The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Saturday, September 26, 2026
Troy Taylor, author of 'Haunted Alton,' recounts a ghost story from a local parking lot, which was once the site of the Alton penitentiary. A man walking his dog reported seeing a disheveled man approaching him, who then vanished when the man looked away.
“This is Troy Taylor. He's the author of Haunted Alton, the host of the American Hauntings podcast, and he also owns the American Oddities Museum in town.”
“In fact, the very first ghost story anyone ever came into my bookstore to tell me was from a guy who did not know what the parking lot was.”
“And he reached down and then he said he looked up to apologize to the man and he was gone.”