Established 2006
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Director Len Novak
We are an institute for Paranormal research and spiritual help.
Fear Not The Darkness! Embrace It's Beauty!
Alton, Illinois
Established in 1837 Population as of 2010 census 27,865 City location Southwest Il. 15 miles North of St. Louis, Mo.
Legend Reported to be the most haunted city in Illinois.
Area of Alton 16.73 sq mi.
Alton, Illinois is located in west central Illinois on the Mississippi river in Madison County. It is rich in history and said to be the most haunted town in the state. TIGS has investigated at the Mineral Springs Hotel 3 times and at the Milton Elementary School once. Alton was the site of the Lincoln /Douglas debate in October 1858. It is home to Blues Musician Miles Davis and Robert Ludlow ( Feb 22, 1918 - July 15, 1940 ), the tallest known person in history; standing at 8 ft 11". The first state penitentiary was located in Alton just blocks from the river. During the civil war it was used to house confederate prisoners. Only a corner of the prison remains. The limestone bricks from the prison can be seen scattered about the town, used for foundations, walls and some buildings. With the limestone, Indian burial grounds and the convergence of three rivers : The Mississippi, the Missouri and the Illinois, it's no wonder this is the most haunted town in Illinois.
Alton Landmarks :
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Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument - A 110 ft memordial to the famous abolitionist Dedicated to free speech and abolition of slavery. The monument is in the Alton cemetery.
The Piasa bird painting - Reproduction of original on face of a cliff Northwest of the city on the river road.
A monument to to 1354 confederate soldiers who died in the Alton prison, at the North Alton confederate cemetery.
A statue of Robert Pershing Wadlow, the tallest fully documented man in the recorded history of the world.
The cable stayed Clark bridge built in 1994.
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For more Landmarks go to Wikipedia.
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Haunted Locations :
Mineral Springs Hotel, located at 301 East Broadway opened in 1914 because of the natural spring located on the property. Several ghost reside in the hotel a young girl who drowned in the pool, a woman who committed suicide named Pearl on the second floor, also a civil war soldier, George the artist who painted the mural in the Crystal Room Bar, and the Jasmine lady known for her floral scent on the main staircase. The hotel closed in 1971 and reopened as an Antique Mall in 1978. It is considered the most haunted places in Alton. It draws Paranormal Investigators from all over the U.S.
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Mineral Springs Hotel
Mineral Springs Mall
As of 1978
The Mineral Springs opened as a hotel in 1914. It featured the largest swimming pool in Illinois at the time and filled with healing mineral water. A story told by the owner and employees is that a young girl who drowned in the pool by the name of Cassandra is haunting the hotel. This spirit loves to play with marbles and we have seen this on our investigations and had an EVP with a little girl in the pool area, and while being told about what happened in the pool area my left side felt ice cold as if it was in a freezer, I had a team member take a photo of me and there was a bright blue orb on my arm. Investigating the second floor we felt cold spots in several areas, had high EMF readings in different areas. The most activity is where a room once occupied by an old civil war soldier. We got high EMF and cold spots that followed us. The second floor had no electricity at all. The main stairway in the lobby, people report the smell of Jasmine perfume. It is said that a woman was thrown to her death by her jealous husband.
The Historic Museum of Torture
Inside the Mineral Springs Mall is an attraction that was put together by the owner Janet Kolar called the Museum of Torture.
Janet continues to collect more items of oddity. It has been a few years since we were there, when we were given a private tour of the museum. I'm sure she has expanded and when we return be assured we will visit again. the photos below are a few that we took.
Milton Schoolhouse
1904 2013
The Milton Schoohouse opened in 1904 as an elementary school. It went until 1986 and was left abandoned until the early 1990's, when it opened as a decorative glass factory. As the population grew so did the Milton Schoolhouse from 4 classrooms to over a dozen more, then in 1937 when a gymnasium and stage were added making it a total of 55,000 sq ft. The Milton School house was Alton's primary elementary and middle school. One of the stories is that a young girl named Mary was raped and murdered in the girls shower room in the basement by a janitor who was found hanging on a third floor stairwell. While conducting an EVP session in the shower room I felt ill, hard to breath and pressure on my chest and throat. Soon as I left the room I was fine. later we were in the basement outside where the shower room was we got a voice of a little girl saying " Hello " that we heard in real time. Throughout the night was unexplainable sounds and feeling of dread in different area's of the school.
Source of information:
Wikipedia
Illinois Haunted Houses
Personal Experiences