Why is Alton, Illinois, America’s Most Haunted Small Town?

If you’re looking for a haunted tourism destination to visit this fall that’s not the same ol’ place you’ve already been to, consider a visit to Alton, Illinois, a small town on the Illinois-Missouri border.

In terms of hauntings-to-size ratio, Alton is seriously impressive.

There’s the McPike Mansion, which purports to house more than 10 individual ghosts on the property. There’s the historic First Unitarian Church that burned to the ground and was rebuilt multiple times, and whose reverend was found dead in his study. The Milton School House is home to the ghost of a murdered girl — and these sites are just the start.

Travelers on the hunt for some haunts can also visit haunted cemeteries (including from the Civil War), a Confederate prison, historic hotels and the ominous “Smallpox Island.” The town even has its own cryptid, the Piasa Bird, which dates back centuries.

If you do decide to visit Alton this spooky season, you won’t necessarily need to build your own itinerary of haunted stops. There are multiple tours taking you around to the top spots, including classic ghost and paranormal tours, trolley tours and beer tours.