I'm going to Welcome to the latest episode of American Hauntings, the podcast dedicated to the history, hauntings,

legends and lore of America's past. hosted by Cody Beck and Troy Taylor,

our first season explores the hauntings of Alton, Illinois, one of the most haunted small towns in America. The Old Mineral Springs Hotel, located in the heart of Alton's historic downtown, is just one of the countless buildings in the city that is rumored to be haunted by ghosts from the past.

It is a place where remnants of yesterday linger into the present in more ways than one.

Even though no one has stayed the night in the former hotel in decades, many traces of the hotel still remain,

including guest rooms that now house shops, once exquisite tile floors, and even the

hotel's original safe would still boast the lingering aroma of tobacco from the cigars that

were stored there by the Mineral Springs Tobacco Shop years ago.

One almost expects to see ghosts and clothing from the 1920s walking through the lobby

or lingering at the hotel bar because, well, according to some, they still do.

The Mineral Springs Hotel opened in 1914 and was the most spectacular hotel in

Alton's history. Early advertising boasted that the hotel featured the largest

swimming pool in Illinois, Mineral Spring Cures, and the biggest dining table in the city of

Alton, which was set to seat 26 people.

There was a restaurant, coffee shop, mineral bass, and massages, and much more.

The city had never seen anything like the place, but it was no surprise that it had been created by two of the wealthiest

and most powerful men in Alton.

The hotel was constructed by August and Hermann Lour, two German immigrants and successful

meat packers who intended to open an ice storage plant on the property in

1909. But when Workman began drilling a well for an ice-making and cold storage

facility, they discovered a natural spring under the ground.

The water from the spring had a strong sulfur smell and legend claimed that a chemist declared it to have medicinal qualities.

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