Crenshaw House

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This place is closed to the public. It is owned by the state of Illinois and there are numerous No Trespassing signs. You are cautioned not to attempt to visit this place. Crenshaw house was a major player in kidnapping freed and escaped slaves and returning them to slavery in the south. Although Illinois was technically a free state, an exception was made for Crenshaw’s plantation as no free men could be found who were willing to work the salt mining operation as it was too arduous and dangerous. Crenshaw used slave labor to amass an immense fortune. Not content with his wealth, he set about kidnapping freed slaves and selling them back into slavery in the south. History has it that the attic of the “Slave House” was where he’d keep former slaves, before selling them back into slavery. People claim that it is this area that is completely haunted, with numerous ghostly sounds being heard, which include cries for help and the rattling of chains.

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Geographic Information

Address:
Crenshaw Lane
Equality, IL
United States

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GPS:
37.730071, -88.29261350000002
County:
Gallatin County, Illinois
Nearest Towns:
Equality, IL (2.8 mi.)
Junction, IL (3.1 mi.)
Ridgway, IL (5.1 mi.)
Shawneetown, IL (5.9 mi.)
Old Shawneetown, IL (8.8 mi.)
Eldorado, IL (9.8 mi.)
Omaha, IL (11.1 mi.)
Muddy, IL (12.5 mi.)
Harrisburg, IL (13.6 mi.)
Raleigh, IL (14.7 mi.)

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Comments (10)

  1. My mom was standing in the middle of a room by herself while everyone was looking at glass case displays, and felt a pain on her ankle. When she looked down, she was bleeding and had impressions that looked like barbed wire imprints around her ankle.

  2. Patrick J. Harris  |  

    Before the State of Illinois purchased the house, the last of the Crenshaw’s ran it as an tourist attraction. Definitely a weird place. Always wondered about the stories the owner told. The house is laid out in two connected halves. A swing door could be opened so a horse and carriage could be driven in and any people could enter the house unseen by any people outside. The attic had small three sided cubicles with iron rings on the walls to accommodate chained peoples. Also women were impregnated if possible so sold back south for more money. Never heard anything weird other than the master of ceremonies.

  3. Mary Jane Sullivan  |  

    I TOURED THIS PLACE AS A CHILD. ON THE THIRD FLOOR IN ADDITION TO HEARING RATTLING CHAINS AND CRYING I BEGAN WEEPING AND MY EXTREMELY LONG STRAWBERRY BLONDE HAIR STOOD UP ON ITS ENDS, SPOOKING MY FATHER SO MUCH HE GRABBED MY ARM AND RAN US OUT OF THERE.

  4. Got to tour this before they closed to public. The attic has cells where they’d keep the slaves! Even had a certain cell where they’d “breed” them. The big oak tree out front Crenshaw slammed his sons head into it, killings him. He was an evil evil man!! It’s still standing.

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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.