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A favorite haunted spot in Illinois is a place called Hickory Hill, or THE OLD SLAVE HOUSE, in Southern Illinois. It is located near Equality and Junction, just a few miles away from Harrisburg, Illinois. Although the house closed to the public in 1996, and has been endangered for several years, it was later purchased by the state of Illinois with plans to turn it into a historic site.

Hickory Hill was built by a man named John Hart Crenshaw and became a blight on the history of Illinois. In those days, it was illegal to own slaves in Illinois but because no man would work the brutal salt mines of Saline County, it was allowed that slaves could be leased from other states to work. Crenshaw owned several salt tracts and quickly took advantage of the law.

He built Hickory Hill in 1842 and began a new scheme that would bring him even more money than the salt mines could. He devised a plan to kidnap free blacks and put them to work in the salt mines. He also sold these people back to slave owners in the south, creating a sort of reverse "underground railroad."

Once the house was completed, Crenshaw added a few finishing touches like a carriage door that opened directly into the house so that slaves could be taken up a secret passage directly to the attic. In was in the attic that the slaves were imprisoned during the night and some say, subjected to brutal torture. According to the stories, there was also an underground tunnel that led from the basement to the river, where slaves could be loaded at night.

Crenshaw devised another plan, this one to create slaves of his own. He selected a slave for his size and stamina and set him to breeding more slaves with the females that could bear children. This man, known simply as "Uncle Bob" was said to have fathered as many as 300 children. He lived until the age of 112 and died in 1948.

The attic at Hickory Hill was a chamber of horrors. A dozen cells opened off a wide corridor. They were small rooms with bars on the windows and with iron rings where shackles could be bolted to the floor. The attic had only a small window at either end, so the air was stifling. A whipping post was also constantly in use and many of the valuable slaves were said to have died at the cruel hands of Crenshaw and his men.

In 1842, Crenshaw was brought to trial for selling a free family into slavery. The case could not be proven until after the trial and by then it was too late. The prosecutor would try again in 1846, the same year that one of Crenshaw's slaves attacked him with an ax, severing his leg. His slave trade days were over and his mill was burned to the ground. He died in 1871 and he and his wife were buried at Hickory Hill Cemetery.

Many years later, the house was opened as a tourist attraction and it was no secret that strange things were going on in the house. Tourist were reporting hearing strange noises coming from the attic. . .noises that sounded like cries and whimpers, and even rattling chains.

The legends say that on one could ever spend the night in the attic of the house, especially after an event in the 1920's that got the attention of ghost researchers all over the country. An "exorcist" from Benton, Illinois named Hickman Whittington wrote an article about the house in a local newspaper. He was in perfect health when he came to visit the old mansion but took ill later than same night and died just hours later.

As the years passed, no one dared to spend the night in the room. In the late 1960's, two soldiers who had seen action in Vietnam ran screaming from the house after being surrounded by ghostly shapes. A year or so later, the owner stopped letting people in the house after dark. A small fire had accidentally been started by a lantern.

In 1978, he finally relented and a reporter from Harrisburg named David Rodgers was allowed to spend the night. Despite hearing a lot of strange noises, he managed to beat out 150 previous challengers to become the first to brave the night in the former slave quarters.

Today, the Old Slave House has been closed down. Because of poor health, the owner, Mr. George Sisk, cannot continue the operation of the house. He tried to get the state of Illinois to step in and take over the location but negotiations are still at a stand still. The house was closed down at the end of 1996, possibly never to reopen.

A few years ago, Mr. Sisk was asked if he believes that the house is haunted. He said that he never goes to the attic and if he does for some reason, he leaves as soon as possible. He has never encountered a ghost in the house. . .but his wife hasn't been so lucky. She refuses to set foot in the former slave quarters.

The Old Slave House is located near the junction of Highway 45 and Highway 13 in Southern Illinois. It is 14 miles east of Harrisburg.

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Malaria_Kidd · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 195 Location: Indiana

I live 50 miles from The Old Slave House. I have toured it and I've been to the attic or slaves quarters. There are alot of carvings in the wood. Mostly by tourists over the years it was a public attraction. The billboards were everywhere in Southern Illinois.

