Illinois, a state rich with history and culture, has its fair share of scary tales. From scary mansions to ghostly forests, the Land of Lincoln has some of the most haunted locales in the country.
These locales are shrouded in mystery, with tales of restless ghosts, unexplained events, and tragic histories that entice thrill-seekers and paranormal enthusiasts alike. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, the terrifying appeal of these haunted places is unmistakable.
Join us as we visit six of Illinois’ most haunted locations, where the past lingers and the otherworldly may be closer than you realize. Each location has its tale, making it an unforgettable place for those daring enough to visit.
1. Chesterville Witch’s Grave near Arcola, Illinois
Address: N. Co Rd 425E, Chesterville, IL 61911
It turns out Salem isn’t the only place with a witchy past. Chesterville is a small hamlet located in the heart of Amish Country. The settlement is made up of only a few buildings, a diner, and a small graveyard where a witch’s remains are buried unmarked.
A huge oak enclosed by a black iron fence stands out in the otherwise regular final resting place for Chesterville’s long-deceased citizens. Among them, according to tradition, is a woman accused of witchcraft in 1900.
While the entire narrative is unknown, there are various hypotheses on why this location experiences so much paranormal activity. The community attacked a woman in each of these, accusing her of consorting with the devil and doing black magic.
To keep her restless spirit at bay, the inhabitants chained her soul to an oak tree and used iron’s anti-spectral qualities to keep her from exiting her grave.
Visitors are sure that the techniques do little to deter the woman from haunting the graveyard at night, waiting for the day when she may finally exact revenge on those whose ancestors doomed her to an early and brutal death.
This is an unusual location to make the list of the most haunted places in Illinois.
2. Death Curve in Cambridge, Illinois
Address: Timber Ridge Road, Cambridge, Illinois 61238
Timber Ridge Road appears naïve, at least until motorists notice the fluttering of a white gown in their peripheral vision as they navigate the so-called “Death Curve.” This apparition has a horrific background that previously made front-page news.
As reported in the Rock Island Argus on September 30, 1905, “Mrs. Clarence Markham, While Insane, Murders Seven Children With an Ax and Sets House Afire- Succeeds in Killing Herself.”
The story begins in 1896 when Julia Johnson marries Clarence B. Markham, a farmer. Julia gave birth to seven children over the next nine years: four girls and three boys.
Julia took her two oldest children to a nearby spring to gather water on the fateful morning of the crime. During their absence, she used an ax on the five youngest children, including a five-month-old baby. When they returned, the remaining two met the same fate.
Mrs. Markham attempted to cut her own throat with a crude knife after her heinous actions. When she failed, she spread all of her children out on the bed, poured oil over them, and lighted the match that sealed her fate.
Neighbors discovered her burned when she crawled out of the informal funeral pyre and died later that day. Locals attribute accidents on Timber Ridge Road to her spirit, who is claimed to roam the fields with her hair billowing behind her like smoke.
3. Acid Bridge in Collinsville, Illinois
Address: Lebanon Road, Collinsville, IL 62234
Next on the list of the most haunted sites in Illinois is Lebanon Road, which is home to seven bridges known as “The Seven Gates of Hell.” Each of these bridges is claimed to be a gateway to the underworld, guarded by fierce hellhounds with ravenous anger.
The most haunted bridge on the road is Acid Bridge, where a carload of drug-addicted adolescents met a horrible fate after losing control of their vehicle and drowning in the shallow creek bed below.
Late-night visitors describe feeling uneasy, hearing unusual noises, and feeling a rapid dip in temperature as they pass by the paranormal site.
4. Devil’s Bake-Oven in Grand Tower, Illinois
Address: Grand Tower, IL 62942
The Devil’s Bake-Oven, a 100-foot-tall bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, has seen its fair share of tragedy.
According to local history, pirates lurking in the coves would assault frontier ships passing through the area, seizing their cargo and lives. Algonquian tribes believed the river was home to the Manitou deity, and they would sacrifice travelers to satisfy the hungry monster.
The saddest narrative is that of Esmerelda. She was the daughter of an iron mill superintendent who fell in love with a riverboat pilot. Her father, who did not want Esmerelda to marry, shut her up in her chamber. She fled, pushing herself from the cliff into the rocky rocks below.
Locals claim that late-night explorers will hear the girl’s sobs reverberate through the trees and see a hazy presence in the night.
5. Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, Illinois
Address: Ricketts Ave. and US 24, Bartonville, Illinois 61607.
The huge Peoria State Hospital, once known as the Illinois Asylum for the Incurably Insane, is now mostly gone. Today, only twelve of the campus’s 63 original buildings remain, including Pollack Hospital, which was previously a tuberculosis unit.
This facility is home to the most paranormal activity, as well as four on-site graveyards where thousands of patients were laid to rest. Among them is Old Book, a gravedigger who used to grieve by an elm tree whenever someone died.
Dr. George Zeller said in his book Befriending the Bereft that on the day of Old Book’s funeral, hundreds of people saw a full-body apparition of the guy standing under the “Crying Tree.”
Paranormal investigators have heard sounds from beyond the veil as they walk the grounds, an echo of the patients and personnel who once called Peoria State Hospital home.
6. McPike Mansion, Alton, Illinois
Address: 2018 Alby St, Alton, IL 62002
The McPike Mansion is a notorious supernatural site made up of an abandoned 16-acre mansion on a vast 15-acre plot of ground that nature has reclaimed over the previous 60 years. This was an obvious addition to our list of the most haunted locations in Illinois.
Despite its unoccupied position, the mansion appears to be filled with mysterious energy. Previous and present owners have all reported seeing orbs, footsteps, odd mists, objects that move on their own, and terrifying voices cut through the stagnant air of the decaying building.
Perhaps the most frightening are the silhouettes of human figures seen exclusively in photographs.
While it is unclear who roams these grounds, visitors have encountered a dozen different spirits, including Native Americans, the original owners, servants, and runaway slaves.