Tis the season for a good scary story. I had shared one of my most memorable stories with “The Homeowner ” and we invite you to share yours too!
Since I’m on the topic, I thought it would add to the creepy factor to share a very recent and true event.
I am writing this on behalf of my son, who shares a similar sensitivity to things as me. I have had my own WOMENT in sharing a common trait with him and never discourage his unique intuition.
It was Labor Day weekend and we decided to say farewell to Summer with a relaxing family trip to Galena, Illinois. If you’re not familiar with this charming town, it is extremely rich with history.
We had toured the Ulysses S. Grant House, the Belvedere Mansion, and the Dowling House. We quickly learned through our numerous tours, there was no shortage of hauntings in this area. Once a thriving lead mining town, it gave Chicago a run for it’s money in the 1850’s. It was the home to nine Civil War generals and the river was essential for transporting supplies during the war.
Our last stop before leaving the next day was the famous DeSoto House Hotel and dinner at the Generals’ Restaurant. We went to dinner honestly not knowing anything about the history there.
The Generals’ Restaurant is in the basement of the hotel. We had a large group, so we were seated in a larger dining area with a long table against a wall at the back of the restaurant. My back was to the wall and looking straight ahead of me was another banquet room with windows that encased a doorway. That room then had an exit to the main hallway of the hotel.
The wall behind me had a large mirror, so if someone is at the table facing the wall, they would see the reflection of anything in the next room with the windows.
My son happened to be facing me, so he could see the mirror. We were enjoying a bread basket and visiting and I noticed his expression change. He looked in the mirror, quickly behind him, and back to the mirror. He became very quiet.
He said he saw a woman and now she’s gone. I asked him to describe what he saw.
“There was the reflection of a woman in the mirror looking through the window. She had a long black dress on. Her hair was high and something on her face..I just couldn’t see her face very well. I turned to look and she was gone. I looked back in the mirror and she was gone.”
My son’s words
His demeanor changed and I could tell he had genuinely seen something he couldn’t explain away. The waitress came back to check on us and I asked what had happened there, not knowing if I would get a look, but she was sincere in her belief and proceeded to tell the story.
She shared that where we were sitting was actually a morgue during the Civil War. There have been numerous sightings of a spirit they call “The Lady in Black“. She described a woman in a long black dress with a veil over her face who comes to that very room to check on her loved one who had passed away.
The waitress pointed to the next room that showcased a gaping hole in the wall covered with plexiglass. This was the wall they had seen her come through before. In 2011 the basement had flooded exposing a brick hallway that had been covered by plaster. After the flood, they could then explain that the wall had in fact once been a hall that she was walking through.
The intriguing part of this story is that we went in not knowing any of this. My son did not know any of this before he saw what he saw. I believe he did in fact witness “The Lady in Black”.
