David Cloyd was born on September 9, 1834 in Rantoul, IL. He was the first and only child to Dr. Cyril Cloyd and his wife, Abigail. Dr. Cloyd was the local physician and was well respected in the community. The Cloyds lived above Cyril’s office in Downtown Rantoul and by all accounts, they seemed like a typical small town family. But after David was born, things began to change. The child was very despondent and sad, and by age 5, David still hadn’t spoken a word. Cyril tried everything he could to determine what might be wrong but when David didn’t respond, he turned upset and even angry. Finally, after 10 years of trying to help David, Cyril had enough. He locked David in the old basement below the office and cut off all contact with the outside world. From time to time the Cloyds would claim to here strange sounds and screams coming from the basement, but when they looked through the door, David was just sitting at the foot of the steps, with a blank, expressionless look on his face.
According to the Cloyd’s, David died on October 26th, 1853 at the age of 19 .The family never had a funeral and nobody knows how he died, but local legend insists that David’s angry corpse lives in the basement of the old building. Dr. and Mrs. Cloyd were both found dead in March of 1865, though authorities wouldn’t release details of the gruesome scene, only that they had trouble identifying the bodies.
The old building has housed many businesses over the last century, but it has been the home of The Aquarium Pet Shop for the last 13 years. Jerry, the owner, has never been down to the basement, but he reports that strange sounds can be heard at times. Some say that other creatures live down in the dungeon with David, but few have had the nerve to find out. This year, in October, Jerry is going to open the Haunted Dungeon to the public. Anybody with the guts to wander into the dungeon is invited to explore the old basement. Maybe this year the rumors will be dispelled once and for all………