Thanks for the info as I believe I've learned more about it from this thread compared to the tour with my Harrisburg girlfriend. We live more to the NE and a local family tore down an old log home for their new home's old logs. That site was SW of here and closer to the Old Slave House but in Indiana. Over the kitchen area of the new rebuilt/replaced logs there is a separation between logs.

The small hole was the entrance for the slaves quarters and there are shackle rings attached to the logs. The owners have investigated this fact and somehow have seen the notation for a sleeping room mentioned in the old abstract papers from 1835.

The small hole or entrance had to have been accessed by ladder in a 12-14 foot climb. No doubt when the log home is finished soon there will be a story in the local paper. This home was in an area not normaly known to keep slaves for labor.

Maybe it was a holding area for the same reason as the Old Slave House owner's motives.

MK
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weirdspirit · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:30 pm Post subject:

HEY THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE STORIES AND IT IS SO FASCINATING. I REALLY ENJOY READING ALL THESE DIFFERENT GOINGS ON. I THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INTERESTING TOPICS THAT YOU DO.

LOVE AND HUGS CINDY XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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admin Madmart · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:32 pm Post subject: thank you

Thank you for that extra story about the old slave house Malaria_Kidd
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Malaria_Kidd · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 195 Location: Indiana

I was always proud of the British government for not alowing slavery. My ancestory is all Brits from way back as we say here.

MK
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weirdspirit · Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:59 pm Post subject:

Thats why I like you MK lol.

love cindy xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Malaria_Kidd · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 195 Location: Indiana

for the ability to understand what I write, I hope, I hope!

I only put a few things here as the other stories would not be well understood.

Thanks much Cindy,

MK Cody Not the lone Yank here I hope

Don't Drink and Drive!

If you can't do the time, don't do that crime!

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weirdspirit · Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:53 pm Post subject:

Maybe here but not on mine. lol. Aww I hope I did not embrass you honey. Hey great site love it and thank you too.

love and hugs Cindy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Malaria_Kidd · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 195 Location: Indiana

Now a note to Madmart...

Who wrote in the opening post....

"A favorite haunted spot in Illinois is a place called Hickory Hill, or THE OLD SLAVE HOUSE, in Southern Illinois. It is located near Equality and Junction, just a few miles away from Harrisburg, Illinois. Although the house closed to the public in 1996, and has been endangered for several years, it was later purchased by the state of Illinois with plans to turn it into a historic site."

Just an update on the former tourist attraction. As far as I know nothing has been done by the state of Illinois, and I have my doubts about anything being done due to budget restraints.

I always thought the house was a tourist trap....

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Taliajack · Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 32 Location: USA

The Old Slave House (Hickory Hill), Junction, IL

old slave houseThis huge mansion was first erected by an extremely rich individual John Hart Crenshaw in the year 1842. He earned a lot of money regularly through the many salt tracts he owned and though it was not legal to indulge in slavery of any kind in the State of Illinois at that time, it was okay to take them on lease from across other States and make them work in the salt tracts.

The story goes that Crenshaw had a habit of kidnapping and torturing these workers. He used to imprison them in the narrow rooms of the mansion and put them in chains. He regularly used to torture them and even bred some slaves. When these evil practices were brought to public knowledge, he gave it up and became a farmer.

However, people who started visiting the place from the year 1920, when it was thrown open to the general public, reported hearing moans of pain and whispers coming from the lofts of the mansion.

The happenings intensified when a reputed ghost hunter Hickman Whittington took the trouble of going to the attic and tried to spend some time there. He was discovered dead after a few hours though he was in perfect health at the time he visited the mansion. After that, though many people have tried to spend some time at the attic, none of them have been successful as they had to leave the place after being scared out of their wits. They reported hearing all sorts of vague noises including a lot of groaning and sobbing. One person who managed to spend the night at the loft also reported hearing such noises and he mentioned that he was really scared from the experience.

This mansion is now the property of the State of Illinois and has been declared a historic site.
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Malaria_Kidd · Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 195 Location: Indiana

Very interesting TJ! I have been there and it is not a tourist attraction at this time.

"This mansion is now the property of the State of Illinois and has been declared a historic site."

I dated a girl in nearby Harrisburg and we toured the former tourist trap in the early seventies. The tour guide had a speech impediment of all things.

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