As we welcome the Halloween season, there are notable stories and legends that help will certainly help you get into the spirit. While Illinois is not immediately recognized for hosting a haunted house mystique, the state holds a few tales and sites of hair-raising tragedy worth a second look.
1) The Ghost of Abe Lincoln
After tragedy struck on April 14, 1865, the country found itself without the leader responsible for leading his people out of civil war and the Lincoln’s without their patriarch, President Abraham Lincoln. His final resting place was Springfield at the Oak Ridge Cemetery, along with his three youngest sons. There were attempts by grave robbers to seize President Lincoln’s remains while construction was being made but the plan was foiled by Secret Service. Since the memorial was built in 1876, there have been steady amount of claims made by visitors and staff members at the memorial regarding being able to hear weeping, whispers and footsteps around the memorial. There have also been sightings of the phantom train that carried Lincoln’s remains back to Springfield on the nearby train tracks.
2) Old Book of Bartonville
In 1910 at the Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, Manual Bookbinder worked as a grave digger for the hospital. His true name remains a mystery as the given name of Bookbinder was due to the job prior to grave digger that of binding books together. After burying the dead and attending the services of the deceased patients of the hospital, people that he would get to know from working there, he would lean and weep on the side of the elm tree that overlooked the cemetery. When Bookbinder passed away, he received a funeral service and burial at the same cemetery where he worked, as he was beloved by patients and staff alike. During that ceremony, people attending could actually see the ghost of Old Book, wailing beside that same elm tree meanwhile Bookbinder’s body still lay in the casket.
Soon after his death, the old elm tree began to die. As the hospital attempted to remove the elm tree, workers found that every attempt was met with the cry of Bookbinder. One man reported trying to remove the tree using an axe and when he struck the tree, it was as if he hit someone with the axe, as ear-piercing cries could be heard. Eventually, the elm tree was struck with lighting and the tree was able to be removed. Along with its removal came silence as the cries stopped.
3) 12th floor Ghosts of the Congress Hotel
In 1939, a Czech woman by the name of Adele Langer and her two boys found refuge at the Congress Hotel in Chicago, as it was used to host refugees in both World Wars. Langer’s husband was supposed to meet up with them in Chicago from Czechoslovakia but never showed up. As their visas were set to expire and no sign from Mr. Langer, she fell into a deep depression which then triggered a nervous breakdown. On Aug. 4, 1939, the anxiety became too much and snapped. She had taken the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo and upon arrival to their room, she threw her kids and herself off the ledge of the room and died. That same day, an unopened letter arrived, informing that the family was offered permanent refuge in Canada. The husband, Mr. Langer, received the news and was so grief stricken that he also contemplated ending his life. Since then, people on the 12th floor has reported seeing their ghosts roam around, as one of the young boys reportedly chase around guests and staff alike.
