HGB Ep. 511 - Haunted Quincy, Illinois

Moment in Oddity - Mount San Nicola Theatre

In the province of Caserta (Cass-EH-rrrr-ta) in the Campania region of Italy, there is a theatre complex long lost and forgotten for centuries. The Theatre of Mount San Nicola (nee-CO-lah, like coke) is situated at the top of Mount Nicola some 450 meters above sea level. The path leading to the complex is a steep journey. The structures show evidence of Roman construction dating to the 1st century BC, however, the Samnites were the people known to occupy the region for hundreds of years. The complex was abandoned in the 2nd century AD and was largely forgotten, probably due in part to its inaccessibility. Over the centuries the Theater Temple Complex was taken back by the mountain's vegetation. It was not rediscovered until 2001. After a brush fire in 2000, Professor Nicolina Lombardi, a Campania historian, was flying over the region when he noticed bits of exposed ruins. Excavations began in 2002 and the theater's design was decided to be of Greco-Roman styling. By 2015 many additional details had emerged. There was an upper and lower cavea (CAH-vea), which are tiered semicircular seating typically found in ancient outdoor theatres. At this location the cavea accommodated approximately 2,000 spectators. An orchestra pit was also revealed as well as vaulted entrances to the theatre. Experiments were conducted to determine the best methods of restoration to preserve the theatre seating. By 2020, 12 of the cavea tiers had been restored. The goal is to reopen to spectators for future productions hosted at the Mount San Nicola Theatre. A 2,000 spectator capacity theatre being lost for centuries only to be rediscovered after a brush fire, certainly is odd.

This Month in History - The Lincolns Get Married

In the month of November, on the 4th in 1842, lawyer Abraham Lincoln married Mary Anne Todd. Mary, or Molly as she was nicknamed, had wealthy and politically connected parents which encouraged her interest in politics. When she met Abraham she was a mere 21 to his 31 years. She fell in love with the kindhearted, lanky man and accepted his proposal of marriage. Despite Lincoln's lack of political prospects and poverty at the time, Molly's parents supported his marriage to their daughter. Unexpectedly, Lincoln broke off their engagement in early 1841, but the romance reconvened in the fall of 1842. It's been said that they actually reconnected much sooner but kept the relationship a secret. It is said that on the date of November 4th, Lincoln went to a minister's home and told him he was going to get married by the end of the day. Mary's family was surprised by the sudden nuptial plans but wanted Mary to be married in her family home. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln would go on to live in Springfield, Illinois for almost two decades before Abraham was elected President. 

Haunted Quincy, Illinois

Quincy, Illinois became a thriving riverfront featuring steamboats and trade due to its location along the Mississippi River. Many Germans settled in the town and one of those people was a man named George Metz. He built his mansion, Villa Katherine, here and it seems that his beloved dog has stayed on there in the afterlife. That isn't the only haunted location in Quincy. There are many legends connected to this historic city. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of Quincy, Illinois!

Quincy, Illinois was known as a "gem of a city" to people who visited and so it took on the nickname Gem City. The French were the first Europeans to arrive in the region and they set up fur trading as the main form of commerce. By 1763, the British had taken over what was called New France, but they lost their claim after losing the Revolutionary War. Illinois was part of the Northwest territory and became a state in 1818. A man named John Wood founded Bluffs, Illinois in 1819, which officially became Quincy in 1825. The town was named after President John Quincy Adams and became very prosperous with steamboats and railroads linking the town to the west. German immigrants flooded into the town from 1829 to 1870 and the city continues to recognize its German heritage to this day.

Villa Katherine

One of the German immigrants to come here was George Metz. He had become a very wealthy man and had traveled extensively. During his travels, he fell in love with Islamic architecture. He sketched many of the buildings he saw and so when it came time to build his own mansion, he wanted something Mediterranean. His main inspiration was the Villa Ben Ahben in Morocco. Metz chose a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River as the site for his home. He hired architect George Behrensmeyer who built the unique home in 1900. The interior featured a courtyard, reflecting pool and harem and the exterior was brick with white plaster veneer. Other Islamic influences are seen in the miniature minaret from the Mosque of Thais in Tunisia. The interior court is surrounded by columns like the Court of Dolls in the Alcazar in Seville and the capitals were inspired by the Alhambra in Granada. The house is often referred to as a Moorish castle. Metz filled the home with the exotic souvenirs and furnishings he had collected.

