McPike Mansion

At McPike Mansion, the owners believe about a dozen spirits remain, among them McPike's mother Lydia and his first wife Mary, with visitors describing a felt presence, a girl named Sarah who smells of lilac perfume, a woman in a green dress, apparitions, orbs, balls of light and figures in the windows when photos are looked at later, and unexplained electrical activity. One owner saw a man in the window seven weeks after buying the house, the cellar door has opened by itself, and one spirit is said to tug at hair or touch an ear. Ghost Adventures investigated in a two-part episode, "Curse of the River Bend," and a local team caught what looked like a mist apparition on film for Syfy's Fact or Faked. The interior is closed to the public, though the grounds are open and group tours go down to the wine cellar, said to be the most haunted room, for a dark-room session with a medium. Built in 1869 by Alton architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger for Henry Guest McPike, a two-time mayor of Alton, on a 15-acre estate McPike prized for its orchards, the 16-room Italianate Victorian mansion has stood empty since 1954 and was condemned by the city in 2002. McPike died in the house in 1910; afterward it served as home to Brown's Business College and later a boarding house before falling into disrepair. Owners George and Sharyn Luedke bought it at auction in 1994 and have worked for decades on its restoration.