McPike Mansion of Alton IL Haunted House Story
In celebration of Halloween month, we offer a haunted house story. (Note: This house is NOT for sale).
After Old Houses Under $50K featured a couple of cheap old homes for sale in Alton, Illinois, readers let me know than the community is considered to be one of the “most haunted small towns in America.” Alton has no shortage of ghostly tales, but perhaps the most infamous haunted house is the McPike Mansion. Whether you call it an Italianate or Second Empire, the notorious home is nestled amongst gnarled oak trees, towering over Alton from atop Mt. Lookout, the highest point in town.
The Mansion
Built in 1869, the McPike Mansion was designed by architect Lucas Pfeiffenberger for Henry Guest McPike and his family as their 15-acre country property. The red brick mansion was one of the largest and most extravagant and regal private dwellings in Alton at this time. It featured 16 rooms, 11 marble fireplace, intricately carved staircase, beautifully carved trim bordering the ceilings, and vaulted wine cellar. all of which have been stolen during its abandonment. Intricate carved trim still border the ceiling in one of the front rooms.
McPike Family
Henry Guest McPike (1825-1910) was the first owner. He was a local businessman, horticulturist, secretary, treasurer and mayor of Alton. At the age of 60, McPike married the 32-years younger Eleanor Jane “Nellie” Moreland (1838-1934). This was his third marriage. His first wife died and the second marriage ended in divorce. Henry and Nellie lived in this, their country home, with their daughter Moreland (1887-1984). McPike had six grown children by his other wives, but they appear to have lived elsewhere. After Henry’s death in 1910 at his home, the McPike family continued to reside in the mansion until 1936 at which time Nellie and Moreland relocated to Denver, Colorado.
Per Find A Grave: “Henry was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln and sat on the podium during the Lincoln-Douglas Debate in Alton in 1858. He was also with Lincoln in Springfield, IL, when the telegram arrived informing Lincoln of his election to the presidency. Mr. McPike was a real estate developer, owned a box manufacturing company, served as Mayor of Alton 1887-91 and was a noted horticulturist. The mammoth “McPike” grape was developed on the McPike estate (Mount Lookout) in North Alton. The grape was patented and became famous for the wine produced from it.”
Paranormal Activity Begins
The mansion was sold to Peter Laichinger, a factory superintendent, and his wife Florence in 1938. (At that time, the home was valued at $4,000). Laichinger’s two adult stepsons lived with them and told of strange events that could not be explained. Although no children lived on the premises, the stepsons reportedly heard the voices and laughter of children.
In 1945, Mr. Laichinger died relatively young at the age of 59. His family continued on at the mansion for ten years, but it lay vacant from the 1950s well into the 1990s. Neglect, weather and vandals turned the mansion from majestic to menacing. The rusty iron fencing, peeling paint, broken windows, and graveyard added to the property’s reputation as a place where ghostly spirits dwelled. Rumors of apparitions looming in the windows began to circulate.
New Owners
In 1994, Sharyn and George Luedke purchased the mansion, undertaking its restoration with the hopes of turning it into a bed and breakfast. It did not take long for the couple to realize, however, that the mansion held secrets. Within six weeks of living in the house, Mrs. Luedke experienced her first ghostly event. As she was planting in the front garden, she looked up to see a strange man staring at her from a window. He quickly vanished, but not before she got a good look at him and his attire. Soon after, while researching the history of the mansion, Mrs. Luedke was shocked to see a photo of the previous owner, Paul Laichinger, wearing the same outfit as the strange man in the window.
Other Paranormal Events
Light orbs that show up in photos, pacing footsteps, pacing footsteps, vanishing objects and an invisible presence have been reported with several of these experiences captured on film for shows like Scariest Places on Earth’ and Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. Most of the activity takes place in the wine cellar where a mysterious mist appears that follows people as they walk around the basement. Additionally, a cumbersome metal basement door has been known to move on its own and scrape across the floor.
