Troy Taylor shares his journey from writing the first of 118 books in 1993 to his successful Haunted America Tours and the upcoming 20th Anniversary Haunted America Conference on June 24th – 25th 2016!
Pssst… Want to leave voice feedback? Use the SpeakPipe Link!
Ginger Collins-Justus poses with her hearse in front of the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion.
You won’t want to miss my conversation with Ginger Collins-Justus, owner and operator of Missouri History and Hauntings. Ginger shares some odd tales and little known haunted history of the state that I call home. We also chat about some of the historic connections that Missouri has with spiritualism.
Get this episode on iTunes!
Direct Download Link
Missouri History and Hauntings on Facebook
Missouri History and Hauntings on Instagram
Thanks, Ginger!
The Big Seance Podcast can be found right here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and iHeart Radio. Please subscribe, submit a rating, or share with a fellow paranerd! Do you have any comments or feedback? Please contact me at Patrick@BigSeance.com. Consider recording your voice feedback directly from your device on my SpeakPipe page! You can also call the show and leave feedback at (775) 583-5563 (or 7755-TELL-ME). I would love to include your voice feedback in a future show. The candles are already lit, so come on in and join the séance!
Greetings! Here is Part 2 of my pictorial tour of Alton, Illinois. Be sure to check out Part 1 for more sites and photos, as well as information on our day trip to Alton.
Such a beautiful view of the Mississippi River.
Another view of the mighty Mississippi.
The old Piasa Masonic Lodge building.
The Worlds Fair Building.
The infamous, but not to be messed with (we had to take the pics while flying down the road) McPike Mansion.
The Piasa Bird.
The historic ruins of the Alton Military Prison walls.
Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville, Missouri (Big Séance)
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about a trip I took with a buddy of mine to The Milton Schoolhouse in Alton, Illinois. Visiting that schoolhouse was just a small part of that very memorable visit to Alton three years ago. Since this blog did not exist then, and since I’ve enjoyed my own tour down memory lane, please enjoy some photos from several of the sites on our trip from October 2010. I did my best to include accurate and up-to-date information about each location. CLICK HERE for Part 2!
This hotel, now a mall, was completed in 1914 and contained a very popular mineral pool in the lower level.
The original purpose of this building, completed in 1819, is apparently unknown, but in 1909 became the Hotel Stratford. At one time it was known for lavish events involving high society, and Hollywood even used it in the filming of The Big Brass Ring from 1999. It apparently still housed guests up until 2011, though only on one level, as the rest of the building is apparently falling into disrepair. See this newspaper article for a better shot of the front of the building.
I was obsessed with this building and took tons of photographs. I particularly fell in love with the side of the building with the bumped out windows (seen in the second photo below). It was built in 1857 as a mansion, and was specifically designed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1911 it was turned into a Tuberculosis Sanatorium, and three years later the roof was literally raised and the fourth floor was added. The cupola, used to signal slaves coming from across the river, is apparently still original to the building, though the fourth floor beneath it is newer. It now serves residents as an apartment building and is rumored to be very haunted. I’d love for one of these residents to let me in for some photos and an EVP session. Pretty please?!
This movie theater opened for the first time in 1920, but has been vacant and unchanged since 1977.
I didn’t know much about the building at the time, but fell in love with its style. As you can see, even though from through the front windows the interior was looking pretty rough, there are plenty of beautiful artifacts still standing, like the decorative glass windows in a few of the photos below. For a history of this building, check out this newspaper article.
And no, that’s not a ghostly mist. This was taken through a window.
Again, not a ghostly mist.
This cemetery is huge and beautiful. I wish I would have taken more photos.
The Milton Schoolhouse, Alton, IL (Big Séance)
Do Spirits Reside at Papa Jack’s Pizza in Lexington, Missouri? (Big Séance)
Papa Jack’s Pizza: Final Investigation Report (Big Séance)
