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Chicago Ghost Tour - Chicago, IL June 17th, 2008
Plains Paranormal Examines Chicago’s Paranormal World
Many cities claim to be haunted. Of those, quite of few would claim that the City of Chicago is one of the most haunted places in the world. The city’s history ripe with its tragedies, curses, and general bad luck (see the Chicago Cubs) has created necessary emotion to seemingly spawn paranormal activity. Helping to fuel this hotbed of paranormal activity is Lake Michigan and the Chicago River, which separates into the North and South Branches and effectively divides the city into thirds. This moving water provides some of the needed energy for spirits to manifest in this material world. Another geological feature that may enable Chicago to be a hotbed of paranormal activity is the wealth of limestone underlying the city. Some believe that limestone (and quartz) can store energy from periods of high emotion. This allows for their release as paranormal activity. Others believe that the properties in quartz and limestone help focus or heighten paranormal energy. Either way, Chicago it would seem has all the necessary components to foster ghostly activity. This may be true, as Chicago is not lacking for ghost stories. In June of 2008, Joe, Rachael, and Tim had the chance to explore these ghost stories by examining the following locations in and around the City of Chicago over the course of a week. Here is what we heard and learned in our travels to these infamous Chicago haunts. (We would be remiss in our duties if we did not acknowledge our indebtedness to the work and passion of Ursula Bielski whose books and tour, Ghost Tours of Chicago, made much of this possible. Take a ride on Ursula’s black bus.)
The Great Chicago Fire
From Sunday October 8, 1871 to the early morning of Tuesday October 10, the Great Chicago fire, fueled by strong southerly winds, killed hundreds and destroyed four square miles in the city. This tragedy has forever scarred the city’s psyche and has profoundly impacted the city, even to this day. The rebuilding effort that followed propelled Chicago into the 20th century and brought the World’s Fair to the city 22 years later. While the fire did start in the barn owned by the O’Leary’s, the legend that the fire started from a family cow kicking a lantern over is entirely false. No one knows the exact cause of the fire for sure. Catherine O’Leary was an easy scapegoat considering her immigrant Catholic background. As a result, she was even the victim of a fabricated story by a reporter who thought that the idea of a cow kicking over a lantern would make good copy. Rumors of a fight within the barn that knocked over a lantern still persist. It seems that the barn on 137 DeKoven Street was notorious as a place for its late night card games. Another story that has come to light is that a local vagrant named Daniel “Pegleg” Sullivan may have started the fire accidentally while stealing milk. Another explanation to the cause of the fire was the breakup of a comet that tore apart over the Midwest and rained down balls of fire below. Large fires started simultaneously in Peshtigo, Wisconsin and the Michigan towns of Holland and Manistee. (The Peshtigo Fire was considerably larger and more deadly, but given the remoteness of the region at the time, little was mentioned in the press.) Whatever the cause, the fire was certainly enabled by the drought-like conditions that prevailed at the time in the Midwest. The City of Chicago’s overuse of wood for building, sidewalks, and streets also contributed to the severity of the blaze. When the fire did start, local firefighters were slow to react because they were tired from a previous day’s fire. The fire quickly spread through the wooden buildings on the southwest side of present-day downtown. Strong, dry winds drove the fire rapidly to the northeast. Most people in the city believed that the Chicago River would contain the fire to the southern portion of the city. Unfortunately the strong winds drove the embers easily over the river, which allowed the fire to spread quickly to the north, surprising many that remained in the city. The city and its fire department were helpless to the stop the blaze as it raged out of control. Many fled to Lincoln Park or the shores of Lake Michigan to escape the flames. Late Monday night a slight rain fell and the fire died out. Ironically, a fire station resides on the site of the O’Leary farmhouse and a statue of a flame memorializes the event. In the end, 2,000 acres in the heart of the city were destroyed. 125 bodies were recovered and there was an estimated total of 200-300 dead. Ultimately, many of the dead (among others) were buried in cemetery that was located in present day Lincoln Park on West LaSalle Drive and North Lake Shore Drive. However, as the city expanded, the cemetery was haphazardly moved out of this location. A large mausoleum still conspicuously resides there. (Apparently, the family didn’t want it moved and since the mausoleum was too large and cumbersome, it remains on the edge of Lincoln Park.) But while all of the tombstones were moved, many of the bodies were not. Bodies were periodically unearthed over the years. For example, four bodies were discovered during construction of the parking structure on Stockton Drive on the southwest corner of Lincoln Park. Needless to say, this parking structure and Lincoln Park have had many reports of paranormal activity as a result. Even the Lincoln Park Zoo is not immune to this activity as many claim to have witnessed strange events in the park. Some even say that there are very uncomfortable in the park at night and many will not stay past sunset. Even the unexplained deaths of many zoo animals have been attributed to the removal of the cemetery. Iroquois Theater Another site of prominence in Chicago’s tragic history was the fire in the Iroquois Theater on December 30,1903. Located at Randolph and Dearborn, the theater was believed to be fireproof. However, faulty wiring started a fire that killed hundreds of people during a performance by Vaudeville comedian Eddie Foy. Making the event even more tragic was that the theater contained large numbers of children who were there for the afternoon performance during the holiday season. Today, the site of the old theater, now home to the Ford Theater, is believed to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. The city heralded the arrival of the new theater as a gem to the city. The theater was patterned after the Opera Cominque in Paris and had an interior that was rich in marble, gold leaf, stained glass, and polished wood. Beyond the amenities, the theater was purported to be fireproof as well. Twenty-five exits allowed the theater to be evacuated in five minutes and an asbestos curtain protected the audience from the stage. But the wood seats with hemp-filled cushions and the lack of any fire alarms were not taken into account. Further, given the rush to complete the theater for the holiday season, many of the safety precautions were not in place or neglected entirely. While the theater’s capacity was listed as 1,600 persons, it was believed that there were over 2,000 - ticket holders in attendance as well as a few hundred others associated with the theater’s operation and the show’s production. On that fateful morning between the first and second acts, sparks descended from an above light and ignited a velvet curtain. Astonishingly, the audience wrongly assumed that the fire was merely part of Eddie Foy’s act and stayed seated. Efforts were made to contain the fire and organizers urged the patrons to remain calm and seated. The asbestos curtain was lowered, but snagged halfway down. Soon the lights went off and smoke began to fill the room. Panic ensued. People blindly dashed for the exits in the dark. To make matters even worse, it is widely reported that in order to prevent people from sneaking into the performance, all the doors to the theater were locked. In the confusion and thinning oxygen, chaos reigned as many were trampled to death especially in front of the locked exits. Many of those in the theater’s balcony level leaped to their death in the alley behind the theater.
