A local legend of St Clair and Madison Counties in Southern Illinois.

I’m not sure how or why these stories got started, or why they continue today. When I was in high school, my friends and I routinely made late night cruises through the winding back roads that wove between St Clair and Madison counties, and area we called "The Gates of Hell" or just "The Gates:. Sure, it was dark and creepy, and there was always a feeling of being watched, but it was terrific summer fun.

I hadn’t heard much about the legends or of the horrible things that were supposed to happen back there, but the history of what the area had always been fascinating to me. At about the same time, I was dating a young man who was very interested in railroads, steam engines and the like. These old country roads ran near, parallel to and under an abandoned railroad.

Fortunately for me, the local community college was low on funds and hadn’t replaced its 1950’s map that hung on the wall. The railway was owned by a company called "ITRR," which stood for "Illinois Terminal Rail Road." Incidentally, a section of these same railpaths(for want of a better word, the tracks had been romoved and only the pathway they left remains) that were once owned by the ITRR are being used today for the lightrail Metrolink.

There are a plethora of stories and legends surrounding this area, from the light hearted "I saved your monkey" stories to a mysterious sofa that traps anyone who sits in it, and then bursts into flames, burning them to death. I have heard at least one person admit to making up a story, and one person claim to be the star player in another story. Some of it may be based in truth, other parts of the stories were doubtlessly drug indiced.

Recently, it hit me, NOBODY either had the cojones or the HTML knoledge to write a web page on the place (let's face it, if teh Hampsterdance can make it...). I would like to gather as many stories of the area, personal experiences, legends, hoaxes, and hauntings as I can, and present them here for people’s pleasure, scrutiny, and perhaps a fine ghost story or two for around the campfire.

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