THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Alton's First Unitarian Church is associated with reports of a male apparition, disembodied voices, shadow figures, unexplained piano music and doors opening or closing without an obvious cause.
The First Unitarian Church in downtown Alton has developed a longstanding paranormal reputation. Reported phenomena include disembodied voices, shadow-like figures, unexplained sounds and doors apparently opening or closing on their own. Some accounts also describe piano music when nobody is playing. A male apparition seen in the building is traditionally identified in local ghost lore as former minister Philip Mercer, although the identity of any reported apparition cannot be verified.