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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Old Joliet Prison ranks #6 among Illinois's most haunted places

A new index ranks places by published accounts, not legend

September 30, 2026

With Halloween approaching, Old Joliet Prison in Joliet ranks #6 among Illinois's most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index. The index ranks 156 Illinois sites by separate published accounts and how far back they go, not by fame or search popularity.

Old Joliet Prison ranks #6. Chicago architect William W. Boyington designed the limestone penitentiary, quarried on-site by inmates, and it opened on May 22, 1858, when fifty-three prisoners arrived to build the larger complex around themselves. It held Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in the 1920s and John Wayne Gacy in the 1980s before closing in 2002. Two separate published accounts describe activity there. Visitors on tours describe phantom footsteps echoing along the cell block galleries and cold spots inside individual cells, and staff report voices and door movements in the storm-damaged administration building now under restoration. The Joliet Area Historical Museum, which runs the site's tours, presents the prison as a site of conscience focused on the people who lived and worked there rather than haunted-attraction theatrics.

Statewide, Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville ranks #1, and Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, the state's most famous haunted site, misses the top ten.

"We rank by evidence, not legend: independent published accounts, documented history, and how far back the reports go. We don't claim ghosts are real, or that they aren't. We document where the reports concentrate, and we show our work," said Ben Fineman, editor of HauntBound. The ranking shows each site's documented record.

Visiting:Old Joliet Prison, 1125 Collins St., Joliet, offers self-guided and guided tours of the historic complex on select days; check the site for the current schedule.

For media:The full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/illinois/The fact sheet, with cleared images: https://hauntbound.com/press/fact-sheets/illinois/Venue contact: jolietprison.orgA short version follows.

HauntBound (hauntbound.com) is a family-friendly field guide to more than 6,000 documented haunted and historic places across the United States, ranked by published evidence rather than legend. No venue pays to be listed or ranked.

Media contact: Ben Fineman, Editor, HauntBound, editor@hauntbound.com

Short version

SHORT VERSION

Old Joliet Prison ranks #6 among Illinois's most haunted places

Old Joliet Prison in Joliet ranks #6 among Illinois's most haunted places in HauntBound's 2026 index, which ranks sites by separate published accounts rather than fame. The limestone penitentiary opened in 1858 and later held Nathan Leopold, Richard Loeb and John Wayne Gacy before closing in 2002. Visitors on tours describe phantom footsteps in the cell block galleries and cold spots inside individual cells. The Joliet Area Historical Museum, which presents the prison as a site of conscience, runs tours of the site.

Full ranking: https://hauntbound.com/most-haunted/illinois/