All states / Illinois
Explore 50 haunted places in Illinois. Read ghost stories, local history, source notes, and visiting information in the PHASM Haunted Atlas.
Alton, Illinois · Cemetery
The cemetery's folklore places Lucy Haskell near her family's monument, a black-clad woman around the Grandview mausoleum and Elijah Lovejoy near his memorial. HauntedPlaces.org also describes sudden cold spots associated with Lovejoy. These are separate stories within a single cemetery profile. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Amboy, Illinois · Other
A contributor to HauntedPlaces.org describes a spirit called Steve, supposedly a former owner upset by changes to the pharmacy. Objects reportedly fall from shelves and employees feel pushes. The basement is associated with unexplained whistling, voices and patches of cold air. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Des Plaines, Illinois · Other
Folklore following Flight 191's fatal crash describes people asking nearby residents for luggage or help catching another flight, then vanishing. HauntedPlaces.org also recounts unanswered knocks, moving white lights and cries near the crash area. These stories belong to the disaster's later folklore, not its official accident findings. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Taylorville, Illinois · Cemetery
Stories recorded by HauntedPlaces.org describe trees opening to reveal a hidden burial ground and a phantom wolf defending it. The source specifically distinguishes this Taylorville-area Anderson Cemetery, also called Cemetery X, from the Anderson Cemetery near Palmer. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Ashmore, Illinois · Other
The former almshouse has a longstanding paranormal reputation. HauntedPlaces.org associates one of its reported spirits with Elva Skinner, said to have died in an earlier almshouse fire. The building's haunting stories have also attracted television investigators. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Morris, Illinois · Cemetery
Aux Sable's most distinctive legend is a playful girl who interferes with visitors' cars. HauntedPlaces.org reports the claim that electric windows descend even without a key in the ignition. Stories about a supernatural portal are another part of the cemetery's folklore. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
near Midlothian, Illinois · Cemetery
A vanished farmhouse, moving lights and an enigmatic 1991 photograph belong to the lore of Bachelor’s Grove, a small historic cemetery near Midlothian. Behind the stories lies a community burial ground whose isolation, changing roads and long struggle with vandalism have shaped its modern reputation.
Lisle, Illinois · Other
A vanishing boy in blue clothes is one of the figures in Benedictine's campus folklore. HauntedPlaces.org also recounts children's presences in residence halls, unexplained voices and televisions or stereos operating unexpectedly. The campus stories are grouped in one profile, without adopting supernatural explanations for building closures. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Belvidere, Illinois · Cemetery
Blood's Point lore includes a dog with red eyes, mysterious lights, phantom vehicles and a barn that disappears. HauntedPlaces.org also gathers stories about the neighboring bridge, including children's laughter. The bridge tales are kept within this single cemetery-area profile rather than counted separately. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Cairo, Illinois · Other
Toby is the name given to Cairo’s restless library presence. Empty-room chair sounds and white lights among the shelves have made this working Illinois library part of regional ghost lore.
Chicago, Illinois · Other
The Clark Street Bridge is associated with mournful sounds said to echo from the Eastland disaster. HauntedPlaces.org records claims of cries and moans around the bridge, linking them with the passengers who died when the ship capsized nearby in 1915. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Chicago, Illinois · Hotel
Room 441 is the focus of the hotel's best-known guest reports: a shadowlike woman is said to appear inside the room. HauntedPlaces.org distinguishes that repeated account from the popular Al Capone story, whose connection to the hotel it disputes. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Chicago, Illinois · Theater
HauntedPlaces.org records a woman's apparition and shadowlike figures in the Congress Theater. Footsteps and other noises are reportedly heard when no visible person accounts for them. This Chicago theater is a different physical site from the Congress Plaza Hotel. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Clarendon Hills, Illinois · Other
A woman's apparition reportedly moves through the Country House dining room and appears at an upper window. HauntedPlaces.org also describes footsteps, displaced objects, a baby's cries, floral scents and a jukebox playing overnight. The tragic explanation attached to the woman remains an unverified part of the story. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Galena, Illinois · Hotel
Period-dressed figures reportedly pass through walls at Galena's DeSoto House. HauntedPlaces.org also recounts unexplained voices in the corridors and the smell of cigar smoke when no smoker can be found. The accounts do not establish who the supposed spirits were. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Peoria, Illinois · Other
An account submitted to HauntedPlaces.org describes footsteps descending the stairs when nobody is visible and a male figure upstairs. The story identifies the presence as former owner Jim Schwab, whom the account says died after a fall on the staircase. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Alton, Illinois · Other
An old Unitarian sanctuary in Alton is associated with the lingering presence of a minister whose death became part of the town’s ghost-tour tradition.
Alton, Illinois · Other
Alton’s former Jacoby furniture store housed a funeral operation, and its basement developed stories of cold spots and sounds from a disconnected intercom.
Woodstock, Illinois · Other
The Stickneys' interest in Spiritualism forms the backdrop to this house's ghost stories. HauntedPlaces.org recounts later occupants' and police officers' reports of apparitions, doors moving, displaced objects and electrical oddities. Rounded corners and seances are prominent in the house's lore, but neither proves a haunting. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Decatur, Illinois · Cemetery
HauntedPlaces.org records a weeping figure called the Greenwood Bride, ghost lights near the cemetery's southern edge, and apparitions described as Confederate soldiers confronting visitors. These are the cemetery's collected legends rather than verified accounts of the identities of those buried here. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Alton, Illinois · Hotel
A long-closed Alton hotel has an especially memorable ghost: the Jasmine Lady, sometimes sensed as a sudden perfume on the old staircase.
Jacksonville, Illinois · Other
Campus stories describe a faceless Gray Ghost in Whipple Hall, apparitions and footsteps in Beecher and Sturtevant halls, and a mischievous presence called Gail in Ellis Hall. HauntedPlaces.org collects these building traditions together; they are retained as one college profile rather than inflated into separate entries. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Waukegan, Illinois · Hotel
A contributor who says they investigated with the owner's permission reports a pale figure in the connected studio window and unexplained impressions on the upper floors. HauntedPlaces.org preserves their claims about recorded voices and basement light anomalies; these are the contributor's interpretations of an investigation. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.
Lincoln, Illinois · Other
University Hall is said to show a face high in its bell tower and pale forms at its windows, with unseen footsteps inside. HauntedPlaces.org also records equipment disturbances and closing doors in Olin Sang Hall. These campus legends are preserved together as one location. Concise original paraphrase of an attributed folklore source; historical details not independently established.