Not much was known about Metz personally, so people started telling stories about the man. They tried to figure out why he called his home Villa Katherine. Was it named for a woman he had loved? A story started spreading that Metz had met a "fair-haired, blue-eyed" woman in Germany. The two traveled together and George decided he would like to bring her back to Illinois with him. The woman refused to relocate and Metz returned broken-hearted and became mostly a recluse in his newly-built castle, although he occasionally entertained friends and he hosted a wedding in 1904. Metz lived as a bachelor in the villa for twelve years with his dog Bingo. Bingo was a 212 pound Great Dane Metz had gotten in Denmark. A special addition was built for Bingo off the kitchen. Bingo eventually died and was buried on the property and Metz fell into a deep depression. He sold Villa Katherine in 1912. The people who bought the house worked for the Alton-Quincy Interurban Railroad and they planned to tear down the house and build a railyard, which fortunately never happened. The house did fall into ruin and when Metz saw it again in 1932, he told a reporter who accompanied him that he wished he still owned the villa so he could tear it down. He was devastated to see the state of his beloved home. Metz died from pneumonia in 1937.

Villa Kathrine passed through various hands through the years, including musician and nightclub owner Bob Moore and his wife and children and Harold C. McCoy who modernized the house, and was finally saved for good by the Friends of the Castle. They leased the building from the Quincy Park District and began restoring the property. The house was transformed into a tourist and cultural center. Stories of Villa Katherine being haunted have been told for decades. People who had lived there claimed that odd things happened in the house, like lights turning off and on by themselves and doors slamming all on their own. Some people thought that George Metz had returned to his former home. Disembodied footsteps were heard pacing, especially around the reflecting pool. Staff at the center believe that not only is the spirit of Metz here, but also his beloved dog Bingo. The sound of Bingo's toenails clicking on the tile floors of the house is heard often when the house is quiet. River Town Paranormal Society investigated the villa in the spring of 2009. They captured several EVPs. One EVP sounded like a lady yelling in German from the basement area. One investigator asked, “Mr. Metz are you there?” while in his bedroom and they captured a "yes." There were also EVPs that said, "Oh sweet dog," "I’ll watch the door" and "Mary?"

Old Rebel House

There was a house located on the corner of Second and Vermont Streets that was nicknamed the Old Rebel House. This became a hideout for Southern sympathizers and spies during the Civil War. In the 1880s, a woman lived there with her three younger children on the upper floor, while her married daughter lived downstairs. The second floor had a long balcony that stretched from one end of the house to the other and there was no way to reach the balcony other than going through a room and each room upstairs had a door to the balcony. The mother left for work one morning and placed her infant son in the care of her two younger daughters. At some point, the two girls fought over who would get to rock the baby, but they were interrupted when the door to the balcony sprung open and a sinister looking man stepped inside the room. He stumbled across the room and out into the hallway where he fell against some quilts that were hung over the stairway railing. The strange threw the quilts on the floor and then picked them up and rearranged them on the railing. The man then turned and started walking back towards the girls and then he lurched to the side and headed out the door that he had come through originally. The girls claimed that he "looked just like the picture you see of the devil." After the man left, the girls began screaming for their sister. When she got upstairs they told her about the man and pointed to the door. The older sister found it locked. Her sisters had to be lying and for that, she spanked them. When the mother returned home, she heard the story from her older daughter and gave the younger ones another licking. Through the years, other people who lived in the house claimed to have encounters with ghosts, so possibly that is what the girls had seen. The house no longer stands.

