Scary Places 7 :: Village of the Damned

Dec 27, 2006

What is the Village of the Damned?

Alton, Illinois is America's spookiest small town. It's not the locals that are scary. They don't eat people, dress weird, dance through fires or ride brooms. It's where the locals live, shop and hang out that has people running in terror. Most of the historic homes in Alton were built during the 19th Century. The people who live in them, both dead and alive, have many secrets and even darker pasts.

Spirits Within - Visiting The Village of the Damned

It's not just a few houses in Alton that seem to be haunted. Lots of public and private places, like a mansion, a coffee shop, the local prison, a lake, a church and an antique mall, which used to be a hotel, are filled with ghosts. Some of the unexplainable mysteries at Alton's McPike Mansion are photos with human-shaped outlines in them, along with strange balls of light that even professional photographers can't explain. Apparently, there are even several children, ladies and others roaming the halls, even though the house has been deserted since 1950.

Ghost Sightings at the Village of the Damned

Mineral Springs Hotel has an eerie history behind it. There are several ghosts seen hanging around and not all of them are friendly. One of them seems to be looking for revenge - after his jealous wife smacked him in the head with the heel of her shoe, he fell into the swimming pool and drowned. An even more famous ghost is a jasmine-scented woman who haunts the staircase near the former lobby. According to legend, the lady was having an affair. Her husband caught her in one of the rooms at the top of the steps. Somehow she ended up at the bottom of the stairs with a broken neck. (Tripped? Pushed? You decide). Moments later, her husband committed suicide in their upstairs bedroom.

Tour The Village of the Damned

Books have been written on this spooky Village of the Damned. Ghost tours are available if you ever make it to Alton. You can even go into some of the locals' haunted houses that the public aren't normally allowed to visit. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, there's a good chance you might see something you can't explain.

Spooky Stories From Illinois

Well, there is this place in a little town of Illinois called the Diversitec. It's about three or four minutes into the country and is just a small group of identical, and what seems to be, never-ending buildings. Supposedly, these buildings were used as a psychiatric ward and hospital for disturbed individuals, back in the '60s and '70s. But one particular day they suddenly released all of the patients and they fled from the territory never to return. The buildings are still there, rotting and decaying away.

Personally, I haven't had the chance to explore around there yet, but a couple of my friends have. They described to me that certain rooms were cold, and one of which, in the childrens ward, was covered with various Barbie and cat heads that had obviously been cut off and thrown there. There are still bowls and pop cans on the side tables, with the bed sheets thrown down as if someone had franctically fled from the room. So far, they've made no attempt to tear the buildings down, and have locked them up as best they could. I have not been able to find any information on these buildings on the Web... or anywhere for that matter, so what I've written down just now is only from my own observations.