The McPike Mansion; a Past History of Haunted Tales

Do you believe in haunted houses? I am not talking about the houses designed for Halloween lore. This article looks at a house that actually injured individuals. The house to be discussed is the McPike mansion that is located in Alton, Illinois.

The McPike mansion is located at the highest point in the city. It sets atop Lookout Point Park. Once it was a pride possession of the city. Now it sits vacant since 1951. Current owners Sharyn and George Luedke have done a lot to stabilize the old mansion.

The mansion was built in 1869. The McPike family lived in it until 1936. McPike was famous for developing his McPike grape. It is not unusual for current photos to show orbs, mysterious shadows of figures and balls of light in them once taken. Many of these are not seen until after the picture is developed.

The coldest and spookiest spot in the mansion is the cellar room. Paranormal investigators usually pay a visit to the cellar on their trips to the mansion.

Teenagers use to have parties inside and just hung out at the home for years. However, after a few strange occurrences, they decided not to come back.

One paranormal investigator claims to have been hit across her ankles by something hard. It is said that Mr. McPike use to chase and hit his servants with an old cane. Another incident had a group of individuals visit the cellar. While they were there, footsteps were heard coming down the stairway. The metal door to the cellar opened, scraping the floor. The entire event was captured on video camera.

Then there is the case of the purple mist. A group of paranormal researchers came across the mist during their investigation in the cellar. The mist rose up from a corner of the floor. It drifted towards the researchers and dissipated around them. This event was filmed and shown on the History channel.

Personal Note; I have heard other stories about the McPike mansion, but have wrote them off as folk stories. I have been by the old mansion many times. Although the Luedke's have tried to preserve the house, it still is the best example of a haunted house in our area. It has failed many times to receive a historical grant for preservation.

Today it is located on the Alton Haunted Tour guide. During the Fall season and especially Halloween, the mansion has many curious visitors.

sources; http://www.mcpikemansion.com/history.html