annual food drive event - february 7, 2026
dead of winter NO. 27
AT THIS YEAR’S DEAD OF WINTER EVENT!
* Held at Franklin Lodge in Alton, Illinois
* FREE admission with canned goods!
* Ticketed After Hours Events
* Large Vendor Area — and More!
OUR ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE RETURNS!
franklin lodge
1513 WASHINGTON AVENUE
alton, illinois
fEBRUARY 7, 2026
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Join American Hauntings for the 27th Annual Dead of Winter Event — held each year in Alton, Illinois, this year at Franklin Lodge! Spend the day celebrating the spooky winter season of ghosts, hauntings, folklore, and legends while also supporting a great cause! Your generosity during this annual food drive will help to feed the hungry in the region during the coldest time of the year! So, join us at Franklin Lodge for this FREE daytime event! You’ll have the chance to be chilled by presentations on ghosts, hauntings, and the unexplained, meet speakers and authors, browse the vendor room, and make this one of the best days you’ll have all winter!
Don’t Forget Your Canned Goods and Non-Perishables to Help Local Food Banks!
Join us at Franklin Lodge for our line-up of speakers (see below), who will be appearing throughout the day, and then check out the vendor room downstairs, where you can shop for a variety of books and other items geared toward paranormal interests, including American Hauntings Ink!
There is no charge for general admission to the daytime events between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, but we hope we can count on you to bring along items to benefit local food banks in the area. The region has nearly 20,000 people in need, and more than 7,000 of them are children. We'll be donating all of the items collected to the local Alton food bank, so bring a canned good or non-perishable food item with you for entry to this eerie event!
ADMISSION & TICKETED AFTER HOURS EVENTS!
FREE GENERAL ADMISSION!
No Reservation is Needed! Bring a canned good or non-perishable item to be donated to local food banks. We’re also collecting for the local warming center, too! You’ll get FREE admission to general events and speakers during the day, plus access to the vendor room! We want to make this our biggest annual food drive so far, and we need your help to do it! See you on February 7!
VENDOR SPACES FOR DEAD OF WINTER 2026!
If you're looking for an audience of paranormal, ghost, and horror enthusiasts who are looking for books, shirts, souvenirs, antiques, oddities, unusual objects, and more -- this is a great event for you! Join us for our 27th year of the annual food drive and get ready for hundreds of people who want to spend money with you!
FEBRUARY 6 VIP EVENT AT THE NEW AMERICAN ODDITIES MUSEUM!
Join Troy Taylor at the new location of the American Oddities Museum and spend an evening with the lingering spirits of the building, along with a guided tour of the new museum by Troy Taylor, free drinks and snacks, and a DEAD OF WINTER 2026 shirt!
2026 DEAD OF WINTER SOUVENIR SHIRTS!
Included with your VIP EVENT ticket that will be held at the American Oddities Museum!
A limited number of sizes will be available for sale on February 7 — pre-orders for VIP EVENT ATTENDEES ONLY!
DEAD OF WINTER AFTER HOURS EVENT
THE DEVIL CAME TO ST. LOUIS
THE TRUE STORY OF THE 1949 EXORCISM
HELD AT FRANKLIN LODGE AFTER THE DAYTIME EVENT
6:00 PM
Join Troy Taylor for the UNCENSORED, true story of the 1949 St. Louis Exorcism! In this updated and eye-opening presentation, he reveals the full story for the first time, uncovering shocking details that have never been told before. UPDATED AND UNCENSORED!
DEAD OF WINTER AFTER HOURS EVENT
BLACK MIRROR SCRYING WORKSHOP
HELD AT FRANKLIN LODGE AFTER THE DAYTIME EVENTS
6:00 PM
Join investigators from America Hauntings as we explore this ancient method of spirit communication and a way to interpret messages using images and symbols. Traditionally, scrying is depicted as a form of fortune-telling, a way to peer beyond the present into the future to see what lies ahead, or even give insights into a past life. What will the mirror hold for you?
