The story of Ashmore Estates begins long before the current building.

In 1857, the Coles County Poor Farm was established to house the poor, handicapped, and mentally ill.

The first facility, a humble timber and brick building, saw hundreds of "inmates" pass through its doors, with many dying on the property and buried in nearby pauper cemeteries.

Conditions often deteriorated, leading to reports of "vermin infected walls" and "flies swarming everywhere."

In 1916, the grand Neo-Georgian structure that stands today was built, intended to offer better care.

This new almshouse continued to serve as a refuge for those with nowhere else to go.

However, the inherent struggles of such institutions often meant that the residents faced difficult lives within its walls.

In 1959, the property transitioned from a county poor farm to a private psychiatric hospital, becoming known as Ashmore Estates.

It housed patients, including those from state mental institutions, but faced financial difficulties and closed temporarily in 1964.

It reopened in 1965, but by the 1980s, due to changes in mental healthcare and financial struggles, it finally closed its doors in April 1986.

For years, the abandoned building became a target for vandalism and whispers of its haunted past.

It was later purchased and opened to the public for paranormal investigations, allowing visitors to explore its chilling history firsthand.

The echoes of its former occupants, from the destitute to the mentally afflicted, are believed by many to linger within its walls, making it a prime location for paranormal encounters.

• Sleepover Event: Will you be brave enough to sleep here after you’ve finished investigating?

• Exclusive Access: Spend the entire night exploring the most active areas of Ashmore Estates, locations often off-limits to the general public.

• Experienced Team Leaders: Our knowledgeable and seasoned paranormal investigators will guide you through the night, offering insights and techniques for capturing evidence.

• Hands-on Investigation: Utilize state-of-the-art ghost hunting equipment, including EMF meters, spirit boxes, laser grids, and thermal imaging cameras. Learn how to use them effectively to document any paranormal occurrences.

• Small Group Sizes: We believe in quality over quantity. Our smaller group sizes ensure a more personal and immersive experience, allowing for better interaction and a higher chance of capturing evidence.

• History and Hauntings: Learn about Ashmore Estates' fascinating and often tragic history, uncovering the stories of those who once resided within its walls and the lingering energies that may remain.

• Provided Refreshments: We'll have a selection of drinks and snacks available throughout the night to keep you fueled for your investigation.

• Comfort Breaks: Designated areas will be available for breaks.

The long and documented history of paranormal phenomena at Ashmore Estates is a direct echo of its tormented past. Visitors and investigators alike have reported a consistent litany of unsettling occurrences that make the building a vortex of dread:

• Disembodied Voices and Whispers: The silence is a lie. The air itself seems to be alive with the whispers of the dead, faint, disembodied voices that seem to come from every direction. The sounds often contain pleas, moans of pain, or guttural whispers that seem to claw at your sanity, all with no logical source.

• Shadow Figures: The darkest corners of the estates are not empty. Fleeting glimpses of shadowy figures move just at the edge of your periphery. These dark shapes are often seen darting across hallways or standing motionless in doorways, only to vanish when directly observed, as if they are watching you from a dimension just out of reach.

• Full-Blown Apparitions: But for some, the veil is thin enough to reveal the tormented inhabitants in horrifying detail. Visitors have come face-to-face with full-bodied apparitions, figures so solid they appear to be flesh and blood until they vanish in an instant. The most chilling accounts include a ghostly man believed to be a former patient, seen wandering the second-floor hallway, his face a mask of permanent distress. Others have seen the terrifying figure of a nurse, often caught standing in the former isolation wards, her presence exuding a malevolent coldness. These aren't just shadows—they are the ghosts of the past, fully formed and actively haunting the present.

• Cold Spots: The cold is a constant companion within the estates. Sudden and unexplained drops in temperature can envelop you, a bone-deep chill that defies the ambient environment. These localized cold spots are often followed by an overwhelming feeling of dread or the sense of an unseen presence standing unnervingly close.

• Moving Objects: The objects left behind by its last occupants are not always still. Items are reported to shift, slide across the floor, or even be thrown without explanation, as if an unseen force is manipulating the physical world around you.

• Feelings of Being Watched: The unsettling sensation of unseen eyes upon you is a constant in the estates. The feeling is so pervasive that many visitors describe it as a physical pressure, as if you are being followed and scrutinized by unseen beings every step of the way.

• Intense Emotional Energies: The sorrow of the patients who suffered and died here is not gone. Visitors have been overwhelmed by intense feelings of sadness, fear, and anxiety in specific areas, particularly in what were once patient rooms and isolation wards. It's as if the building itself retains a psychic imprint of the suffering that occurred within its walls.

• Date: Saturday, November 29th 2025

• This is a sleepover event.

• Time: 9:00 PM - 9:00 AM (Please arrive by 8:45 PM for registration)

• Location: Ashmore Estates, 22645 County Road 1500 E, Ashmore, IL 61912, United States

• Tickets: $129 per person (Limited spaces available - book early to avoid disappointment!)

• Age Restriction: 18+ only.

• What to Bring: Comfortable walking shoes, warm layers of clothing, a flashlight, any personal ghost hunting equipment you own. Sleeping bags or camping mats are recommended for designated rest areas.

• Disclaimer: This is a physically and mentally demanding event. Ashmore Estates is an old and potentially hazardous building. Participants enter at their own risk. We are not responsible for any personal injury or loss of belongings.