The Haunting of Peoria Public Library

Dewey Decibel podcast goes ghost-hunting in its special Halloween episode

October 26, 2018

Dewey Decibel podcast presents its Halloween episode, “The Haunting of Peoria (Ill.) Public Library.”
Dewey Decibel podcast presents its Halloween episode, “The Haunting of Peoria (Ill.) Public Library.”

Books flying off the shelves. Shadowy figures roaming the hallways. Unexplained sounds.

What’s going on at Peoria (Ill.) Public Library? Is the building possessed by spirits hovering above cursed ground? Or are these apparitions just a sign that librarians have been spending too much time in the stacks?

Do not attempt to adjust your audio. In Episode 31, “The Haunting of Peoria Public Library”—our special Halloween episode sponsored by Gale, a Cengage Company—Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart road-trips to Central Illinois to get to the bottom of these strange happenings.

Erastus S. Willcox, who wrote the 1872 Illinois Library Law, died when we was struck by a streetcar in front of the Peoria (Ill.) Public Library. <span class="credit">Photo: Local History and Genealogy Collection/Peoria (Ill.) Public Library</span>
Erastus S. Willcox, who wrote the 1872 Illinois Library Law, died when he was struck by a streetcar in front of the Peoria (Ill.) Public Library. Photo: Local History and Genealogy Collection/Peoria (Ill.) Public Library

Along the way, he enlists the advice of professionals—including award-winning nonfiction author and well-known debunker Mary Roach (Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife) and paranormal writer and speaker John B. Kachuba (Ghosthunting Illinois)—and interviews staffers at Peoria Public Library and Bradley University Library about their otherworldly encounters.

Did Dewey Decibel detect a presence? Listen to the spooky story to hear what we found, and watch our video preview below for an inside look at Peoria Public Library.

Do you think we’re dealing with ghosts? Do you have a haunted library experience to share? Leave us a comment below, on Twitter, or on iTunes. If you have feedback for this or future episodes, email the Dewey Decibel team at deweydecibel@ala.org.

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