Legends and lore of Illinois
Encyclopedia
The Legends and Lore of Illinois was a monthly newsletter written and published by Michael Kleen
Michael Kleen
-Early Life and Education:Michael A. Kleen is an American folklorist, publisher, and social commentator. He was born in Chicago and grew up in the northwest suburb of Des Plaines, Illinois. He received a B.A. in Philosophy in 2006 and M.A. in History in 2008 from Eastern Illinois University in...

 between 2007 and 2010. In all, 47 issues were produced. Each issue discussed an allegedly haunted location in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 and featured the continuing adventures of a fictional team of paranormal investigators called The Fallen. Reviews, interviews, letters from the readers, trivia, and "ghostly games" were also irregular features.

History

The Legends and Lore of Illinois was an immediate successor to the Legends and Lore of Coles County, Illinois, of which nine issues were produced between March and November 2006. Between 2007 and 2008, the Legends and Lore of Illinois was available directly on the Black Oak Media website, but in 2009 it was hosted on its own website, trueillinoishaunts.com. In January 2011, trueillinoishaunts.com transitioned away from the monthly newsletter, but back issues remain available. The author, Michael Kleen, has expressed interest in writing another 12 issues during 2012.

The Fallen

Each issue of the Legends and Lore of Illinois contained a short story involving the adventures of a fictional team of paranormal investigators called The Fallen that took place at the location which was the subject of the issue. The Fallen consisted of five characters: Mike, Greg, Aurelia, Davin, and Emmer. Each character played a specific role in the group and not every character was present in every issue. During 2009, a coydog
Coydog
A coydog is the hybrid offspring of a male coyote and a female dog . Together they are genetically capable of producing fertile young. The dogote, a similar hybrid, is the result of breeding a male domestic dog with a female coyote...

 named Casey was added. Casey appeared sporadically, usually when the team was investigating a cemetery. The name "The Fallen" is derived from the fact that being outcasts seems to be the common thread that binds the group together.

Plot

The Fallen stories consisted of two separate story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...

s loosely tied together by one overall theme. The first arc, issues 1 through 24, involved The Fallen's search for a mysterious astral portal or gate that was hidden somewhere among the haunted places of Illinois. Two other groups, one consisting of satanists and the other of Fundamentalists, were in competition to find the portal, although they often cooperated to get rid of The Fallen. In issue 24, these two groups succeeded in opening the portal at the top of Cahokia Mounds
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...

, but The Fallen managed to close it before any damage could be done. In the second arc, issues 25 through 47, The Fallen learned that an ancient demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

 had escaped during the short time the portal was open. In order to send it back, The Fallen had to find several items located at different haunted places throughout Illinois and use them to conduct a certain ritual, which was described by an old French book located in the archive of Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...

. "Acolytes" of the demon opposed them, but The Fallen were helped by an old friend, Misa, a Dhampir
Dhampir
A Dhampir in Balkan folklore is the child of a vampire father and a human mother. The term is sometimes spelled dhampyre, dhamphir, or dhampyr. Dhampir powers are similar to those of vampires, but without the usual weaknesses...

 from New Orleans. In the final issue, The Fallen vanquished the demon at Starved Rock
Starved Rock State Park
Starved Rock State Park is a state park in Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its 2360 acres. Located just southwest of the village of North Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the Illinois River, the park hosts over two million visitors...

. Additionally, a group called the "Pan-Continental Paranormal Research Society" (P.C.P.R.S.), a satire of paranormal investigation teams like T.A.P.S.
The Atlantic Paranormal Society
The Atlantic Paranormal Society is an organization that investigates reported paranormal activity. Based in Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, TAPS was founded in 1990 by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. In 2004, the organization itself became the subject of Ghost Hunters, a popular weekly...

, appeared in a number of issues.

