansville; 812-425-4309
Barbee Hotel & Restaurant in Warsaw
During the 1920s, Al Capone slept in Room 301, and according to hotel staff, he still does. Since the day Capone died in 1947, people have reported smelling cigar smoke coming from the room. Other ghostly encounters include seeing an old man in one of the hotel's bar booths and hearing footsteps on the staircase as well as in the hall above the dining room. Current rates are $100 for suites and $50 for standard rooms.
Web site: barbeehotel.com
Contact: 3620 N. Barbee Road, Warsaw; 574-834-7174.
Iowa
Mason House Inn in BentonsportWith more than 14 reported ghosts, the 1846 Mason House Inn is a hotbed of paranormal activity. Ghost sightings include Civil War soldiers, children who died at the inn when it was a hospital and two of the inn's previous owners. Guests report their beds being messed up by ghosts and being awakened by spirits tugging on their arms and legs. Still skeptical? Join owner Joy Hanson for an overnight Halloween Ghost Dinner on Oct. 24 or Oct. 31, including ghost stories and a tour of the town. You also can take photos in Bentonsport's cemetery, where people claim to see objects floating in their pictures. Rates, including dinner and the program, are $100 for a double and $90 for a single, and $120 for the Caboose Cottage.
Web site: masonhouseinn.com
Contact: 21982 Hawk Drive, Bentonsport; 800-592-3133
Michigan
Holly Hotel in HollyOne of the most haunted buildings in Michigan supposedly is the three-story, Queen Anne-style Holly Hotel. "Ghost buster" Norman Gauthier claimed it's "loaded with spirits" who can be heard playing the piano, laughing and playfully rearranging cooking utensils in the building's restaurant. The hotel is no longer an inn but is open for fine dining and ghost hunts. Visitors say they can smell cigar smoke believed to be coming from a proprietor of the Holly Hotel at the turn of the last century and can smell perfume worn by another former resident, Nora Kane. A little girl also is believed to haunt the restaurant, playing with a meat cleaver and teapots.
Web site: hollyhotel.com
Contact: 110 Battle Alley, Holly; 248-634-5208
Ohio
Ohio State Reformatory Historic Site in MansfieldFor 94 years, the Ohio State Reformatory was a working prison that housed more than 150,000 inmates during its turbulent history, which included executions, murders and the infamous "hole" below prison grounds where the prison's worst offenders were placed in solitary confinement. Some never made it out. It also was the site of the 1994 movie " The Shawshank Redemption." Today the prison is considered one of Ohio's most haunted edifices, where the voices and sounds of ghosts taunt visitors and tour guides. Those brave enough can spend the night (group rates) or do one of the daily ghost hunts ($15) taking place through October (hauntedx.com for tickets).
Web site: mrps.org
Contact: 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield; 419-522-2644
The Lofts in Columbus
Claimed to be the most haunted inn in America, this former 1800s warehouse (now a 44-room boutique hotel) is where a warehouse worker supposedly was crushed by a pallet of bathtubs, leaving the ghost of a white-haired woman in a long Victorian dress crying as she wanders the halls. Guests and hotel staff have reported seeing the ghost and hearing unexplained voices. The hotel's clocks also randomly change time. Standard rates start at $159.
Web site: 55lofts.com
Contact: 5 E. Nationwide Blvd., Columbus; 614-461-2663
Haunted Hills Ghost Express Train in Hocking Hills
If you love a good ghost story, reserve a spot on the Haunted Hills Ghost Express train. On Oct. 17, the train will depart from the Nelsonville Depot and make its way to some of the Hocking Hills area's most famous haunted sites, including an asylum and the Moonville Tunnel, believed to be haunted by a man crushed by a train. More than a dozen ghost tales will be recited during the 90-minute ride, and at the end of the tour, passengers will receive a booklet to use for their own ghost hunting and research. Rides are $17, $15 for people 60 and older and $12 for children 3-12.
Web site: hvsry.org/home_page/ghosttrain.htm
Contact: 33 E. Canal St., Nelsonville; 800-967-7834
Wisconsin
Octagon House in Fond du LacLegend has it that Wisconsin may have more ghosts per square mile than any other state, and it also might have werewolves, which people have been claiming to see since the 1930s, including the Bray Road Beast, which first appeared on Bray Road near Delavan in 1999. But large, hairy creatures aren't the Dairy State's only claim to haunted fame. The Octagon House in Fond du Lac has spooked many guests who tell tales of hearing voices and feeling ghostly chills. It is believed the house is occupied by spirits from its history as a fort and trading post in 1856 and then as a safe house for runaway slaves during the Civil War. The scariest parts of the house are its nine passageways, including an underground tunnel. Ghost hunters can spend a few hours or even the night at the house searching for paranormal activity, or they can sign up for a special dinner and candlelight haunted tour Oct. 31 ($45). Period costumes will be available for rent ($25).
Web site: octagonhousefdl.com
Contact: 76 Linden St., Fond du Lac; 920-922-1608
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