I first approached researching Southern Illinois witches the way I would any subject … by getting to know the people. Where I made my mistake was trying to focus on the witches. A mistake, but because the witches were lost in the world of folklore. Who defined a witch here, as in most places, was […]
Ghost Hunters Wanted: Looking for a creative investigation of a haunting stretching back sixty years … home sweet home!
I’ve travelled to different states and different countries in search of the paranormal. I’m not a ghost hunter, or a paranormal researcher. I’m a photographer and a storyteller. That’s an appropriate combination because when it comes to making people believe in the paranormal, nothing beats seeing it, or even a good story, well told. I’ve […]
The Old Slave House: The Crenshaw House breeds a ghost story that preserved the blackest stain on Illinois’ past. Will the state preserve the house, and the history?
The Crenshaw House, known as the Old Slave House, atop Hickory Hill near Equality, Illinois Note: The Old Slave House outside of Equality, Illinois is a decaying symbol of a sordid time in Illinois history. Its own history has been clouded over the years by folklore, and some say the tales of a huckster. But […]
Book excerpt from The Haunted History of Southern Illinois … Christmas ghost stories on the prairie in southern Illinois
Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. It’s a Christmas story, true. But take away the Christmas garland and A Christmas Carol is a classic gothic ghost story. For most people, Christmas ghosts stories begin and end with that tale. But they go much fur- ther back, and were a larger part of the Christmas tradition than […]
Tales Told By A Tombstone … on Betsey Reed, The White Lady of Baker Cemetery, and a quartet of southern Illinois hauntings from Lawrence and Crawford counties
The history of The White Lady of Baker Cemetery, Elizabeth Betsey Reed, the first and only woman hung in Illinois and other ghostly tales from Lawrence and Crawford Counties
Tales Told By A Tombstone: “Prepare For Death and Follow Me,” Secrets of the Witch’s Grave at Big Hill Cemetery
The witch’s stone in Big Hill Cemetery, Norris City IL is peculiar. But why does it carry the legend and who carved it?
