History goes hand in hand with haunting. Traditional haunted locations are places that are home to ghosts and other unusual phenomena and are usually caused by a combination of significant, historic events and the emotion-laded energy behind these events. This potent combination can produce a spiritual energy which may build-up and subsequently may manifest into haunting phenomena, which includes strange sounds and voices, lingering smells, phantom lights and dark manifestations.

There is a town in Illinois that has such a combination. This town sit son or very near the Mississippi River which seems to be a factor in such haunting. Water is a great conductor of electromagnetic energy. Electromagnetic energy is a natural occurring energy force that each human body has. It is believed that this energy may remain when soul and body separate in death. All is left is the energy and maybe some consciousness. Because this city is near the river, it is also hilly—with a combination of perhaps granite or limestone within the cliff walls that over look the river. Again both granite and limestone are known as conducts and enhancers of electromagnetic energy and so you have a breeding ground for unusual occurrences.

The town has been host to a variety of significant historical events and boasts not one but two ghost tours. That’s how haunted this small river town is! This town is Galena, Illinois.

Galena, whose name comes from its earliest means of town revenue, means, “lead sulfide” in Latin. Galena is located at the far northwestern corner of Illinois, bordered by the north by Wisconsin and to the west by Iowa. It once surpassed Chicago in popularity and population in its infancy.

It was founded in the early 1800’s and started out as a lead mining town and became the busiest river port between St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota by 1850.

In those days, the GalenaRiver was wide and deep and the town grew quickly as a boomtown for lead mining. Lead was considered as precious as gold at that time and was found through out the nearby hills. Lead was used for everything from tools, paint, ladies’ make-up to plumbing pipes and much more. The town was also home to President Ulysses S. Grant, who declared his candidacy in his living room in the home on Boothiller Road, which was specifically built by the townsfolk as a present for their returning Civil War hero. This home is now part of the National Historical Preservation and is a tourist attraction, complete with many original furnishings.

President Abraham Lincoln was also a frequent visitor to Galena, as were many Civil War generals and soldiers. Nine Civil War Generals hailed from the town. In 1850, the town boosted a population of 14,000.

But as tall brick and stone buildings sprang up in Galena, many of which still stand today, the environment and ecology of the area was compromised. The boomtown destroyed itself as the river began to narrow and grew shallow from all the environmental pollution. Finally ships could no longer travel up the GalenaRiver from the Mississippi. The lead in the mines began to peter out. Flooding was also a problem through the area.

Slowly the once boomtown dwindled in size and popularity. In the east, it was Chicago that continued to prosper and grow, as a result of better city planning.

For a long time during the early and mid 1900s the town of Galena became a small, sleepy village with a rich historic past. It was the 1960’s when the town turned the tide and today the town stands as monument to the past and serves as a tourist spot full of history, shopping and ghosts.

When I visited Galena I found steep hills and old brick buildings and quaint shops. But I also found two ghost tours and at least one or two ghosts.

My first memorable ghostly encounter was when I visited the GalenaHistoricMuseum. I was there to purchase “Ghosts of Galena’, a slim book of local haunting, both past and present, written by the then-curator of the museum, Daryl Watson. I learned about this book during the historic lecture on the local trolley tour of the city.

The ‘Ghosts of Galena’ book contains various short stories culled from the ancient volumes of the local newspaper, plus private accounts of hauntings from the local townsfolk.

The reason for the creation of this book, I learned, was the hauntings that take place at the museum.

The museum was originally built in 1858 as the private home of Daniel Barrows, a prominent businessman of the community. Barrows had a previous home on the same site which burned down. He decided to rebuild his new home on the same site. Barrows had money; he owned a distillery, a confectionery store and a lumberyard. But after the Civil War, he fell into debt, as so many others did. Trouble continued for Barrows--his wife died and the bill collectors came. As a result, he lost his mansion.

The home remained a private residence exchanging various owners until 1922, when the Odd Fellow Lodge took possession of the home. They remodeled the building, removing a rear wing and replacing it with a large two-story hall.

During the Depression, the Odd Fellow Lodge had to give up the property. The depression as it hit the area hard.

In 1938, the building became the property of the City of Galena. City Hall took over the first floor while the second floor became the city’s historical museum. In 1967, City Hall was moved and the Historical Society took hold of the entire property, where it remains today.

