Haunted Places in America: The Slave House on Hickory Hill

The slave house on Hickory Hill in Illinois is one of the most known haunted places in America but it is hard to gain access to the house as it has been closed to the public after 1996. It has since been purchased by the government and has been transitioned into a historical house.

John Hart Crenshaw was the builder that decided to construct the house in the 1800s and he had decided that he would use slaves to work in the salt mines. He then kidnapped these workers and used them in the salt mines that surrounded the property. It was in this house that the slaves stayed and were said to endure endless torture during the evening.

At night, slaves were shackled to the floor within the rooms and small hallways of the home that housed the slaves, especially in the attic where bars covered the windows and certain slaves spent hours being tortured. It was in this attic that a whipping post was placed to punish slaves that refused to follow the orders from Crenshaw and his staff members. It was hot and stifling in the attic that had only two windows covered by bars and the conditions were harsh to say the least.

Apparently there are underground tunnels that go from the house and the slave quarters to the river – which are also said to be haunted. Although no one has spent any time in these underground tunnels, It is thought that the same strange noises as whipping and whimpering would be heard in the area that are commonly heard in the attic at the Slave house on Hickory Hill.

Not only did Crenshaw use slaves and kidnap people to become slaves, he sold slaves to others that were seeking free workers. He was eventually brought to trial but he was not convicted.

The haunting and paranormal occurrences were thought to be the effect of the ill treatment of these slaves for mean years, as their tortured souls continue to inhabit the area. There have been numerous accounts of people visiting the house and hearing the whimpers, cries and other noises that have been thought to come from the attic.

Since this time, there has been one person that has spent an entire night within the attic at the Slave House on Hickory Hill  – a reporter in the 1970s that reported hearing strange noises in the middle of the night and was indeed able to spend the entire night. He was one of the lucky ones, as he is the only person to have spent the night in the slave house and made it out!

There was a another writer who had tried to unravel the mystique surrounding the room and tried to spend the night in one of the rooms, writing about the occurrences – that same writer  died the same night from a mysterious illness.

Could this be a coincidence?

Related posts:

1. The LaLaurie House Hauntings
2. The Halcyon House Haunting
3. Was Evil at the Congelier House?
4. Ghosts Reveal Hannah’s House Secret
5. Haunted Riddle House in Florida