Illinois Ranks 5th In The U.S. For Ghost Sightings, Study Finds

ILLINOIS — A new study that claims to have collected every reported ghost sighting since 1972 has found Illinois has the fifth highest number of spirit sightings in the past 50 years.

The study shows ghost sightings were reported at least 2,398 times at locations throughout the state. Other Midwestern states that made the list include Michigan at No. 4, Ohio at No. 3 and Indiana at No. 8.

While Illinois has had many reported sightings, CardsChat.com points out the chance of seeing a ghost may vary based on population and size of the state. For instance, a Michigander is far more likely to have a haunted occurrence than an Illinoisan despite having nearly 3 million less people.

In 2012, sightings hit their highest number since 1972 with 3,697 reported sightings. However, that number dropped drastically throughout the years going from 1,297 in 2016 to only 9 reported sightings in 2020.

Michigan and Illinois also came in at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively on the website's ranking of haunted road trips and The Desoto House Hotel in Galena was voted as the spookiest spot in the entire Land of Lincoln.

For those looking for a longer route, a road trip from New York to Illinois was found to give travelers access to hit all the demonic detours they may want.

All in all, the group recorded a total of 62, 482 ghost sightings throughout the United States.