Are you brave enough to explore one of Alton’s scariest places? Book your ticket for the Last Chance Tour at McPike Mansion on Saturday, Oct. 24, and spend a spine-tingling night uncovering the stories that haunt its halls.

The Last Chance Tour begins with exclusive access to the first floor of McPike Mansion, where a guide shares the home’s history and reported hauntings. Then, guests descend into the vaulted wine cellar, said to be the mansion’s most haunted room, for a dark room session with dowsing rods.

Built in 1869 by Alton architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger, the Italianate Victorian mansion was once part of Henry Guest McPike’s 15-acre estate. It has 16 rooms, a basement and a vaulted wine cellar. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the mansion has long been an important Alton landmark. It has also drawn historians and paranormal investigators and appeared in television programs, books, urban exploration videos and paranormal sites.
The stories behind the hauntings

The mansion and grounds are considered by some to be among the most haunted places in the United States, and possibly the most haunted in Illinois. Visitors and owners have reported orbs, balls of light, shadow figures, strange mists and full-bodied apparitions seen in windows, photographs and in person. Old photographs and documents have led some to identify spirits as Henry McPike and his wife, Eleanor.

Other accounts include the smell or appearance of cigarette smoke attributed to heavy smoker Paul Laichinger, despite the building having been smoke-free for decades. Current owner Sharyn Leudke reported seeing a man watching her from a window while she gardened; she later identified him in a photograph as Laichinger, wearing the same suit and tie.

Stories also tell of Sarah, a young girl associated with the scent of lilac perfume; a long-haired woman in a green dress on the stairwell; and the McPike children. Visitors have reported scraping doors, children’s disembodied laughter, unexplained footsteps and objects that disappear and reappear elsewhere.

Book in advance: Tickets sell out quickly. Fall McPike tours take place on Fridays and Saturdays from September through October.