The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Saturday, September 26, 2026
A parking lot in Alton, Illinois, once the site of the state's first penitentiary, is now known for paranormal activity. The prison, which experienced overcrowding, disease, and a high death rate, was eventually closed but later reopened during the Civil War to house prisoners of war, leading to further suffering and death.
“Before this area was a parking lot, it was a penitentiary. Actually, the first penitentiary in Illinois.”
“The conditions were pretty awful. Um, not a lot of the money when into the food or the healthcare or the clothing, went into people's pockets instead. So, the the place was always pretty miserable anyway.”
“And, so there was a lot of death and things at the penitentiary for the first 20 years or so that it was open.”