Courtlin Captured a Creepy Photo on Her Ghost Tour in Galena

I'm back from my first trip to Galena, and we had an awesome weekend! After arriving at our Airbnb on Friday night, our very first activity was a tour... a GHOST tour!

We ended up doing the Galena Ghost Walk through the Haunted Galena Tour Company, and our guide for the tour was Ted. Ted was absolutely wonderful! You can tell when someone really loves their job, and Ted REALLY loves his job. He was funny and engaging and enthusiastic, all qualities you want in a tour guide.

We met for the tour at the Dowling House, which is the oldest house in Galena. It was built back in 1826 by John Dowling, and it initially served at the town's first trading post. Because of how old it is, the house is definitely a little bit creepy. People who have been inside have heard noises coming from upstairs, and some have even captured orbs on camera.

The Dowling House

The Jail Hill Inn

The Roof of the Dowling House Tour Building

Other stops on the tour included the corner of Benjamin and Franklin Street (where a man lost his life on his own wedding night), the Jo Daviess County Courthouse, the Jail Hill Inn, the Dowling House Tour Building (which used to be a place where headstones were created), and an old home on Diagonal Street where Christmas figurines would mysteriously move on their own (it's the one on the left in the photo below).

Our second from last stop on the walking tour was the Galena Welcome Center on Commerce Street. During our tour, we were encouraged to take lots of photos and videos. That was so we could look over them later and see if we uncovered anything strange. Well, the Welcome Center is where I captured something a little bit strange.

The photo above is one of the pictures I took of the Welcome Center. According to our tour guide, the building used to house a couple of jail cells in the basement. One fateful night, a woman drowned in her basement jail cell because of flooding, and it's said that her spirit remains in the building. She's been known to knock back when visitors knock on the basement door, and she's even messed with women in the bathroom!

When I was going over my photos of the evening, I paid close attention to the windows. In this particular photo, if you zoom into the upper right window, you see this:

To my friends and I, the shape in the window pane looks like a woman's face. It's the only one of my pictures that it appears in. Is it just shadows and lighting? Probably. Either way, it's still super creepy! Here's another photo, but with adjusted exposure to make it a little lighter.

The creepiest place on the tour, though, was our very last stop: the DeSoto House Hotel. Built in 1855, the hotel is filled with history... and hauntings! We were taken into the basement during our tour, which now serves as a restaurant.

From the moment we stepped into that basement, I was uncomfortable. I became sweaty and nauseous, and my chest felt heavy, like someone was sitting on it. I don't know what was going on, but I couldn't wait to leave.

One of the most prominent ghosts of the DeSoto House is the "Lady in Black," who has been spotted many times over the years. It's said that she would always descend a staircase and walk through a particular wall. Well, in 2011, it was discovered that the woman wasn't actually walking into a wall. The website Haunted Rooms reads:

"...Galena had a flood that destroyed some of the drywall in the hotel’s lower level. They had to remove this and what they found was a doorway opening right where the Lady in Black appeared to disappear. Instead of just disappearing, she must be going through a door she remembers. Instead of covering it back up, they put in plexiglass so that you can see the doorway."

If you really want to experience some paranormal activity, it's recommended that you stay on the third floor. The fourth floor, which was once a ballroom, was removed years ago, but many guests say they still hear noises like music and footsteps above them at night. NO THANKS!

Overall, our ghost tour experience was great! I would definitely recommend it the next time you're visiting Galena. It lasted about two hours and cost $26. You can read more about the different tours available HERE.

To check out EVERYTHING I did in Galena & Dubuque this weekend, click HERE!