Frysinger House
507 S. Bench Street
The first owner of the home was Jacob Frysinger. The Greek Revival structure was built in 1845 with a common wall between the two homes. The building is basically unaltered.
“Refreshing Spirits”
Courtesy of the Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society; Ghosts of Galena book available at the Museum gift shop. Courtesy of the Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society; Ghosts of Galena book available at the Museum gift shop.
In 1964 Tom and Wendy purchased a fine old duplex on one of Galena‘s oldest streets. The house was in ill repair and they found themselves redoing the wiring, plumbing, and heating. But it was worth it. The house has three floors: the basement level with its recreation room; the first floor with its living room, family/dining room and kitchen; an open staircase leading to the second floor with its bath, three bedrooms and a sunporch off the master bedroom; and finally, another open staircase leading to the third floor with two additional bedrooms
When Tom and Wendy first moved in, they had a two year old daughter named Heather. They lived in the house from August 1964 to December of that year with no unusual happenings. Then one evening in December they were lying in bed when they heard footsteps walking above them on the third floor. They went to investigate but found no one.
They returned to their bedroom only to have the footsteps start up again! This became a regular occurrence. The family had the room checked for loose boards, windows that could rattle and anything else that might explain the footsteps. They found no answer.
At this point the family excepted the fact that their house must be haunted. Wendy noted that she was a person frightened of her own shadow, yet this “ghost” never made her feel unsafe.
In 1969 more strange things began to happen. Tom came home from work and parked his car across the street from the house. It was late at night, and he noted that the light was on in the sunporch. When he entered the house and found his daughters and wife watching TV he reminded them that they had left the light on.
Wendy told him, however, that both she and the girls had just arrived home and had not been to the second floor. Tom then went to the second floor only to find that the light had been turned off! The problem with the lights continued. The family called in electricians to see if there was a wiring problem. There was not!
In 1970 with their younger daughter Lisa in preschool and their older daughter in kindergarten, Wendy decided to get a part-time job. She worked in the afternoon while the girls were in school. She was very meticulous about making the beds every day before she went to work. One day she came home from work and went upstairs to her bedroom to change clothes and found that the bed had been turned down— just like a maid would do it! Wendy had no explanation since neither she nor the girls had been in the house since the bed was made. These episodes continued for over a month!
Friends suggested that possibly the family’s two French poodles were responsible. “This is not possible,”Wendy would reply, “because when the family is not at home the poodles are closed in the kitchen with a four-foot gate. There is no way small toy poodles could jump over the gate. “
In 1971 the family planned a vacation out west. Tom wanted to take some cash along in addition to travelers checks. He went to the bank the night before and got $300 in cash. He returned home and put the cash in plain sight on top of the stereo in the living room. The entire family left the house the next morning for their vacation.
About 100 miles from home, Tom asked Wendy if she had picked up the money. She had not. They were too far from home to return, so they continued on their two-week journey.
Their house was secure, for when they purchased the home, Tom changed all the locks on the doors, so that no previous owner would have a key. Before leaving on vacation, he also checked all the windows (on which he had installed additional latches) and doors to make sure they were locked.
When the family returned from vacation the house was still secure. There was no signs of forced entry. When they entered the living room, however, they found an empty bottle of liquor (which had been in the bar in the basement) sitting on the coffee table! In the kitchen they found two glasses washed and placed in the dish rack to dry! The money was still sitting on the stereo in plain sight. There were numerous antiques and pieces of good jewelry in the house. Nothing had been touched. A break-in? They suspected not. It was, they are convinced, just their friendly ghost, checking out the spirits!