[DL] Back East Adventures in Illinois: The Old Slave House (OT)

["Fantaphage" <zom-b@chipsnet.com>]

  I want to eventually bring my posse back east and I remembered a story of
a supposed haunted slave house in Illinois that I thought had the makings of
a pretty creepy Deadlands adventure. I looked it up on the net and found
this information and I just thought I would share its horrific history with
the listserve and maybe get some basic adventure ideas from everyone. (It
actually sounds like something straight from Deadlands). Very disturbing,
and genuinely weird.

  The house was built by a man named John Hart Crenshaw and became a blight
on the history of Illinois. In those days, it was illegal to own slaves in
Illinois but because no man would work the brutal salt mines of Saline
County, it was allowed that slaves could be leased from other states to
work. Crenshaw owned several salt tracts and quickly took advantage of the
law.

  He built Hickory Hill in 1842 and began a new scheme that would bring him
even more money than the salt mines could. He devised a plan to kidnap free
blacks and put them to work in the salt mines. He also sold these people
back to slave owners in the south, creating a sort of reverse "underground
railroad." Once the house was completed, Crenshaw added a few finishing
touches like a carriage door that opened directly into the house so that
slaves could be taken up a secret passage directly to the attic. It was in
the attic that the slaves were imprisoned during the night and some say,
subjected to brutal torture. According to the stories, there was also an
underground tunnel that led from the basement to the river, where slaves
could be loaded onto boats at night.

  Crenshaw devised another plan, this one to create slaves of his own. He
selected a slave for his size and stamina and set him to breeding more
slaves with the females that could bear children. This man, known simply as
"Uncle Bob" was said to have fathered as many as 300 children. He lived
until the age of 112 and died in 1948.

  The attic at Hickory Hill was a chamber of horrors. A dozen cells opened
off a wide corridor. They were small rooms with bars on the windows and with
iron rings where shackles could be bolted to the floor. The attic had only a
small window at either end, so the air was stifling. A whipping post was
also constantly in use and many of the valuable slaves were said to have
died at the cruel hands of Crenshaw and his men.

  In 1842, Crenshaw was brought to trial for selling a free family into
slavery. The case could not be proven until after the trial and by then it
was too late. The prosecutor would try again in 1846, the same year that one
of Crenshaw's slaves attacked him with an ax, severing his leg. His slave
trade days were over and his mill was burned to the ground. He died in 1871
and he and his wife were buried at Hickory Hill Cemetery.

  Many years later, the house was opened as a tourist attraction and it was
no secret that strange things were going on in the house. Tourist were
reporting hearing strange noises coming from the attic...noises that sounded
like cries and whimpers, and even rattling chains.

  The legends say that no one could ever spend the night in the attic of the
house, especially after an event in the 1920's that got the attention of
ghost researchers all over the country. An "exorcist" from Benton, Illinois
named Hickman Whittington wrote an article about the house in a local
newspaper. He was in perfect health when he came to visit the old mansion
but took ill later that same night and died just hours later.

  As the years passed, no one dared to spend the night in the room. In the
late 1960's, two soldiers who had seen action in Vietnam ran screaming from
the house after being surrounded by ghostly shapes. A year or so later,
because of a small fire accidentally started by a lantern, the owner stopped
letting people in the house after dark.

  In 1978, he finally relented and a reporter from Harrisburg named David
Rodgers was allowed to spend the night. Despite hearing a lot of strange
noises, he managed to beat out 150 previous challengers to become the first
to brave the night in the former slave quarters.

  Today, the Old Slave House has been closed down. Because of poor health,
the owner, Mr. George Sisk, cannot continue the operation of the house. He
tried to get the state of Illinois to step in and take over the location but
negotiations are still at a stand still. The house was closed down at the
end of 1996, possibly never to reopen.

  Care to share some basic adventure ideas?

~Fantaphage