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The year was 1866, just 2 years after the civil war had ended. Most of the South and parts of the North were trying
to rebuild after this dreadful occurrence. The country had been torn to shreds. Even here in Illinois you could see the
aftermath of its hellish destruction. The City of Roodhouse had just been founded and the town began to grow very
quickly with the help of a large railroad system that had been built right through the middle of town. Each week
hundreds of passengers would pass through this booming little town and things seemed to be going pretty good.

Until, one rainy day, a new stranger rode into town. Hezekiah Hangmen was his name, a very wealthy land and cattle
owner from the deep south. Now, Hezekiah had a lot of money staked into this railroad. He was going to make damn
sure that it went as far west as it could possibly go and no one was going to stop it. Hezekiah was a man known for his
short temper and quick finger. He would gun you down without even thinking twice just for looking at him sideways.

Hezekiah knew that with this new railroad station in Roodhouse, there would be a lot of people needing a place to stay
as they passed through town. so, he decided to build the Hangmen's Hotel. The Hangmen's Hotel was a very lavish place
for 1866 as it had all the fixins of one of those big city hotels but centrally located right here in Illinois. Why, some of
the wealthiest men and women in the country have stayed here while traveling west. Including the then current
president Andrew Johnson.

One day in the summer of 1867 a train traveling westward made a stop here in Roodhouse and aboard the train was a
beautiful young lady from New York named Elizabeth Myers. She was passing through on her way to Tombstone,
Arizona. After a brief stop in Roodhouse, Elizabeth got to see the countryside and enjoyed it so much that she checked
into the hotel and stayed a while. After a few weeks of getting to know each other, Hezekiah began to court Elizabeth
and the two were a match made in heaven. They both fell madly in love with each other and in the summer of 1868
they got married and life seemed a little too perfect.

Now, Elizabeth didn't know about Hezekiah's temper or his bloody past. She only knew that the man she married was a
tall, handsome, god fearin' man. She had no idea that he was personally responsible for several murders and had given
the order to slaughter hundreds of Indians for their land so his glorious railroad could go west. Elizabeth nor Hezekiah
knew that all of his sins were about to catch up with him.

One brisk October night in the fall of 1869, a small band of Mohican Indians had made their way into Roodhouse looking
to avenge the deaths of their people and Hezekiah was their target. But, Hezekiah wasn't anywhere to be found as he
had left town that morning headed for St. Louis to do some business and wasn't due back for another couple of days. The
Mohican Indians were determined to leave a message for Hezakiah, one that the whole town would never forget. The
Mohicans slaughtered every man, woman and child they could find. When their raid had landed on the step of The
Hangmen's Hotel, Elizabeth was inside, unaware of her impending doom.

After destroying most of the hotel and setting it ablaze, they beat and tortured Elizabeth. Only keeping her alive just
long enough to punish her for her husband's sins. When Hezekiah returned 2 days later, the sight he saw as he rode
through town was enough to make any man's stomach turn. When he arrived at his hotel, there was his beloved
Elizabeth, strung up by her intestines wrapped around her wrists and ankles hanging from the front porch. Hezekiah fell
from his black stead, crawling to the front steps too afraid to look up at what was left of his Elizabeth. On his knee's
with a tear in his eye he vowed that her death would not go unpunished. That he would hunt down and kill everyone in
his path until his soul was so full of killing that it couldn't hold anymore. And that's exactly what he did.

Hezekiah went on a killing spree across 3 states that left hundreds dead. Finally, on the night of October 31, 1869
Hezekiah had returned to his hotel in Roodhouse where it all began. Little did he know but a posse of U.S. Marshalls
had been hot on his trail following him back to Roodhouse waiting for the right time to strike. They surrounded the
hotel and waited for Hezekiah to make his move. As Hezekiah stepped out on the porch of the hotel, gun shots rang out
into the cold dead night. Hezekiah was gunned down and killed in the same spot that his beloved Elizabeth had been.

For the past 140 years legend has it that ole' Hezekiah's killing sprees has not ended as he is still seeking vengeance for
his beloved Elizabeth. It is said that he still walks the halls of this old hotel seeking revenge on anyone who dares to
enter and that he will keep on killing until that soul of his is completely full.

The Legend of Hangmen's Hotel