Grab your comfort blanket and hunker down for a true ghost story that comes right out of the backwoods of Illinois. Whether or not you believe in spirits, this tale is sure to haunt your thoughts.

Locals know this one well but it is little-known throughout most of the state. Keep scrolling for the whole story…

Our tale begins and ends with Dug Hill Road, which is tucked away in the forests between Brown Barrens and Trail of Tears in the southern portion of the state.
Google Maps
Today, Dug Hill Road is a segment of Highway 146 a few miles west of Jonesboro leading to the Mississippi River.
In the late 1800s, a traveler passing through the area found a man who appeared to be dead lying in the road, face down in a pool of blood. The traveler attempted to move the man but his hand went through the body.
Pixabay/Sendstorm
The traveler immediately left the scene, taking off in his horse-drawn carriage. He felt the horrible bumps of the wheels passing over the body, but when he looked back, nothing was there.

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It is believed that the traveler may have encountered the lingering spirit of Marshal Welch, an officer who was killed in 1865 by Union army deserters who ambushed him on Dug Hill Road.
Flickr/SMU Central University Libraries
The three Union soldiers had been arrested and placed in jail for just a few days before the peace treaty was signed and they were released. Revenge took hold of them then, and they shot the marshal who turned them in, leaving his corpse in the middle of the road.
The murders were never caught. This unfortunate case was one of the last Civil War crimes in the nation, yet few know that it happened.
Public Domain Pictures/Marijo Readey
Since then, people have reported hearing gunshots and the sounds of horses hooves pounding the pavement near this spot. These are believed to be the final sounds of Welch's attempt to escape before his murder.
Flickr/Keene Public Library and the Historical Society of Cheshire County
Those who have been unlucky enough to have to stop on the side of this road to repair part of their car have reported a carriage and team of horses racing toward them and then disappearing right before a collision would have occurred.

For more nightmare-inducing frights, check out these 9 haunted houses in Illinois that will scare you silly.

Have you ever heard this ghost story before? Let us know if you’ve ever encountered strange activity on this road.

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