2007





2008

  • January - Archer Cemetery in Justice, Illinois
    Justice, Illinois
    Justice is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States established in 1911. The population was 12,850 as of 2006.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.A major road running through the town is...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/archer-cemetery/
  • February - Sunset Haven in Carbondale, Illinois
    Carbondale, Illinois
    Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/abandoned/sunset-haven/
  • March - Peoria State Hospital
    Peoria State Hospital
    Peoria State Hospital Historic District, also known as Bartonville State Hospital or Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane, was a psychiatric hospital operated by the State of Illinois from 1902 to 1973. The hospital is located in Bartonville, Illinois, near the city of Peoria in Peoria County...

     in Bartonville, Illinois
    Bartonville, Illinois
    Bartonville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,310 at the 2000 census. Bartonville is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/abandoned/bartonville-state-asylum/
  • April - Airtight Bridge
    Airtight Bridge
    The Airtight Bridge is a steel bridge spanning the Embarras River in Coles County, Illinois, in the United States north of Charleston, Illinois. The bridge was built in 1914 by the Decatur Bridge Company. The architect was Claude L. James...

     in Coles County, Illinois
    Coles County, Illinois
    Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University....

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/roads-and-bridges/airtight-bridge/




2009

  • January - Lebanon Road in Collinsville, Illinois
    Collinsville, Illinois
    Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/roads-and-bridges/lebanon-road/
  • February - Ramsey Cemetery
    Ramsey Cemetery
    Ramsey Cemetery is a cemetery located in Effingham County, Illinois, with the nearest town being Shumway, Illinois. The cemetery is one of the oldest in the area and was created in 1851 with the burial of Alexander Ramsey. The cemetery has been associated with many different legends and lore around...

     in Effingham, Illinois
    Effingham, Illinois
    Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Effingham County....

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/ramsey-cemetery/
  • March - Manteno State Hospital
    Manteno State Hospital
    Manteno State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located in rural Manteno Township in Kankakee County, Illinois.The facility was authorized in 1927 by the 55th Illinois General Assembly with its first patients arriving in December 1930. In 1954 the patient population peaked at 8,195. In 1983, the...

     in Manteno, Illinois
    Manteno, Illinois
    Manteno is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,575 in 2009. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area.-General information:Manteno, Illinois...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/abandoned/manteno-state-hospital/
  • April - Elmwood Cemetery in Centralia, Illinois
    Centralia, Illinois
    Centralia is a town located in Marion, Washington, Clinton, and Jefferson Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 13,032 at the 2010 census. The town was founded because it was the point where the two original branches of the Illinois Central Railroad, built in 1853, converged....

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/elmwood-cemetery/

  • May - Moon Point Cemetery
    Moon Point Cemetery
    Moon Point Cemetery, or Moon's Point Cemetery, is a memorial site located south of Streator, Illinois off of Route 23, in Livingston County. It pre-dates the Civil War and inters several of the original European settlers of Livingston County...

     in Streator, Illinois
    Streator, Illinois
    Streator is a city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately southwest of Chicago, Illinois in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. It is the center of the geographic region known as...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/moon-point-cemetery/
  • June - Chanute Air Force Base
    Chanute Air Force Base
    Chanute Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located south of and adjacent to Rantoul, Illinois, about south of Chicago. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training....

     in Rantoul, Illinois
    Rantoul, Illinois
    Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,674 at the 2010 census. The present mayor is Neal Williams, who was re-elected in 2009...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/abandoned/chanute-air-force-base/
  • July - Aux Sable Cemetery in Minooka, Illinois
    Minooka, Illinois
    Minooka is a village in Grundy, Kendall, and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,924 at the 2010 census. Minooka currently has two high schools in its district, a campus for juniors and seniors and a newer campus for freshman and sophomores. Minooka School District 201 ...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/aux-sable-cemetery/
  • August - Cumberland Cemetery in Wenona, Illinois
    Wenona, Illinois
    Wenona is a city in Marshall and LaSalle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 1,065 at the 2000 census.The Marshall County portion of Wenona is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the small portion that lies in LaSalle County is part of the...

     http://trueillinoishaunts.com/haunted-places/cemeteries/cumberland-cemetery/



2010



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