DEAD OF WINTER AFTER HOURS EVENTS
FRANKLIN LODGE GHOST HUNT
HELD AT FRANKLIN LODGE AFTER THE DAYTIME EVENTS | 9:00 PM
Mysterious footsteps when no one is there. Strange figures moving in the shadows. Doors that open and close. Voices that cannot be explained. And that’s just the beginning – and you can experience it for yourself.
Join American Hauntings for this late-night ghost hunt at a place where the
tenets of Freemasonry have thrived in this historic building, and it’s never been without an undercurrent of the mystical that plays host to masons of the past!
DEAD OF WINTER SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9:00 AM: DOORS OPEN FOR VENDORS AND SEATING
10:00 AM: WELCOME TO DEAD OF WINTER 2026 (TROY TAYLOR)
10:30 AM: LIVE RECORDING WITH TROY AND CODY (AMERICAN HAUNTINGS PODCAST)
11:30 AM: BRANDON SCHEXNAYDER
12:30 – 1:30 PM: LUNCH BREAK
1:30 PM: TED WILLIAMS & ROBYN DAVIS (HAUNTED GALENA)
2:30 PM: NICOLE GRAELER / ST. LOUIS HAUNTED MANSION
3:30 PM: TROY TAYLOR
VISIT OUR SPONSORS AND VENDORS!
* GET A RAFFLE TICKET AT THE ALTON WARMING CENTER TABLE!
* GET GREAT STUFF FROM ALL OUR VENDORS THIS YEAR!
AFTER HOURS AVAILABLE ABOVE:
FEBRUARY 6 - 7:00 PM: VIP EVENT AT THE NEW AMERICAN ODDITIES MUSEUM
FEBRUARY 7 AFTER HOURS EVENTS
6:00 PM: THE DEVIL CAME TO ST. LOUIS DINNER
6:00 PM: BLACK MIRROR SCRYING WORKSHOP
9:00 PM: GHOST HUNT AT FRANKLIN LODGE
dead of winter 2026 speakers
TROY TAYLOR & CODY BECK: AMERICAN HAUNTINGS PODCAST
Annual Live Recording of the Dead of Winter Podcast — with questions and comments from YOU!
TED WILLIAMS & ROBYN DAVIS
The owners and hosts of the Haunted Galena Tours in Northern Illinois are at Dead of Winter for the first time, offering a strange collection of stories, tales, legends, and lore from Galena, the history Mississippi River town at the northwest corner of the state — a very haunted “sister city” to Alton! Ted and Robyn host an annual Haunted Galena Conference at the historic (and haunted) DeSoto House Hotel. Robyn has an undergrad degree in History and a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology. She blends these two disciplines to study the history of past events that have led to hauntings and interpret the motivation of those involved. Ted has been fascinated (and occasionally confronted) by the paranormal since his arrival in Galena in 1995, and has spent the last 20 years researching Galena history and the paranormal. Ted was also recently named Galena’s first Poet Laureate.
NICOLE GRAELER | ST. LOUIS HAUNTED MANSION
The owner of the St. Louis Haunted Mansion on South Broadway in St. Louis takes you behind the walls of this former landmark eatery with a long history of Prohibition, gangland connections, family tragedy, professional wrestling, bullet holes in the walls, untold secrets, and ghosts of the past that refuse to leave! You’ll hear more about the spirits that linger from the colorful past of the Chariton Cafe and find out about the face-to-face encounters with the former guests, diners, and staff members who have never left this place. A new and amazing location that you need to know about!
TROY TAYLOR
Troy Taylor is the author of more than 150 books on history, hauntings, true crime, the unexplained, and the supernatural in America. He is the founder of American Hauntings Ink, which offers books, events, and ghost tours, and is the owner of the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois. He is also the writer and co-host of the American Hauntings Podcast. He has appeared in numerous television shows and documentaries, and his book about the 1949 St. Louis Exorcism is currently under option to be turned into a film by a major production company.
hotel ROOMS for dead of winter
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS
2008 Homer Adams Parkway
Alton, Illinois
The Holiday Inn Express in Alton will be offering a special weekend rate for guests who are attending an "American Hauntings” event! Just call 618-796-6200 to book your room and enjoy the special rate, free breakfast, and much more. It's the official hotel of American Hauntings in Alton!