HAUNTED DECATUR
GUIDES & STAFF

The Haunted Decatur Tours are a part of the Illinois Hauntings Tour Co., which also has tours in Alton, Jacksonville, Lebanon and Chicago, some of the most historic --- and haunted --- cities in the state. The tours are all founded by nationally known historians and authors, who work full-time to present the haunted history of the state of Illinois through their books, tours and frequent media and lecture appearances.

The Haunted Decatur Tours were initially founded in 1994 by Troy Taylor & Skip Huston, two natives of the region. The tours were re-created in 2006 by Troy Taylor and continue to be presented by Central Illinois residents and natives, authors, historians and staff members who are eager to take guests along on one of the most authentic ghost tours in Illinois ---- and beyond!

Troy Taylor
Troy Taylor is the owner and co- creator of the Haunted Decatur Tours and the author of Haunted Decatur, Weird Illinois, Haunted Illinois and literally more than four dozen other books about hauntings and the unexplained in Illinois and America.

Along with writing about the weird and unusual, Taylor is also a public speaker on the subject and has spoken to literally hundreds of private and public groups. He has appeared in newspaper and magazine articles and has also been interviewed hundreds of times for radio and television broadcasts about the supernatural. He has also appeared in a number of documentary films, several television series and in one feature horror film called "The St. Francisville Experiment". Critics called him the "best actor in the film", which wasn't saying much since he was playing himself.

When not pounding away on a typewriter and chasing ghosts, Taylor is also the owner of the Illinois Hauntings Tour Co., which operates ghost tours (and the Haunted Decatur Tour) all over the state. He began his career with ghost tours in high school, where he was well known for his interest in "things that go bump in the night", by taking his friends on informal tours of haunted places all over Illinois. Some of these friends still speak to him today!

Taylor created the Haunted Decatur Tours in 1994 (the third longest running ghost tour in Illinois) and the Alton Hauntings Tour in 1999. He would wind up putting Decatur on the map as "one of the most haunted cities in the Midwest" and Alton as "one of the most haunted small towns in America." Taylor started the Weird Chicago Tour in 2006, the same year that helped start ghost tours in other Illinois cities, as well.

Troy and his wife, Haven, currently reside in Central Illinois and in April 2008, opened the Prairie Fire store, located on West Main Street in downtown Decatur, which now served as the home of the Haunted Decatur Tours.

John Winterbauer --  Author / Guide

John Winterbauer was born and raised in central Illinois. Exploring the historic sites around central Illinois led John to examine the ghost stories associated with many of these places. In an effort to understand these stories he began the active pursuit of ghosts; becoming the Springfield Area Rep for the AGS and a co-founder of the Sangamon Valley Ghost Research Group. He saw his first, and (to date) only, ghost in 2001 while investigating a Springfield flower shop and has experienced a wide variety of phenomena normally associated with ghosts. 

John’s writings on historic ghosts have appeared in “Ghosts of the Prairie” magazine and he has been featured on numerous newspaper, radio and television programs. He is the author of the upcoming book “Spirits of the Sangamon: The History & Hauntings of Lincoln's Springfield & Beyond”.

In his spare time John can be found wandering rural cemeteries or volunteering at the Vachel Lindsay Home in Springfield or the Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum in Athens. He is the father of three and lives with his wife, Patty, in Petersburg, Illinois.  

Orrin Taylor -- Tour Assistant / Film Maker
Orrin Taylor is the son of author Troy Taylor and started with the Haunted Decatur Tours in the spring of 2007. In addition, he is an aspiring film maker and has several projects in the works, including a brand new Haunted Decatur documentary film.

David Pickett --- Tour Assistant
 David Pickett is a Decatur native and a long-time assistant on the Haunted Decatur Tours. He is also one of the city's legendary musicians and can often be found (when not assisting the Haunted Decatur Tours) playing circles around just about any other musician in Decatur's musical venues. David is also the "picture" guy on the tours and if you have strange photos that have been taken during the tours -- email David here!

Doug Hicks --- Tour Assistant
Doug Hicks is a Decatur native and is also a long-time assistant with the Haunted Decatur Tours. In addition to being a husband and father, Doug is employed full-time with ADM and provides behind the scenes support for both the Lincoln and Avon Theaters.

David Goodwin --- Co-Owner / Author

David Goodwin is a commissioned police officer with the Washington University Police Department in St. Louis, Missouri.  He has a Bachelors degree in law enforcement from Northern Michigan University (NMU) and has worked in the law enforcement and campus security field for over 10 years.

Dave enlisted in the Michigan Army National Guard in 1986.  He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1992 after completing the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at NMU and currently holds the rank of Captain.  Dave is a decorated Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He currently serves on the Battalion Staff of the 1140th Engineer Battalion, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Dave has actively investigated numerous haunted locations for over 16 years.  He has been an active member of the American Ghost Society (AGS) since 1997 and currently serves as one of the organization’s St. Louis Area Representatives.  Dave has also been a member of the Ghost Research Society (GRS) for over eight years and currently serves as one of the organizations Missouri State Coordinator.

Dave, his wife Lisa and their children currently live in Black Jack, Missouri.

 

 

© Copyright 2008 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.