Iroquois County, IL Hauntings and Urban Legends - - - - -

Index "Alfonzo's" Grave Woodland's glowing grave. Beaver Cemetery North of Iroquois. Very evil looking. Blue Ridge Cemetery South of Sheldon. Secluded location, nice pictures. Crescent City Bridge Eerie encounters, a few pictures. Haunted Gates North of Crescent City. "Opening and closing" gates. Iroquois Trestle Site of supposed derailment. Good stories, a few pictures. Lantern's Lane South of Woodland. Mostly just local legend, I think. Mary Roff The home and gravesite of the possessed girl featured in the book Watseka. Old Texas Cemetery Interesting epitaphs, a few pictures.

Lantern's Lane The Story:  The story I heard as to the origins of Lantern's Lane date back to the 19th century. It involves a man coming up missing on his way home. His wife becomes worried, and goes out in search of him with a lantern. She then disappears, and the two are never seen again. Lantern's Lane has two main attractions. The first is a stone mailbox which supposedly has no back. You can reach inside and your arm will never find the other end. This is untrue. The second is of course the lantern. The best way for seeing the lantern, I'm told, is to park the car in the middle of the road and wait. I would recommend turning the car off. After awhile, you will see an amber light in the distance getting closer. I've heard people say they look out to see it sitting on the trunk of their car. The house that was the supposed residence of the vanished couple was recently demolished. It was always rumored to be haunted, and was frequently visited by thrill-seekers until a man living at the house shot someone for tresspassing. An interesting story I've heard involves a girl at work who entered the house with some friends. They tried entering the basement, but felt as if an "invisible force" were holding them back. As they made ready to leave, the girl picked out a sewing pattern she had found on the floor to keep as a souvenior. On her way out, she reported that the pattern felt hotter as she approached the door. It became so hot, she had to leave it inside the house. When she got outside, her hand was imprinted with red burn marks from the pattern. Directions: Starting from Watseka, turn left (South) on S. Second street. Follow this road out of town, all the way to Woodland. Body Cemetery will be on the right. Take a right turn (West) at the cemetery, then immediately take a left turn (South) on 1980E for 2.1 miles. The road will curve twice, and after the second curve, turn right (West) onto 1200N. This is Lantern's Lane. The site of the demolished house is 2.4 miles West, and the mailbox is 2.5 miles West. The mailbox can still be seen:

© 2002 by Matthew Havens