•December 5, 2018•

By Phil Luciano
Of the Journal Star, Peoria

Illinois boasts a hair-raising history rife with spine-tingling stories — and that’s just with politics.
Otherwise, the state’s heritage brims with tall tales of mythic beasts, spooky legends and ghost stories. A few of the favorites: Old Book: In the earliest years of the 20th century, the Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville was home to a dear, mute man known only as A. Bookbinder. Strong and steady, he would dig graves for asylum funerals, ending each by sobbing hysterically and leaning on a tree that became famously known as The Graveyard Elm. In June 1910, Old Book went the way of all men, and the entire asylum came out for his farewell. Near the end, an apparition appeared at the Graveyard Elm.
The Graveyard Elm: Old Book, weeping and moaning as always. But as soon as startled officials cracked open his casket to double-check on the dead man’s whereabouts, the crying ceased and Old Book’s form vanished from the tree. Inside the coffin, onlookers spotted Old Book’s peaceful face.
(Source: Peoria Journal Star)     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.