DUST BOWL DESPERADOES!
PUBLIC ENEMIES!
AMERICAN ODDITIES MUSEUM
7:00 PM | Alton, Illinois
$48 Per Person
Next Available Date: MAY 9, 2026
Join author Troy Taylor for another night of our “An Evening with…” series of events! This eerie evening will include a catered dinner, served at the American Oddities Museum. After dinner, Troy Taylor will be presenting "Public Enemies," a thrilling account of American bandits and bank robbers from the 1930s and the ghosts and mysteries they left behind! Exciting and eerie accounts of John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, the Barker Gang, Pretty Boy Floyd, and more!
On this special night, we’ll delve into not only the wild rides of these outlaws across the Depression-era Midwest but the hauntings, legends, and lore that followed them to the grave!
About the Night
Join us at the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois for another great event!
- Doors open at 6:00 PM / Dinner starts at 7:00 PM
- Events held at the American Oddities Museum, Located at 301 Piasa Street in Alton, Illinois
- Buffet Dinner, includes two meats, two vegetables, pasta, salad, bread, and drinks
- Private Event in the American Oddities Museum, which will open at 6:00 Pm for browsing by guests before dinner
- American Hauntings Bookstore located in the Museum so books will be available for purchase and can be autographed by Troy Taylor
PUBLIC ENEMIES!
Presented by Troy Taylor
As the Roaring 20’s came to an end and America plunged into the Great Depression, celebrity outlaws began appearing on the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. Flashy bandits like Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson became familiar faces to people all over America. Over the course of just a handful of years, these bandits raided banks across the Midwest, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars and eluding lawmen and agents from the fledgling FBI. Wild reports of their exploits during stickups, jail breaks, shoot-outs, and high-speed car chases provided a welcome escape for Americans worn down by the hard times they faced and turned the bank robbers into legends. But in every case, the law caught up with them and their lives ended in violence and blood!
In this entertaining event, author Troy Taylor explores the mysteries that surrounded the lives and deaths of these Dust Bowl-era Desperados — and the ghostly stories left behind!
JOHN DILLINGER
Dillinger’s rise to “Public Enemy No. 1,” from his bank robberies to his narrow escapes from jails in Crown Point, Indiana, and impossible spots like Little Bohemia. Does his ghost haunt the Chicago alley where he died? Or is it someone else?
THE KANSAS CITY MASSACRE
What really happened outside Union Station in Kansas City — and does the ghost of one of the men who died that day still linger here?
BONNIE AND CLYDE
The true story of the star-crossed couple and their life of fast cars, gunfights, robbery, and romance! Amidst all the bloodshed, danger, and daring, Bonnie and Clyde became legends, leaving behind a troubling legacy of murder, mayhem, and even ghosts!
BABY FACE NELSON
The bloody story of the unhinged bank robber and the harrowing events that led to his death after a gun battle that stretched from Wisconsin to Illinois and left a lingering haunting behind!
THE BARKER GANG
The real-life story of the Barker Gang, Alvin Karpis, and the truth of “Ma Barker” and her “boys.” Explore the legends of the bank robbers and kidnappers, and the haunting of the house where the last of the gang met their blood-soaked end.
AND MORE!
This is one of the most exciting nights that Troy offers and you don’t want to miss it!