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We were lucky enough to arrive in Lebanon on the tail end of a thunderstorm, which made for great pictures. Lebanon was established in 1814 and it's downtown St Louis Street is lined with old buildings full of shops and restaurants (and spirits?)
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Len lives in the area, so he has the inside scoop on the ghost stories, along with a wealth of historical knowledge. Even better, he has access to a lot more indoor space than the Alton tour, so not only do you feel like you're doing more "investigating", you also have more opportunities to get out of the elements.
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As is my rule, I will not be repeating any of the ghost stories from the tour. Len is the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guide you could ever hope to find and I would never be able to do the stories justice in this format. There are tours at least once a month, and I will post a link to the website at the end. Everything past this point has a story!
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I will break in at this point to tell you that Charles Dickens - yes, THE Charles Dickens - stayed at the Mermaid House in 1842.
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I have to interject one more time: I dare you to walk into this basement (of the Tapestry Room Restaurant) and not immediately think "Blair Witch".
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All the details: Lebanon, IL is located about 30 miles east of St Louis. Here's a link to the Haunted Lebanon tour schedule. I hear the AGS Fall Festival is moving to Lebanon this year, so look for updates on Facebook when I find out the date! I look forward to returning to Lebanon!
Next time I am doing it!!! ~ Byrnes
ReplyDeletewe are definitely going to do the fall festival. I also want to get to McPike Mansion this summer. They have monthly evening tours now!
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