Chicago's Most Haunted
by freeandflawed - October 20, 2008
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Do you dance around to the theme of Ghostbusters? Have an unhealthy obsession with ghost hunter TV shows? Want to avoid dressing up? Do you lock your door, turn off the lights and hide from children? If you answered yes then you might want to pay close attention. Halloween is one of the funnest holidays of the year. With that said, you can only sit home watching that giant bowl of candy empty out for so long! Want to get out, but too old for trick-or-treating? How about a ghost tour? Chicago is home to many famous ghosts. Whether you join a group or investigate on your own these locations are sure to send chills down your spine.
Ghost Tours
You don’t have to believe in ghosts to enjoy a ghost tour, though it’s better if you do! Generally most tours take place at night and you’re with a large group of people. Still, I recommend bringing a buddy along, not only as comfort, but possibly as a witness!
Richard Crowe's Ghost Tours
Richard Crowe’s Ghost Tours are a lot of fun. Not only do you spend an evening in haunted places, you learn a lot about Chicago’s history. You’ll visit Resurrection Cemetery to learn about Resurrection Mary, the Biograph Theater to learn a bit of history about John Dillinger and of course, Hull House, just to name a few.
He offers a pub crawl ghost tour as well. You know what’s better than hunting ghosts? Hunting ghosts while drunk.
Whether you love them or you hate them, it’s pretty difficult not to get spooked. Call it the paranormal or hype, but a lot of people tend to experience spooky things while on this tour. I took a tour a few years ago. A woman in my group claimed to have felt a hand running up and down her back. Others have claimed to see faces in windows while at Hull House or heard gun shots at the location of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. I was so afraid that I made someone come into the bathroom with me when it was time to go!
It’s not all educational though. Our group stopped at the Billy Goat Tavern for some dinner and a story about the Cub’s Curse. We were able to shop a bit while in Chinatown and after our tour we hung out at a bar near Resurrection Cemetery, where, if you’re lucky, you’ll see Richard Crowe perform some karaoke!
Richard Crowe's website
Halloween night tours sell out fast! Be sure to plan ahead. You’re encouraged to bring your cameras along!
Discover haunted Chicago with Chicago Ghost Tours!
Their tours are based on Ursula Bielski’s, author of the “Chicago Haunts” series of books. During the tour you visit many of the places you’d see with Richard Crowe and then some!
Gallery
Visit the Chicago Ghost Tours gallery to see what the tour-goers found. Some of the pictures are quite chilling.
Weird Chicago Tours
Weird Chicago Tours teaches tour-goers about Chicago’s forgotten history, strange legends and mysterious hauntings.
Chicago Ghost Investigations
Go ghost hunting with this group. While on the tour, you’ll get a lesson in how to use real ghost hunting equipment. Hell, have a buddy record it and you just might feel like you’re on one of those Discovery Channel shows!
Want some more ghosts?
The following is a list of many of Chicago’s famous ghosts and haunted places.
Resurrection Mary
Limestone Ghosts
John Dillinger
The Eastland Disaster
The Iroquois Theater and Death Alley
Ghosts of Prairie Avenue
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Archer Avenue
Bachelors Grove
Bishop Muldoon
The Luetgert Sausage Factory Murder
Vanishing Hitchhikers
Rosehill Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery
Rico D’s
The Willowbrook Ballroom
Kaiser Hill
Chinatown
The Curse of Streeterville
Hull House
Archer Woods Cemetery
The Music Box Theater
Want to go on your own ghost tour?
Think you could do a better job on your own? Below are a list of some of Chicago’s most haunted locations for you to check out. Beware, many police officials are aware of these area’s attraction and don’t welcome visitors.
There's Something About Mary
Chicago’s most well known ghost is that of Anna Norkus, aka Resurrection Mary. After attending a dance at the Willowbrook Ballroom, she got into a fight with her boyfriend and began to hitchhike down Archer Avenue. Somewhere between the ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery she was struck and killed by a car.
The first sighting of Mary happened when Jerry Palus met a woman at a dance. He remembered her being cold to the touch. As he drove her home that night, she requested to drive along Archer Ave, near Resurrection Cemetery. As they neared the gates she began acting strange, left the car and ran. Before he could catch her she disappeared. Later he met a woman who mentioned her daughter had been dead for some time. When she showed him her photo, it was the girl he had been dancing with.
Many have claimed to see this blue-eyed, blonde-haired beauty. One went as far to call the police when he saw a girl apparently stuck inside of the cemetery gates. When the police officer arrived, no girl was to be found. Instead he discovered that two of the bars had been bent apart. When he looked at the bronze gates he noticed hand prints scorched into them. I believe the gates have since been replaced.
Bachelor's Grove Cemetery
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, located in Midlothian, IL, hasn’t been used for burials in a number of years, but is far from empty. If you were to ask any ghost hunter where to go, Bachelor’s Grove would be pretty high on their list of paranormal hot spots. In other words, this place will scare the crap out of you.
Knowing the stories associated with BG might make your experience more enjoyable. Can I say that about a haunted cemetery? BG was once considered a dumping ground for murder victims who were “taken for a ride” by 1920’s gangsters. One of the grove’s most famous ghosts is the White Lady (pictured above.) The picture was taken by a research group around 1990. The woman was said to be semi-transparent as well as wearing an outdated dress.
Other stories include a farmer who died after his horse got spooked and pulled him into the creek. A two-headed man and disappearing house also lurk around the now-abandoned cemetery. Faces in the mist and blue lights hopping from grave to grave have also been reported. Yeah, not creepy at all.
Bachelor's Grove
Be sure to check out the Ghost Research section and learn about visitors’ encounters with the cemetery.
Jane Addams Hull House
Being the lucky ghost hunter I am, Hull House just so happens to be on my school’s campus. In fact, I am looking through one of the windows right now. After Googling why this place was haunted, I decided it was not a good idea to look through the windows anymore.
Rumored to be haunted by Ms. Hull, the house is also said to be the place where the devil baby was born. Think Rosemary’s Baby! The house has since been turned into a museum, but it’s a frequent stop by amateur ghost hunters and skeptics alike.
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Good guide: More scary than Richard Scary children’s book; less scary than a Palin presidency.
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Very well done and spooky. I’ll read in more detail later.
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