Chester - Haunted Southern Illinois Rivertown

For such a small town with just 4,000 people, Chester, Illinois has a lot of ghost stories. The ghosts haunt a restaurant, a roadside, and the local library, among other places. There's even a ghost story involving since-executed Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who spent his final years at a neighboring prison.

There is the haunted Captain's Table restaurant where a lady in white reportedly looks out from the upstairs dining room at the Chester Bridge over the Mississippi River. She has been seen by several people. Sometimes she's been seen wearing black, believed to be an indication she is heading down the dining room's spiral staircase to go out.

There's also the ghost of Miss Minnie at the Chester Public Library. Charles Brink Cole built the library and died just before its completion. He lay in state at the library he built.

The presence experienced at the library does not a carry any feeelings of evil or danger. An elevator in the rear of the 1990 addition in back sometimes operates on its own, coming up from below. An elevator expert was called in and swore that although the elevator could go down by itself, it was impossible for it to go up by itself.

The bell on the front door suddenly began ringing as two people work late one evening at the front desk and were discussing packing it in for the night. The decision suddenly became unanimous for departure.

Open books have been found on the floor. There have also been occasions when the librarian has heard her name called softly. Even when no one is present. A similar experience has been reported by librarians in connection with the ghost of Harriet Haskell, the one-time principal of Lewis-Clark Community College in Godfrey.

The Ghost of Chester is a well-known story of a girl seen running along Route 3 south of town. She has been seen quite a few times. What she is running from or to or why is unknown.

There are also unexplained voices and lights in the evening reported from the attic of the Pierre Menard State Historic Site, location of the house of the first governor of Illinois located in a wooded area near Chester.

Neighboring Chester is the Menard Correctional Center which once housed serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who killed numerous young men and buried them under the floorboards of his Chicago home. The Chicago site of his home is reported to be haunted bvy his victims.

Chester is located along the Mississippi River south of the MetroEast St Louis area and north of Cairo. Noted author Troy Taylor, who has written more than 30 books on ghosts, Including Wierd Illinois and Haunted Illinois, believes, based on his own observations, that bodies of water, underground or otherwise, as in the case of Chester's Mississippi River waterfront, seem to draw spiritual activity. Certainly, Chester seems to be very active based on the number of ghosts stories told, only a few of which are touched on here.

Chester is the home of cartoonist Elzie Segar, creator of Popeye the Sailor. This year (2007), Chester's riverfront statue of Popeye has been supplemented with the unveiling of statues located around town of Olive Oyl, Wimpy, Swee' Pea, and the Jeep. Brutus joins them in 2008. Will Alice the Goon, Sea Hag, and Popeye's nephews follow?

As a matter of fact, one recent annual tradition as part of the annual Popeye Picnic is a ghost tour of Chester by bus. It's called the Sea Hag History and Mystery Tour.

Now that's scary.

For information on related topics check out my Gather group, http://illinoisroadtrip.gather.com/.