After my trolley tour, I headed for the museum which held the slim ghost book in its gift shop. Once I left the gift shop on the first floor, I briefly explored the first floor exhibits with its display of lead mining exhibits, old farm tools and ancient archeological fossils findings of arrowheads and ancient bones.

The stairs wind slightly yet gracefully to the second floor and they creak. As with most stairs of old places with long histories, this staircase held energy that had built up over the years. The residual energy is strong on these stairs. It is easy to feel that the stairs are well worn and many a person has step on their treads.

Upstairs are several room; each with their own displays of interest. There is also a mineshaft on display. Peering down this long hole, with its model of a man many feet below, gave me the willies. I backed away from the glassed-in display with a shiver and moved towards the two story back room. This is the place that the Odd Fellows had added on to the original home. This room is located up a short flight of stairs and you can see that the ceiling reaches up to tall heights.

Just before I entered this large hall, I thought I saw fellow tourists go in the room before me. Moments later, I too entered the large exhibit room and saw at least one person, out of the corner of my eyes, to my left. They stepped behind an exhibit partition and were out of sight within an instant of me entering the room. I was sure I would run into the person or persons in a moment.

I began walking around the displays, still thinking there were people with me, hidden by the tall displays of Civil War history. But I soon realized I was the only living person in the room. There were no other people with me in that room. But I wasn’t alone.

I soon realized that what I saw when I first entered was a manifestation of a spirit. There was no living person in the room with me, but I could feel another one’s presence Using my sensitive abilities, I felt out the presence to see if it was friendly and if it was a male or female.

The presence felt male and while he wasn’t sinister feeling, the feeling wasn’t particularly friendly either. He felt reserved in his emotions. I felt like he was quietly watching me, perhaps with disapproval of invading his domain. I couldn’t tell though if it was Barrows.

I acknowledged him, but once I left the room I could still feel his energy. There were other energies now mixed in.

This often happens to me; as a medium I attract those on the other side who want their presence known to the living. Once these entities touch on my open energy they may begin to congregate in order to get their message to loved ones.

The feeling in the room was becoming stifling as a result, so I left. Coming down the stairs I felt another presence – more feminine this time. I didn’t bother acknowledging her.

There may have been more ghosts hanging around downstairs, but frankly they weren’t that friendly. There did feel like there was something more ominous hanging in the air. But whether it was the ghosts, leftover energy from the many events of the place or a lingering something from all the antiquities, I couldn’t tell in my brief time there. I will conclude that for me the museum is most definitely haunted. I wouldn’t particularly want to spend the night there. I think a more thorough investigation would provide some interesting results.

The book “Ghosts of Galena”, which I read after my visit, talk a bout several incidents of footsteps, creaking floor boards and a party where glasses continued to tumble to the floor by unseen hands. It only confirmed my own feelings.

The museum is only one of many places in Galena with tales of ghosts.

I visited one store where the proprietress told me about her own friendly ghosts that live with her above the store. She confirmed the tales of the museum and also my suspiciousness of another placed I visited before I took one of the ghost tours: the DeSoto House Hotel.

This grand old hotel is located on Galena’s main street and was opened in 1855 and has been restored to his historic glory. Abraham Lincoln is said to have spoken on its front balcony and the hotel honors its historical past. The hotel provides guests and tourists with several restaurants that range from casual to more elegant dining.

I ate at the more elegant Generals’ Restaurant located in the basement of the hotel, although the tourist literature states its open for casual evening dining, so don’t worry about coat or tie. The restaurant is named in honor of Galena’s nine Civil War generals and you can almost feel their presence. I was there during a slow tourist period; the tourists don’t seem to come in mid-week, but watch out for those weekends when the streets are full of tourists.

I shared the small cozy space with the room’s exposed rafters and old brick walls with another small foursome, who enjoyed their meal. I wasn’t too hungry so I snacked on mushroom caps and yes, I can recommend the food and service. The waitress certainly understood that I was by myself and didn’t want a full meal. I sipped my wine and snacked on my tasty meal as the foursome finished their meal and I was left by my lonesome.

Except that I didn’t feel alone. There were no flickering shadows or cold spots here, however, simply a something that made me feel I wasn’t alone. When I concluded my meal and wandered upstairs to the four-story atrium, once again I didn’t feel alone. Yes, there was someone up there with me. I had the distinct impression of almost time traveling to a past era; it was like the modern walls and electric lights fell away and I was seeing white-washed walls and flicking gas lamps. It was only a moment though, before the modern world imprinted itself once more on my psyche.

