Peoria State Hospital

Authorized by state legislators in 1895, initial construction began on a high scenic bluff overlooking the Illinois River valley. Early structural progress suffered severe setbacks when the original monolithic main building was deemed structurally compromised and torn down prior to completion. Rebuilt according to a progressive cottage-system layout, the facility finally opened its doors in 1902 under the leadership of superintendent George Zeller.

This visionary physician fundamentally reformed regional psychiatric practices by banning mechanical restraints, solitary confinement cells, and iron window bars, championing open air, creative occupational therapy, and dignified patient treatment. Under his guidance, the asylum evolved into a self-contained civic community encompassing 63 separate structures, including specialized cottage wards, agricultural colonies, power utility buildings, dining halls, and consecrated burial grounds.

At its operational peak during the mid-20th century, the facility housed upwards of 2,800 institutional residents. However, post-war state funding cutbacks, systemic overcrowding, and changing psychiatric methodologies initiated a steady operational decline across all wards. Peoria State Hospital ceased operations in 1973. Although several campus structures were eventually razed, key architectural landmarks like the Bowen Building endured and received National Register of Historic Places recognition in 1982.

The ghost lore of Peoria State Hospital is anchored by one of the most famous spirit accounts in American folklore: the story of A. Bookbinder, affectionately known as 'Old Book.' Old Book was a mute patient admitted to the asylum who, despite his inability to speak, was gentle, hardworking, and beloved by staff. He took on the role of grave digger for deceased patients who had no family, meticulously digging graves and weeping at their burials beneath a large elm tree in Cemetery No. 1.

When Old Book died in 1910, hundreds of patients, nurses, and hospital personnel gathered for his solemn funeral service. As his casket was lowered into the ground, the mourners were startled to observe Old Book's distinct spirit leaning mournfully against his beloved elm tree, weeping for his own burial. Superintendent Zeller immediately ordered the coffin opened to confirm Old Book's physical body was inside, which it was. Shortly thereafter, the giant elm tree mysteriously withered and died despite all attempts to save it, establishing Old Book as an iconic figure in Midwestern paranormal folklore.

Additional legends center on the haunted Bowen Building, where the apparition of a vintage-uniformed nurse is frequently observed making rounds to care for invisible patients, along with phantom crying echoing through the abandoned underground utility tunnels late at night. Local folklore also speaks of spectral patients wandering near the old farm colonies, disembodied footsteps marching down empty ward stairs, and mysterious white lights flickering in vacant upper windows across the Bartonville hilltop.

Paranormal researchers and visitors exploring the historic Peoria State Hospital grounds document frequent supernatural occurrences inside the Bowen Building and surrounding cemetery parcels. Reported phenomena include audible disembodied sobbing near Old Book's burial site, abrupt temperature plunges in former ward corridors, and the distinct sound of heavy iron gurneys rolling across vacant concrete floors when no living person is present.

Investigators regularly record electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) capturing faint whispers, distant crying, or keys rattling in empty doorways. Shadowy human figures are frequently seen moving past windows in the Bowen Building, while visitors describe feeling unexplainable touches, cold physical pressure, or gentle tugs on their garments during night tours. Disembodied footsteps pacing across empty floors and unexplained light anomalies floating in the basement tunnels further cement the site's intense energetic reputation. Electromagnetic field (EMF) meters frequently spike erratically near former patient wards and solitary cells, while thermal cameras record cold human silhouettes standing near cemetery graves. Visitors also describe sudden feelings of unexplainable sadness near the historic burial grounds.

Peoria State Hospital was constructed following the decentralized cottage-plan arrangement rather than the traditional Kirkbride layout, incorporating detached Tudor Revival and Richardsonian Romanesque brick and stone buildings positioned across rolling hilltop terrain. The imposing Bowen Building (Nurses' Home) features classical stone masonry, grand multi-pane windows, decorative gables, wide hallways, ornamental fireplaces, patient wards, administrative offices, slate roofing, and a stately portico entrance.

The expansive campus layout encompassed specialized ward cottages, administrative headquarters, medical staff quarters, central power plants, elevated water towers, subterranean brick utility tunnels, farm structures, storage facilities, and four distinct patient cemeteries situated along scenic bluffs overlooking the Illinois River valley.

The historic Peoria State Hospital site is located in Bartonville, Illinois, just south of metropolitan Peoria. Although numerous historic ward structures were removed during late 20th-century redevelopment, landmark buildings including the Bowen Building and the historic cemeteries remain preserved and accessible to the public.

Guided historical walks, flashlight ghost tours, and public paranormal investigations are conducted regularly by local preservationists and historical societies. Visitors must respect private property boundaries, observe posted safety regulations, and remain within designated public tour paths during all site visits to ensure safety and historical preservation. Parking is available near designated tour gathering areas, and local guides provide historical maps during events.

Peoria State Hospital's ghost reputation rests on Dr. George Zeller's documented accounts of Old Book's apparition in official hospital memoirs, featured coverage in books and television shows like Ghost Hunters, the documented history of patient suffering, decades of documented EVP recordings, the eerie architecture of surviving buildings, and the preserved, supernatural atmosphere of its historic Bartonville grounds, attracting historians and ghost investigators alike.