In the sleepy little college town of Charleston, Illinois, there lurks a brush or two with the unknown. Eastern Illinois University boasts a haunted dorm. Additionally, there is also a mysterious old farm, a bridge where there was a grisly unsolved murder, and two cemeteries with suspect graves.
Most famously, and likewise sporting the most reported sightings, are the ghosts that haunt EIU’s Pemberton Hall. Approximately 1917, when the all women’s hall’s 4th floor was still open, it contained the music room. According to legend, one night a student was brutally raped and murdered by a crazed janitor. Left for dead, she crawled through the residence hall trying to get help, finally dying after managing to scratch at the RA’s door. Legend further states that the same RA, Mary Hawkins, was overcome by guilt and later committed suicide in a local hospital. Now, mysterious music is said to play and late night hall wandering sounds are common. Also, the RA ghost is said to lock and unlock doors, performing ‘room checks,’ as well as rearrange furniture.
St. Omer is no more, but the small town just outside of Charleston’s cemetery is still present, and is likely to be a point of interest for some time. A young married couple has a unique set of gravestones and a most unique date of death: February 31st. Weather it’s a sign or a mistake, it stands to this day. Local ghost hunter, Michael Kleen, has had his group out to the site and reports no sightings, but some electromagnetic activity.
Similar things can be said about the ‘Ragdoll’ Graveyard near the Charleston Airport. Muddled local legend has it that the grave of a small girl has a protector– her ragdoll. Actual sightings are non-existent, but people like to tell the various versions of the story. A young girl dies tragically and in spite of her wishes was not buried with her precious doll. The doll is either searching for the girl or her killer.
The final story is more recent. In 1980 a resident found a dismembered body, whose hands, feet and head were missing near Airtight Bridge. Later DNA tests indicated that the body was of a missing person from Kankakee. The bridge, once a popular youth hang-out, is no longer, and rumors of sightings and phenomena such as mysterious winds and wind patterns have been reported.
Ashmore Estates, one time a poor farm, and later an insane asylum, has many vague stories of tragedy, and hauntings. In recent years, though, a more reliable sort of haunting goes on. Creative locals have made it a business to haunt Ashmore estates. It is open to the public and paranormal investigators. In addition, for seekers of more reliable thrills, a number of ‘professional’ hauntings and stories are performed for paying guests.
Haunted Charleston is well worth seeing and researching.
