HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A 19th-century Bloomington home converted to IWU student housing, where three distinct presences — all called Frances — are reported by residents.
1401 North Main Street, Bloomington, IL 61701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewable from public sidewalk; building is active student housing
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved sidewalk along Main Street; exterior viewing only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · 19th-Century Residential Architecture · Illinois Wesleyan University Campus History
The property at 1401 North Main Street in Bloomington sits at the corner of Beecher Street on the edge of the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. Originally constructed as a private residence, the building was acquired by the university and converted to student housing at some point in the 20th century. It is now known as Adams Hall.
M.A. Kleen, a researcher of Illinois history and ghost lore who holds a graduate degree and has published multiple volumes on the subject, documented the history and haunting accounts at Adams Hall in a 2019 article. Kleen's account provides the specific address and describes the building's transition from private home to campus housing as central to its folklore.
The building's history as a domestic residence, with its multiple occupants across more than a century, underpins the campus tradition of stories about unexplained sounds and presences. The Bloomington-Normal LocalWiki, a community-maintained resource, also lists the IWU student housing hauntings in its community record, corroborating the site's established place in local ghost lore.
Sources
The ghost lore at Adams Hall is unusual for its specificity: three separate presences are each associated with the name Frances. The first is a middle-aged woman said to have died in a carriage accident — the method and circumstances placing this figure in the 19th century. The second is a young girl, and the third is an elderly woman. The three are distinguished by residents and campus tradition but are not further identified by family name or historical record in available sources.
Phenomena attributed to these presences, as documented by M.A. Kleen in 2019, include unexplained footsteps within the building, the sound of a rocking chair in motion when no chair is occupied, and a telephone that rings without any caller or active line on the other end. These accounts come from student residents of the building over multiple generations of occupancy.
Because Adams Hall is active student housing, the site should be viewed from the public sidewalk only. The ghost tradition is treated here as campus folklore; the historical identities of the three Frances figures have not been independently verified against public records.
Notable Entities
View Adams Hall from the public sidewalk along North Main Street. The former private residence at the corner of Beecher and Main is the subject of well-documented campus ghost folklore involving three presences, all named Frances.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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