Madison Grammar School

The Madison Grammar School was located at 2435 Maine Street. It was closed and sold in 2019 and is being renovated into apartments. A house had stood here before the school and a legend claims that a woman was brutally murdered in the house. The murder was never solved. People who moved into the house later, found that they couldn't get the blood out of the oak floorboards. They would hear the sounds of a body being dragged down the stairs. That is what happened to the woman. She was killed on the second floor, dragged down the stairs and stuffed in a closet. The house was eventually torn down and the school was built in 1890. A mysterious fire that nearly destroyed the school in 1982 was thought to be paranormal in origin.

Quincy Junior High School

Quincy Junior High School is located at 100 S. 14th Street and has been ranked the seventh most haunted school in Illinois. The school opened in 1933 and started as a high school that eventually converted to a junior high school. A major renovation was completed in 2022. There could be a couple of reasons why it is haunted. The first is that a story claims a student hanged himself inside a school bathroom after his girlfriend broke up with him. The other reason is that student drowned in the swimming pool. A student named Nathan Hoebing said, "Former students and teachers tell me that on the anniversary of the students death that they have heard footsteps and mumbling coming from the bathroom of where the student died. In my three years I have never personally heard the voices. Some of my former classmates have claimed to have heard the strange noises but I haven’t."

Harrison Hills

Harrison Hills is a housing community that is also known as Indian Hills because there had been Indian mounds here before. These mounds were thought to be burial in nature, which explains why residents claim to see the apparitions of Native Americans in the wooded areas around the community. Native American chanting is also sometimes heard. 

Burton Cave

Burton Cave is located around ten miles east of Quincy and named for the town of Burton, which was founded in 1825. The cave was said to have been discovered by some locals during a snake hunt and not the good kind. This was to actually get rid of them and it was said that several hundred were killed by settlers in one day. Two men named Tilford Hogan and Perry Klingingsmith discovered the cave, which more than likely formed during an ice age when water made its way through cracks in the bedrock and dissolved limestone. The cave became a popular picnic spot and is today a nature preserve that features cool formations like The Devil's Hitching Post, which is a pillar formed from stalactites and stalagmites that met in the middle. There is also a round column with a depression in the top that catches water that is nicknamed The Spring. There is also a natural bridge. The Herald Whig reported in a June 1947 article, "Burton Cave is interesting. It tends to be cozy but its crooks and changes provide a sense of the mysterious necessary for any cave worthwhile. Its walls, carved from the earth by water long ages ago, are rugged. The ceilings vary, in some places smooth with the appearance of sandstone, in some places hobnailed with tiny stalactites as the water carrying the lime from the rock drips to the floor. In other places the rocks form convolutions overhead." A local farmer named W. H. Tandy owned the cave until the 1960s and then Quincy University leased it to study its biology. Then the Nature Conservancy held it for a time and now the Illinois Department of Natural Resources oversees it. The endangered Indiana Bat lives here and is protected by a barrier that was built about thirty-eight feet inside the entrance. And apparently is currently closed to the public because a fungus was found growing here that causes white nose syndrome.

All caves seem to have legends connected to them and this one is no different. A family decided to have their picnic here one day in the 1880s and they came upon a horrifying scene. There was a woman in a white dress, who appeared to be lifeless, lying on some kind of altar and a tall hooded figure in a black robe was standing over her. The family left quickly and got the sheriff. When they all returned to the area, there was no altar, no dead woman and no hooded figure.

