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| Night at the First Unitarian Church Alton, Illinois -- August 17, 2013 Join us at the "Most Haunted Small Town in America's" Most Haunted Spot! |
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Night at the First Unitarian Church 9:00 PM to 2:00 AM 110 East Third Street / Alton, Illinois
Join
us for an Exclusive ghost hunt on
Saturday, August 17
at one of the most haunted places in downstate Illinois --- and
America. Discover the most haunted location in "One of Most Haunted
Small Towns in America!" Come along for an intense investigation of this
supernaturally charged church! We’ll spend the night looking for
the building’s resident ghost and ongoing hauntings and we’ll also include a
of the church as well. Is it really as haunted as many claim? Find out
for yourself during what may be one of the scariest nights of your
life! This is the authentic overnight of the First Unitarian Church,
offered by those who really know the history & hauntings of this
legendary site! |
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History of the First Unitarian Church: The first Unitarian Society was founded in Alton in 1836 as a bastion for free-thinkers of the time. The first church was located at this site in 1854, built on the site of St. Matthew's Catholic Church, which was destroyed by fire. Both churches were used as stations on the Underground Railroad, which was a legend turned into fact after research and excavations in 2003. After another fire in 1905, a new church was built on the same site and this building still stands today as one of the most haunted locations in Alton. But who are the spirits that still walk behind these stone walls? Past members of the church? Ghosts of the Underground Railroad? Perhaps.. but there is no other specter more closely associated with the church than that of former pastor Phillip Mercer, who committed suicide in the building back in 1934. Reverend Phillip Mercer had been born and raised in England and came to America when he was just 18 years old. He lived in St. Louis for several years before taking the job as pastor of the First Unitarian Church. |
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| Mercer's body was discovered in the
church on November 21, 1934 by James MaKinney, a church member
and owner of the house where the pastor had been lodging. He was
found hanging from a window transom in a hallway behind the
church's auditorium. He left no clue as to why he took his own
life. A search of the premises revealed two packages of rope,
one of hemp and the other the sash cord that had been used, and
both had been recently purchased. The desk table in the
minister’s study was littered with papers and it appeared as
though Mercer (or someone else?) had rummaged through them
shortly before his death. The search discovered no note to shed
light on the apparent suicide. To this day, his death remains a
mystery. Perhaps because of the mystery, his ghost has apparently never rested in peace. Over the years, numerous people, church officials and visitors have encountered Phillip Mercer's ghost at the church. Many of those incidents have occurred during ghost hunts and during Alton Hauntings Tours of the property. Will you be one of those who comes face-to-face with the church's resident ghost? You'll have the chance to go behind the scenes of this haunting with us and search for the clues of the haunting for yourself! Let us take you where no one else can -- behind the walls of the First Unitarian Church! |
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