American Hauntings Dinner & Spirits
EVENING WITH THE GANGS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The Gangs of Southern Illinois
american oddities museum
Mineral Springs Hotel | Alton, Illinois
$46 Per Person
See Available Dates Below!
May 18, 2024 | 7:00 PM:
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June 29, 2024 | 7:00 PM:
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august 19, 2024 | 7:00 pm
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Join author Troy Taylor for another night of our “An Evening with…” series of events! This eerie evening will include a catered dinner, served in our private ballroom at the former hotel. After dinner, Troy Taylor, Troy will be presenting “An Evening with the Gangs of Southern Illinois,” a night of gambling, bootleg liquor, guns, ghosts, Charlie Birger, the Shelton Brothers, and more!
During the 1920s, the attention of the entire nation was often on Illinois – shocked by the bloodshed and carnage that was taking place on the streets of Chicago, where Al Capone and his cronies fought for control of liquor in the city. But the truth was, what was happening in Chicago couldn’t compare with the violence in Southern Illinois.
It was there that a gangster named Charlie Birger had selling bootleg liquor, running gambling houses and speakeasies, had shot a number and killed a number of men, and had been fighting an all-out, guns in the streets, bullets flying everywhere war with another gang -- Shelton brothers – for years. His fate would be sealed on the gallows while most of the Sheltons died from bullets after the fiercest fighting came to an end.
Amidst all the bloodshed – the gangs of Southern Illinois became legends, leaving behind stories of murder, mayhem, and ghosts! If you have a fascination with the bloody history of Illinois, this is a night you don’t want to miss!
About the Night
Join us at the Mineral Springs in Alton, Illinois for another great event!
- Doors open at 6:00 PM / Dinner starts at 7:00 PM
- Events held at the Mineral Springs Hotel Located at 301 East Broadway in Alton, Illinois
- Limited number of guests for each event
- 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
More About the “Gangs of Southern Illinois”
Violence had been common in the coal counties of Southern Illinois before the start of Prohibition in the 1920s but when many locals turned to bootlegging at the time, murder and mayhem went up a notch – especially after the Ku Klux Klan showed up in the region. They claimed they wanted to clean out the speakeasies and liquor stills, but they only seemed to raid those that belonged to immigrants and Catholics. The gangs that had organized to make and sell bootleg liquor now teamed up to fight the Klan – and this included Charlie Birger and the Shelton Brothers, two of the biggest rivals in the region. After numerous battles – which included an all-out assault on a hospital in the town of Herrin, Illinois – the Klan was ousted from the area and the gangs could return to bootlegging in peace.
But peace didn’t last long. Without a common enemy, the Sheltons and the Birger gang started fighting each other. Revenge murders became commonplace. Buildings were blown up. Bodies were found in woods and along deserted roads. The Sheltons not only rigged up an armored machine-gun truck, but they also tried to drop bombs on Charlie’s BBQ stand outside of Harrisburg. The first aerial assault in American history did not go off with a bang.
Charlie Birger was a hero to some and a villain to others, including the family of a state policeman named Lory Price, who disappeared with his wife, Ethel, in 1927 – leading to a lingering ghost story. It would finally be for ordering the murder of Joe Adams, mayor of West City, Illinois, that would earn Charlie a death sentence at his trial. Several appeals, and even a fake insanity plea, dragged the case out, but by April 1928, Charlie's fate had been sealed.
The Sheltons survived the war, but not the aftermath. They were killed one by one as the years went by, ending with the murder of Bernie Shelton outside a Peoria tavern where his ghost has been said to linger for years.
Don’t miss this night of murder and mayhem in Southern Illinois! “It’s a beautiful world,” Charlie said on the gallows just before he went to his death – and this is going to be an exciting – and sometimes eerie – night at the Mineral Springs!