Illinois College was founded in 1829 with the first class taking place the following January. That first class consisted of 9 students and the professor. Since then, the school has had thousands walk the grounds in search of knowledge, but not all have left.



In its nearly 200 years, the campus has racked up quite a few ghost stories. One sorority house is said to be haunted by the daughter of the house owner. There are many stories in an attempt to explain the haunting, but the most well known is that after the girl’s fiancé died in the house, she was so heartbroken that she took her own life by jumping from her bedroom window on the second floor.



One fraternity house claims to have a spirit of a man who once lived in the house and is an alumni of the fraternity, but more interesting is that some claim this spirit to be that of Abraham Lincoln. This is due to so many people he knew attending the school. He also spoke on campus from time to time. Spirits wearing civil war uniforms as well the spirits of people having helped with the underground railroad have also been reported.



Another of the sorority houses has all the typical ghost activities, unexplained door, and window movement, along with lights switching on and off. But the creepiest thing about this haunting is that in the basement, grave-shaped lumps appear on the dirt floor. Many suggest the house stands on a cemetery and that something is trying to make that known. Some say it is the ghost called Susie. A girl hanged herself within the house and supposedly stalks the halls. One time she ripped a clothing rod from a wall. No one has any other explanation for that incident.



By far the most interesting legend to from this school is that of the piano player.

This apparition appears in one of the many halls of the campus at night. In the piano room, a man wearing a suit with long coattails and white gloves has been seen walking through the room and at times sitting at the piano bench. After dark, when all the halls lights are out, you can hear the piano playing despite no one being in the room. What is most frightening about this ghost is two things. The spirit wears what appears to be the head of a pig over its own and was supposedly a serial killer that attended Illinois College.