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As we at the Legends and Lore of Illinois know, the Prairie State is a very creepy place! Haunted cemeteries, colleges, abandoned hospitals, roads, forests, and schools abound. But what are the creepiest homes and mansions in Illinois? After much debate, we are happy to bring you the Top 10 Most Haunted Houses in Illinois. Note: Most of the homes in this list are privately owned and so we will not post their addresses out of common courtesy. Never visit any of these homes uninvited.

10. Frank Shaver Allen Home

Joliet, Illinois

Frank Shaver Allen (1860–1934) was a talented architect from Joliet who achieved national recognition for his work. While he did design a few residences, he is most known for designing public school buildings in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. He designed three of Joliet’s schools: Joliet Central High, Sheridan Elementary, and Broadway. During the 1970s, Frank S. Allen’s former home at the corner of Morgan Street and Dewey Avenue became the center of a local media frenzy over poltergeist activity that allegedly took place there. Several ghosts, including an elderly woman, a nanny, and a child, manifested themselves. The family living in the house also heard disembodied voices and saw fires that vanished without leaving behind any damage. The ghost of Frank Shaver Allen himself is also supposed to haunt the house. The activity seems to have died down in recent decades.

9. The Sweetin Home

Walkerville Township, Greene County

Otherwise known as “the old stone house,” the remnants of this manor were, at one time, part of a mansion built in 1848 by a stockman named Azariah Sweetin. Though nothing but a shell today, a grand ballroom once occupied the third floor, a ballroom that was the scene of murder. During a farewell gala for newly enlisted Union soldiers, two farmhands, Henson and Isham, got into an argument that ended with one thrusting a knife into the back of the other. The wounded man fell down by the fireplace and bled to death. According to legend, his blood seeped into the stone floor and formed an outline of his body. The stain could never be removed.

As the war raged, Azariah Sweetin didn’t want to take any chances, so he stuffed all his gold coins into jars and buried them around his property. Unfortunately, an equestrian accident in 1871 rendered him without any memory of where he had buried his money. After his death, his ranch was purchased by Cyrus Hartwell, who also lived there until he died. Treasure seekers soon tore the mansion apart, but no one has ever found Azariah’s gold. Storytellers say Azariah’s ghost—alongside snakes—now guards his lost loot.

8. Emma Jones Home

Rockford, Illinois

Emma Pauline Jones was a Norwegian immigrant who lived at this home (built in 1856) from the 1920s into the 1950s. Her husband Frank was often away on business, and she spent much of her time with her two beloved Dalmatians. After her husband died in 1941, Emma—who was 66 years old—continued to live with her faithful dogs, but after they passed on, she began to descend into loneliness and dementia. She spent her twilight years sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for loved ones who would never return.

Emma finally sold her home and moved in with a relative, where she died in 1964. According to local legend, she returned to her house on North First Street in her afterlife. Owners of the home have reported strange noises, moving furniture, and even seeing the ghost of an elderly woman in the attic windows. One newlywed couple reported that an old woman appeared in their living room and asked what they were doing in her home, then vanished.

7. Tycer Home

Charleston, Illinois

Dennis F. Hanks, a cousin of Abraham Lincoln, once owned this 157 year old home and during the 1960s and ‘70s, it was widely reputed to be haunted by his ghost. In 1965, Marie and Forster [Forrester] Tycer purchased the house, renovated it, and turned it into a museum. Mr. Tycer told the Eastern News that he was doing some electrical work in the basement when he lost his balance and almost fell into the wiring. He claimed that unseen hands pushed him away and saved his life.

Mrs. Tycer saw the reflection of the ghost in a mirror or window as she was painting the porch. She turned around, but found that she was alone. She also heard footsteps and claimed the ghost unlocked doors. In 1970, Mrs. Tycer committed suicide with a gunshot to the head in an upstairs bedroom. According to legend, the bloodstains continued to reappear no matter how many times they were scrubbed away. The next family to live in the home occupied it for quite some time and never experienced anything out of the ordinary.

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