Later when I talked with the folks at the ghost tour, they too confirmed my feelings: there were known spectral beings that still wandered the halls of the DeSoto House Hotel.

Over at the Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site is a female ghost although she didn’t reveal her name to me. The Italianate brick home was presented to the Civil War General and war hero U.S. Grant in 1865. Grant became the 18^th President of the United States in 1869 and ran successfully for two terms. On the ghost tour I took, I asked the tour guide if the home was reputed to be haunted and he stated there weren’t any confirmed cases. Later after the tour, I told him to check the place out and it was then that he admitted that there were stories. Before the house was given to the Grants, the home belonged to another family whose seventeen year old daughter died in the home. Perhaps it was her ghost I felt.

Fried Green Tomatoes is the name taken by a local popular restaurant. This downtown restaurant has moved from its original home. It once was housed outside of Galena in a place that was once a mental asylum. The mental asylum was reputed to be very haunted. Even now the abandoned asylum still harbors ghosts and is a favorite location for local ghost hunters. I think maybe some of those ghosts came over to the restaurant during the move, as the restaurant is also haunted.

Fried Green Tomatoes’ new location is now on Main Street. The restaurant is upscale with excellent food. I heard several fellow tourists rave about the place and checked it out the first night. The new location is in an old building--there are no new buildings here in downtown Galena – and again this building is full of history. No specific occurrences here for me; it just felt haunted. Check it out and enjoy the food.

The entire town is full of architecturally styled mansions, many which have been turned into bed and breakfasts. Want to stay in a haunted bed and breakfast? Chances are that most of these places are haunted, although I can’t confirm any particular place. On the trolley tour, you’ll find more about the history of this fascinating town and its rich history. Find a bed and breakfast full of history and try and keep the lights off at night!

I wasn’t able to check out all the local haunts – I’ll save that for another visit. But the ‘Ghosts of Galena’ book as well as the ghost and trolley tours talks about reputedly haunted Turner Hall, which today is home of local arts and theatre productions.

Turner Hall is well known to the locals. The Turner Society constructed it in 1874 for the purposes of developing sound minds in sound bodies. It started as a combination of gymnasium, theatre and private literature library -- an idea from the Germans who were the new immigrants at the time, and were ahead of their time in developing mind, body and spirit.

Turner Hall is an imposing solid yellow stone building used for various meetings, as well as being a community theatre. Over the years many different types of events have been held here and many have reported strange and bizarre episodes. Tales of lights turning on and off and missing objects are common.

Research of the building reveals that the first manager of the building was Charles Scheerer. The firm of Scheerer, Armbruster & Coleman specialized in furniture sales, including coffins. Scheerer performed undertaker duties when needed. The firm was located next to Turner Hall and Scheerer was the Turner Society’s treasurer.

Faithful to the firm and the Society, Charles Scheerer continued to look after the place, even after he was officially retired. On March 14, 1910, he passed away from natural causes and was found lying in Turner Hall, his beloved building. Some say it is Charles that still haunts Turner Hall. He has become somewhat of a theatre critic. If he doesn’t like a theatre production, he’ll let you know by making noises, moving objects and causing the lights to flicker.

I went on one of the two ghost tours offered in Galena. This was a quaint walking tour that took us into some deep woods and a ravine that is known to be haunted. Here it is said that a small boy lost his life falling into the large ravine and still haunts the place to this day. I brought my film camera with me; this was the days before I owned a digital camera. Later when the film was developed there was a strange phenomenon on the photo taken of the area. The guide mentioned that often photos are taken of the area that results in blurry human-like figures and weird lights present in the photo.

During my ghost tour, we visited one of the area’s more haunted cemeteries. Just south of the Grant home, the St. Mary’s Cemetery is said to house mysterious orbs of lights and weird sounds. Nearby GreenwoodCemetery was also been written up in the Galena Gazette as being haunted. Venture into these spooky places if you dare! My impression: I wasn’t going to venture in any time soon!

Galena is full of rich history and historic events. Shopping, the arts and eating abound in the small tourist town full of friendly people. And then there’s the not so friendly – but ever so dead town folk. Did we say the place was haunted? Take a visit, check out the ghost tours and you decide!

For me…I know the answer!

Miss Blake Cahoon is author of the book: “History, Mysteries and Hauntings of Illinois and Wisconsin” – this article is a re-edited version of that book’s first chapter. The book is available from www.AmethystMoon.com . Photos were taken by Miss Cahoon.