AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT DR. UGS
VIRGINIA, ILLINOIS
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE: February 18, 2023
8:00 PM - 2:00 AM
$42 PER PERSON
SOLD OUT!
Join American Hauntings at this popular dining and entertainment location – which has its own resident ghosts! We’ll be exploring the eerie upper floors of Dr. Ugs in Virginia, Illinois, a place with a long history in town as several former funeral homes, undertaking parlors, and drug stores and soda fountains. This is your chance to experience this spooky spot for yourself!
The building located on the south side of the Virginia Square was built back in 1897 after a fire had destroyed everything on that side of the square the previous year. Originally built as J.E. King Furniture – a furnishing store that expanded into making caskets and serving as an undertaking parlor at the turn-of-the-century, it went on to serve as two other funeral homes over the next three decades: Purnell Funeral Services and Virgin & Dodds Funeral Home.
In 1939, the building was remodeled and became the Hoppin Drug Store, followed by Finney Drugs, and Doughtery Drugs. Later, it became the South Side Bar, Phoenix Bar, and now, Dr. Ugs Café.
With a long history of funeral services -- when it was marked by the mourning of the living for the dead -- and the rowdy nightlife, violence, and illicit times as two different bars, the café seems to be affected by its past.
At least one recorded murder took place on the property on February 18, 1929. James Potter, a utility man for the Virgin and Dodds Funeral Home was shot three times while standing in the front door of the undertaking parlor. The bullets were fired by Charles Davis, a gas station attendant, who had a long-standing dispute with Potter and his family. Potter was rushed to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, but died from his wounds. Davis was arrested and sent to prison.
The place has a strange history – but what about the ghosts?
The current owners lived in the upstairs loft for about seven years, starting in 2012. Over the years, they heard footsteps, saw lights turn on and off, saw water run by itself, heard a woman’s voice, witnessed their children’s electronic toys turning on at night when no one was around, and even saw the shadowy apparition of a man.
Could it be James Potter, trapped in this place after his life was ended so suddenly? Or could it be someone else – any one of the hundreds of people who came here to mourn for their loved ones, to drink, gamble, or spend an evening?
This is your chance to find out!