Tucked away in North Dupo, Illinois, just south of St. Louis, stands the Martin-Boismenue House, one of the oldest surviving homes in Illinois. Built around 1790 by French Canadian settler Pierre Martin, the small French Creole house offers a rare glimpse into life along the Mississippi River during the region's early settlement.

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The house was constructed using a distinctive poteaux-sur-sol, or “post-on-sill,” technique. Its vertical log walls rest on a stone foundation, while broad galleries surround portions of the home. Inside, the original structure contained two main rooms, fireplaces, an attic and a half-basement that likely served as a cooking area.

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For decades, the house remained a private residence. In 1980, it narrowly escaped demolition when workers removing modern siding discovered the remarkably preserved vertical-log structure underneath. Local preservationists organized quickly to save the building, eventually leading to its restoration. The Martin-Boismenue House was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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But the historic house has another reputation—one considerably darker.

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Local paranormal stories claim that voices have been heard inside the house, while others report seeing mysterious apparitions appearing on the galleries after dark. Paranormal investigators have also reported unusual EMF readings and unexplained responses from spirit-box equipment near the property. There are even legends of burials hidden somewhere beneath the old root cellar. None of these claims have been historically verified, but they have helped establish the Martin-Boismenue House as one of the area's intriguing haunted locations.

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Today, the house sits quietly as a remarkable piece of Illinois history. And perhaps that is what makes the stories so unsettling: after more than two centuries, some believe the Martin-Boismenue House may still have residents who never left.