Book Review: Ghosthunting Illinois

GHOSTHUNTING ILLINOIS.  John B. Kachuba.  Kachuba tells about touring haunted sites in Illinois including at least one account I'd never come across before, the alleged haunting of the Pere Marqiette State Park lodge just north of the small rivertown of Grafton.  Kachuba told me he just happened to stumble across it when telling someone what he was doing in the area and was told, "you need to check out the lodge" or words to that effect.  This haunting involves several separate ghosts, apparently including one of a Union soldier who, according to the historical account, might've been a member of a small group of sentries stationed in that area along the Mississippi River.  He also talks about hauntings at places like the Mineral Springs Hotel in Alton...my old backyard...Abraham Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Oprah's Harpo Studios in Chicago, among many others.  There are photos of the sites as illustration.  Kachuba seems to focus, at least partly, on the story of his visit to the site, generally with nothing new to reveal as a result.  To be honest, having read a number of these kind of books including Troy Taylor's excellent books, I found this entertaining but lightweight.  The Ohio writer, however, has met with success with his previous Ghosthunting Ohio and has another coming up, Ghosthunter.