The Nellie Dunton House

Belvidere, IL- In downtown Belvidere sits a big red brick house. It is a two-story rectangular home. It has a cupola and seven windows in the front. The sound of the Kishwaukee River flows through the backyard.

The community knows this house. Neighbors walk by to peek in. Police officers make special stops. Kids and adults on Halloween make it their priority to stop by to get candy. Random people will knock on the homeowners’ door, asking for tours.  

A YouTuber will secretly film the house across the street. The owners have seen the videos, so they try and mess with the YouTuber as much as possible.

This house gets a lot of attention. This is the Nellie Dunton House. It is believed Nellie Dunton haunts the house. The Dunton family lived here during the Civil War.

Most people who grew up in Belvidere are familiar with the tales of Nellie — a ghost who haunts the Kishwaukee River where she drowned.

Others have heard stories of strange occurrences that have happened in the house: floating flowers, stolen jewelry, and a woman’s screams near the river.

There are many different legends of Nellie. Most people believe she committed suicide by drowning herself in her wedding dress after her lover died in the Civil War. There are even rumors that she snatches the souls of children.

A local history specialist, Mindy Long, said, “It is true that Nellie drowned in the river behind her home, but she was a kind and gentle woman who would never dream of stealing children’s souls.”

Mindy researched Nellie’s life and death. Nellie was born on May 14, 1852. Her parents were William and Almira Dunton. They moved to Belvidere in 1846. They had three children: Mary, Nellie, and George.

William and Almira died in the house in the 1900s. Nellie stayed after her parents’ death.

Mindy said, “Nellie lived with a maid in the family home. She suffered from poor health, including insomnia and arthritis, and she was nearly blind.”

Historians say Nellie’s maid testified Nellie had a habit of wandering the house at night. In 1920, she was 68 when she drowned. The neighbor, George Belsey, found her body floating in the river in her nightgown.

Current homeowner Sandy Omiotek said, “She went to the river with her wedding gown on and then drowned. Was it suicide? No. I don’t think it was. I think it was because she has Alzheimer’s, and she didn’t know where she was.”

Mindy said, “She was far from a lonesome, depressed woman.”

Nellie participated in clubs and engaged in social activities in her community. She wrote for local articles and gave presentations on climate and geography.

The home became known as the Nellie Dunton House. The next residents to live in the house were the Beard family. They reported strange noises, unlit candles, a sense of being watched, and floating flowers.

In 1977, The Morning Star interviewed Ed and Donna Beard about their paranormal experiences.

Ed said, “After we were married, I had an encounter that really scared me. I came down the stairs and turned to head toward the kitchen, but as I looked down the hall, I saw a bouquet of dried flowers held in mid-air just ahead of me.”

Donna said, “These flowers have been thrown around several times. The bouquet was about three times that big when I put it in the conch shell. Each time they get thrown, more break.”

Sandy Omiotek and her husband, Richard, have lived in the house for eight years.

When they first came across the house, they thought it was perfect. Sandy wanted to be right by the river so she could kayak. They knew they wanted to buy the house before they visited it.

Richard Omiotek said, “We didn’t even know the house was haunted at that time.”

The first time they toured it, the phone rang randomly. The Omioteks thought it was strange because the house had been vacant for two years.

Sandy said, “My husband picked up the phone, and nobody was on the line.” 

Sandy and Richard found out it was haunted after they toured it. They went down the street to use a bathroom at a VFW. Sandy went inside and didn’t come back to the car after 25 minutes. She was talking to a lady who toured the house the same day the Omioteks visited.

Richard said, “10 minutes go by, 20 minutes go by, and I’m going, what the heck is going on? So, she comes back and goes, ‘Oh my god.’ The lady in there who I was talking to goes, ‘Oh my god, this house is haunted.”

The Omiotek’s bought the house in 2015.

“The people who owned the house before us, the Beards, they were here for 35 years,” Sandy said. “So, that’s how we knew this house was safe because who would be in a haunted house that’s like wicked haunted?” 

They have experienced several different types of paranormal activity. Doors slam, the sound of footsteps, smells of old perfume, random feelings of cold air, and flickering lights.

“After a while, you hear a noise and go, ‘Oh, that’s Nellie!” Sandy said.

Richard claimed he saw Nellie twice. He saw her in the parlor room of the house. That’s the room where they held Nellie’s dad, William’s, funeral.

“It was around Christmas time. She was in a long red dress with a white sash on it, and I saw her just behind my son for a second, and then she was gone,” Richard said. “The second time, this was around March. I was sitting in the chair watching TV, and I saw her reflection, but this time she was dressed in white.” 

Items in the house will go missing and appear out of nowhere after months of searching.

“I had a pair of earrings that had been missing for months and months,” Sandy said. “Then, one day around Christmas, they showed up in the kitchen right on the counter. That was really weird to me.”

Richard heard a woman’s voice twice in the parlor. The first time his dog was barking at a corner. He kept calling for his dog to come, but she wouldn’t listen. She just kept barking.

“She was barking at the corner over here, and I go, ‘Come on, Tipsy, lets go,’ and she took a couple steps, turned around again, and kept barking. I go, ‘That’s it. Come on. Lets go,’ and all of a sudden, Tipsy turned around and barked again, and I heard, ‘Really.’ It was a woman’s voice,” Richard said.

The Omiotek’s niece, Olivia Sibly, stays with them often. The first couple of times she stayed over, she was 15. This was around the time when Sandy and Richard bought the house. Olivia was staying over for a week. She sleeps in the guest room, where she claims someone has sat on the bed while she sleeps.

Olivia said, “I slept on an air mattress that entire week in that room. I never could relax at night because I always felt watched, so I usually stayed up until it was bright outside. Around the middle of the night, I always felt my bed sort of dip in from the center, and my butt and legs would start to cave in. Then it would stop like somebody sitting on my bed. That happened frequently and was one of the reasons I never really slept well there.”

Olivia was not the only one who experienced this activity in that room. Sandy’s friend Chris slept over and stayed in the guest room. He woke up in the middle of the night and saw a person in the room watching him.

Sandy and Richard are happy to live in their house. Sandy feels like Nellie protects the place.

The most recent tornado that went through Belvidere destroyed several houses, including the Apollo Theater. The Omiotek’s garage was destroyed, and their neighbor’s houses also got damaged.

“If there is a Nellie here, she’s never been anything but wonderful,” Sandy said. “I feel like with that storm that came through last week. I feel like she protected the house. The garage got smashed, but the house is safe.” 

Sandy and Richard love the community of Belvidere. Sandy is a part of the Historical Preservation Committee. She plants flowers all around town. They believe they belong here. “The house found us,” said Sandy.