The Elks Lodge in Carmi, Illinois will be hosting Spirits with Spirits, A Conversation on Ghosts, Witches & Strange occurrences in My Hometown, with Todd Atteberry on November 10 at seven p.m. Todd is the author of The Haunted History of Southern Illinois, The Folklore, Backroads & Graveyards of Little Egypt.
Todd is a native of Carmi, and has spent much of his life in the area. Along the way he listened to the stories of the old folks, and when he inexplicably found himself back here, he started looking into the eerie side of Carmi’s past.
As a photographer and writer specializing in historical and haunted subjects in the United States, Ireland and Britain, Todd has picked up on the folklore of the places he’s explored. “I always knew Carmi was weird,” Todd says, “but I didn’t realize how weird, or that we were actually famous for it at one time.”
This will be the first time in over a decade that he’s presented in his hometown. “I kept getting asked to do something in Carmi, and to be honest, I can’t imagine speaking in front of people I know without alcohol. It’s like being back in speech class. Or listening to me for an hour completely sober for that matter. So I’m very appreciative to the Elks for allowing it to happen there. Oh! And Karaoke is to follow.”
Todd’s photography and writing have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Herald, BBC, The Guardian, CNN, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Broadway World, Country Living Magazine, House Beautiful and Good Housekeeping. Past clients include: The Daughters of the American Revolution, The Civil War Trust, Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth Massachusetts, History Press, Historic Hudson Valley and the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow.
His writing and photography can be found at witcheryart.com.
Todd is also the author of Haunted Travels in the Hudson River Valley Of Washington Irving: The Sketch Books Vol. 1, A Year On Walt Whitman’s Long Island, and coming this spring, The Haunting of Long Island.
