HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Quincy University's School of Music stands on the site of an 1898 orphanage fire that killed children; campus witnesses report apparitions and children's voices.
1800 College Avenue, Quincy, IL 62301
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Campus is publicly accessible; no fee for exterior grounds
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved campus grounds; building interior requires campus access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1898 · St. Aloysius Orphanage Fire (1890s) · 1899 St. Francis School Fire — 12 Girls Killed · Franciscan Education History in Illinois
Quincy University, founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, operates on a campus in western Illinois that carries a history punctuated by two late-19th-century fires involving children. St. Aloysius Orphanage, which stood on or adjacent to the current campus, burned in the 1890s. Troy Taylor, a regional historian who has documented Illinois hauntings for decades, records the orphanage fire as resulting in multiple child fatalities and identifies Solano Hall — now housing the university's School of Music — as the building erected on that site.
A second documented tragedy on the campus or its immediate environs occurred in 1899: a fire at St. Francis parochial school killed twelve girls during a rehearsal. Taylor's account links both events to the current campus, and a 2017 student news report from QUTV, Quincy University's campus television outlet, corroborated the haunted reputation of Solano Hall while referencing the orphanage connection.
The building's current function as a music school has added a layer of acoustic ambiguity to reports from students and staff who describe unexplained sounds — including running footsteps, distant screams, and the laughter of children — in the corridors of Solano Hall, particularly after hours. The specific records of the orphanage fire's casualties are not fully replicated in widely accessible public archives, though Taylor's account has been independently cited in campus media.
Sources
The paranormal lore at Solano Hall centers on the auditory and visual presence of children. Witnesses — including current students documented in QUTV's 2017 campus report — describe hearing footsteps in empty hallways, laughter emanating from unoccupied rooms, and occasional screams with no identifiable source. These accounts cluster on the upper floors of the building.
Historian Troy Taylor, whose documentation of Illinois ghost lore is widely cited in regional paranormal literature, attributes the reported phenomena to the victims of the St. Aloysius Orphanage fire and the 1899 St. Francis school fire. No specific children have been named in connection with the apparitions, consistent with the dignity standard applied to accounts involving minors.
Walk the Quincy University campus to view Solano Hall, the School of Music building erected on the grounds of St. Aloysius Orphanage, where an 1898 fire killed children and subsequent tragedies added to the site's dark history.
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