Psychics and mediums have visited the mansion often and suggest that McPike family and other past residents of the estate still roam the halls. Owner Sharyn Luedke is convinced, however, that it is the ghost of not only Paul Laichinger, but also of a servant girl, Sarah Wells, that inhabit her home. The fragrance of Sarah’s lilac cologne still lingers in the old attic servant’s quarters.
10 Comments
Lynne Cunningham
Thank you for the story! I’d love to see ‘before and after’ photos of the Luedke’s renovations in this home! I could see how beautiful the rooms must have been originally. It would be expensive and a lot of work to restore, but well worth the effort. The ghost in that one picture is plain to see! How do the Luedkes feel about the ghosts, have they gotten used to them? I’ll bet these ghosts would attract business to their bed and breakfast!
Miracle J Dillion
What an impressive space!This place is truly amazing,The architecture alone is absolutely gorgeous, and extremely unique.You can definitely see why its called a mansion. I’d absolutely love to see where they are with the renovations.The story about smelling the lilac parfume , gave me the chills.
Sarah Jones
I live in Alton. No repairs have been made. The house appears the same as in the photos. I’ve been told that the ceiling has collapsed and there is no access to the second floor. The house is vacant at this point.
NAIMA Anne HAVILAND
It makes me sad and angry to see the neglect inside this gorgeous house. On another note, its placement overlooking the town and its appearance remind me of the Hubie Marston house in Stephen King’s IT.
Amy Hamilton
The owners have held fundraisers, collect donations, charge for events and “tours” (since the inside of the home is in such disrepair, no one is allowed inside, so you basically pay to sit in a metal folding chair in the cellar in the dark for about 10 minutes), yet the home is in the same, if not worse condition than when they bought it. They claim that all donations and fees go towards repairs and restoration. After 25+ years of taking peoples money, the place is still in shambles? Such a shame. What happened to all of the money? Isn’t it fraud to take money from people under false pretenses?
Nancy J Miller
A lot of the work , especially the windows has been done by volunteers.. I thought the Luedke’s were doing the right thing for a while but not anymore. After 10 years work inside should have been well underway. Now we are past 25 years and it is obvious this couple have no plans to restore this Mansion, only to make money from famous TV Ghost shows , Merchandise they sell and the public. I did read that the City has been investigating the Luedke’s about their lack of progress on the Mansion. I hope the City does something soon as this has went on far too long.
Sharyn Luedke
We have spent approximately $400 000 on restoring the mansion. $75,000 in 2020 and 2021.
We have a facebook page that continues to show the progress. Most of the $ is money we have borrowed from the bank . Our contracrors are paid not volunteers. I certainly see things differently than those who made comments
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Thank you. We would love to see after pictures!
Eric LaVelle
I’ve been doing restoration work on the mansion for almost 10 years, and I’d like to set a few things straight. First, if Sharyn and George had not bought the mansion, it wouldn’t be there now, as it had major structural failures, a failed roof, and parts of it were beginning to collapse. They put a great deal of time and money into the house before I started working on it. The floors were collapsing, and the roof was sinking into the structure as the walls fell apart, so every floor of the house, then the roof to be jacked up and stabilized before anything else could be done. After that, the roof was rebuilt, and the walls were rebuilt or tuck pointed where they weren’t falling apart. When my daughter Claire and I arrived, the sun room was falling apart, the windows were broken and boarded up, the front porch was incomplete, and most of the eaves had rotted and fallen off the house. Over a period of years, with George and Sharyn working alongside Claire and I, we restored the sun room, windows, front porch, and then rebuilt the eaves and gutter system, which was then lined with copper. Claire and I made all the missing or rotten woodwork with our enormaous collection of antique industrial woodworking machinery. We are currently replacing floor joists, of which a further 149 are rotten. The people who have said no work has been done are lying. It’s nothing less than slander, and I have a thousand photos to prove it. My daughter described the comments as malicious. Imagine how you would feel if you spent decades and hundreds of thousands of dollars on a restoration, and people said you never did anything. Those who couldn’t see the improvements from the street either weren’t looking, or can’t see.
Eric LaVelle
One additional thing I forgot to mention is that George and Sharyn were given an award by the city of Alton for the restoration of the sun room and windows.