AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS

NIGHT AT THE AMBOY RAILROAD MUSEUM
AMBOY, ILLINOIS
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE: SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
7:00 PM - 1:00 AM
$46 per person

sold out!

Looking for something different? Where not everyone has investigated before? We have the perfect place for you! Join American Hauntings at this secret downstate location – a place so haunted that staff members have fled the building after dark? It’s not a place that you’ve seen on TV, so you’ve got the first chance to document the many hauntings that are being reported at this eerie spot!

The Amboy Railroad Museum is located in the old Illinois Central Station that dates back to 1876, a replacement of the town’s original depot, which burned down the year before. The 19-room, two-story depot was used as a division headquarters for the region, with two large walk-in vaults for storage of valuables and cash as well as additional rooms for dispatchers, civil engineering staff, accountants and all other workers needed to keep a headquarters functioning. Even though it had been called "the finest IC division headquarters outside of Chicago", by railroad officials, it was closed in 1894 during a revision of divisions by the Illinois Central.

Soon, it became just another small-town station with only four rooms in use for local travelers. The upper floor of the depot became the residence of the station agent's family. Thanks to its short time in operation, it was never really adapted or changed. It remains in almost the same condition it was in when it opened, with eight-foot tall, elaborately trimmed windows and doors, eleven-foot high ceilings, and a grand curved central stairway.

The station operated until 1967, when it was finally closed for good. Time was not kind to the building. Most of the more than 600 individual panes of glass were broken by vandals, and the depot became home to a variety of pigeons and other wildlife. The building was wide open, allowing urban explorers and scavengers to roam the building and take what they wanted. Amboy's Mayor, Kenneth McCracken, became concerned about the deteriorating landmark and took the initial steps to reverse its decline. By 1973, he had negotiated a long-term lease of the depot from the Illinois Central and he formed the Amboy Depot Commission to undertake what stabilization could be done. Donations and volunteers saved the building and in 1876, it was reopened as a museum.

Since that time, further renovations have been completed and it’s been added to the National Register of Historic Places. Historical groups have also added the one-room Palmer School to the property, as well as Amboy’s Illinois Central Freight House, which has also been restored.

It is a place where history truly comes to life – and not only with museum exhibits and a restoration of the past. It’s also a place where spirits of yesterday still make themselves known.

Since the station has been restored – which often causes an increase in activity – staff members and visitors have reported voices, footsteps, and unusual sounds, like the sounds of a timeclock and tickets being punched for train passengers that no longer exist in this world. Even the old schoolhouse has its strange happenings. Witnesses have reported the sounds of rulers slapping on desks, the faint ring of a school bell, and children's voices when there are no children present at the scene. Other have reported apparitions and seeing books that fly off shelves without assistance.

This is an eerie place and one that is not well known among the many haunted places of Illinois. Don’t miss your chance to experience it for yourself!