Quincy University

Quincy University is a private Franciscan university that was founded in 1860 by a group of Franciscan friars who left Germany to help serve on the frontier in Illinois. The school was originally called St. Francis Solanus College and Seminary and then it became Quincy College in 1917 and finally Quincy University in 1993. Women weren't welcome at the college until the 1920s. People of all faiths are welcome to study here. One of the most beautiful buildings on the campus is Francis Hall, which has a tower at the front of the building and features a very German influence in the architecture. It was built in 1871 and expanded in 1898. A chapel was built in 1911 and more modern residence halls and classroom buildings were built in the 1950s. A notorious person who graduated from Quincy University is serial killer Michael Swango. He was a doctor who became a very prolific killer as he poisoned countless patients with arsenic or overdoses of prescription drugs. He also, more than likely, killed his wife and other people around him. Swangos crimes stretched into several states and over into Africa, where he ran away to keep from being charged. The FBI estimates that he may have killed at least 60 people. He was only convicted on three counts of first degree murder and is serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Several areas on campus are said to be haunted. Francis Hall has the MacHugh Theater inside of it. This had once been a gymnasium and a professor named Hugh "Fitz" Fitzgerald worked hard to get the theater up and running. After he passed away, it seems he returned to the theater. His apparition has been seen in the light booth both during performances and after hours. Students and staff have both claimed to see him. The namesake for the theater was Professor Charles Persico MacHugh who came to Quincy College in 1904 and was the college’s Professor of English. His apparition is also believed to be in the theater. A security guard at the theater named Terry Hagerbaumer told qumedia.net, "You’ll feel someone pull your hair and breathe on your neck." And a cleaning lady at the school for 35 years named Sandy Schutte told the same outlet that she had experienced doors opening and closing on their own many times. A graduate named Kyle Lyon said, "Evan and I were in the front of the MacHugh Theater. There was nobody on campus at that time. We could hear footsteps around us and somebody whispering something into both of our ears. After that, we both ran." And another student reported that many people have seen the ghost of a little girl who smells like smoke.

Solano Hall, which is home to the university's school of music, was named for St. Francis of Solanus because he was a musician. Before the university owned the building, it was St. Aloysius Orphanage, which burned down many years ago. Stories claim that several children were killed in the tragedy. The orphanage was rebuilt and later sold to Quincy College for use as a dormitory for football players. It then became Solano Hall. For years, there have been reports of the spirits of children being seen throughout the building and when not seen, their disembodied running is heard. Disembodied laughter is also heard, along with the occasional scream. MacHugh Theater is near this location and so it is thought that the children could be venturing over there too.  

Washington Theater

The Washington Theater is located at 427 Hampshire Street. This was originally called The Washington Square Theater and was built in 1923 and 1924 by Pete Pinkelman and Albert Cory. The theater was designed by renowned Chicago architect Edward P. Rupert in a Mediterranean Renaissance style with a Byzantine influence. Rupert was known for his theater architecture - he designed ten other theaters - and this was said to be his most elegant. The building was brick with terra cotta tiling of multi-colors on the exterior and terra cotta detailing in the trim, cornices and wall panels of the interior. There was seating for 1,500 people with a stage surrounded by a proscenium arch and a lighted ceiling dome. Music came from a Barton 3 pipe organ. The theater opened on June 19, 1924 with its large marquee announcing some vaudeville acts.

The Washington Theater joined several other theaters that already existed on Hampshire Street, all of which hosted vaudeville acts. The original owners operated the theater for two years and then they sold to Balaban & Katz, Chicago based theater entrepreneurs. They decided to remodel the theater to handle more patrons and they lowered the stage and added a swamp cooling system. New stage lighting was added and the dressing rooms were enlarged. Silent movies were added to the offerings and in 1929, Washington Theater became the first “talking picture house” in Quincy. By the 1940s, the theater was only working as a movie house. It remained that way until 1971.

Kerasotes Showplace Theaters LLC, a Chicago based movie theater chain, bought the Washington Theater and they ran it for the next eleven years, closing the doors in 1982. The theater was then donated to the City of Quincy. In the late 1980s, another group came in and bought the theater and held it until 2000, using it for storage and allowing it to fall into disrepair. The city bought it back and a Redevelopment Commission decided to restore it back to the way it was in 1924 and run it as a multi-purpose entertainment venue.

Chris Koetters and Travis Hoffman conducted an investigation at the theater here in October of 2023. They saw shadow figures, the Ovilus gave them several words and the K2 went off repeatedly. They captured several EVP: a breathy "yes," a child's voice that we couldn't understand, but could've been singing and a distant female child voice that was hard to hear, but seemed to be reacting to a Boo Bear. During a previous investigation Chris asked, "Would you like the theater to be fixed?" and an EVP said, "You bet I would."

There is a Ghost Hollow Road here in Quincy with all the standard legends like hidden cemeteries and disappearing houses, but we didn't find anything substantial in any stories we read or heard. But the name sure is cool! The question is, are these locations in Quincy, Illinois haunted? That is for you to decide!