When firefighters did arrive, they thought perhaps the call had been a false alarm. It was not until that they could not open the theater doors due to the numbers of bodies stacked against them that the firemen realized the gravity of the situation. In all 572 people died with 150 people being found in the alley, which was dubbed “Death Alley.” Reports indicate that the bodies were stacked five deep in the alley. In the great Chicago tradition of corruption, the investigation resulted in a cover-up by city officials and blame was never assigned. No monies were ever collected by the family’s civil cases, and no charges were ever filed. A bronze relief memorializes the event. Unfortunately, there are no markings to signify the loss. Today, the theater’s front is benign enough with attractive lighting and signage to lure in tourists. Only knowledge of what once was dims the theater’s veneer. Moving toward the rear alley where the bodies were once layered upon each other is like stepping back in time. It is not hard to imagine what was here. Paved in dark brick and lined by brick walls, “Death Alley” devours light and cast shadows hidden away from the orange glow of the bustling city. Pedestrians pass by quickly and rarely look in. Some say a “darkness” still persists in the alley and it is hard to argue. Reports of the smell of smoke, screaming, cold spots, and even apparitions in the theater and alley are frequent. Unfortunately, we had no experiences or evidence captured in our visit.
Eastland Disaster and Harpo Studios
On July 24th, 1915, the Western Electric Company of Chicago chartered the Eastland and two other steamers to take employees to a picnic in Michigan City, Indiana. The event was special for the workers who often received no vacation time or any other perks. Most of the passengers on the Eastland were Czech immigrants. It should be noted that following the Titanic disaster, most boats were required to have lifeboats added to their decks. However, the Eastland was already so top-heavy that adding lifeboats would further exacerbate the situation and many were left off the boat. On that fateful morning, 2752 passengers boarded the Eastland between Clark and LaSalle streets. The capacity of the ship was 2,500.) As most passengers remained on the deck to enjoy the fresh air and city views, the boat began to list to the port side away from the wharf. The crew attempted to stabilize the ship by adding water to its ballast tanks, but this procedure was unsuccessful. For whatever reason, the ship lurched sharply and then rolled onto its side. Some attribute the sudden lurch to a crowd of people rushing to the port side to watch a passing canoe race. Whatever the reason, water rushed into the ship and held it to the bottom of the river effectively trapping many who had remained below deck because of the cool, damp morning. Furniture toppled over and crushed the passengers and it blocked passageways preventing escape. 841 passengers and crew (including 22 families) died that day. The recovered bodies were taken to cold storage warehouse that is now home to Harpo Studies and the Oprah Winfrey Show and to a cold storage warehouse across the river (which still exists). Today all the locations associated with the Eastland Disaster are known for paranormal activity. The river warehouse, especially the first floor where the coolers were located, has experienced activity.
On the Riverwalk, reports of floating bodies are phoned into the police yet police find none upon arrival. Strange lights and faces often appear in the water below.
Standing there looking down, it is hard to imagine the river looking vastly different now. A mental picture of a ship lying lifeless on its side below the river walk is not hard to imagine. The warehouse across the river where the bodies were stored maintains its original stone front (having survived the Chicago Fire.) and concentrates the grief and tragedy. That day we experienced nothing more than a sense of reverence and loss at the river’s edge. Although she filmed a show featuring the paranormal activity in her studios, Oprah does not grant interviews on her experiences and is notoriously tightlipped on the subject. However reports of the manipulation of objects and full-bodied apparitions are believed to have occurred in the confines of her Harpo Studios in the West Loop. There are those who believe that the connection to the Eastland disaster have contributed to the reports of paranormal activity there.
Hull House
Real estate magnate, Charles J. Hull, built the Hull House in 1856. The building was once located in a desirable section of Chicago’s Westside, but the rapid influx of immigrants to the neighborhood strained the community and made it a blight. By 1889, the building had succumbed to time and a lack of upkeep. Hull left the house to his niece who turned it over on a 25 year, rent-free lease to Jane Addams, famed social worker. For the next forty-five years, restorations were continuously made to the building. During its peak, the Hull House had 13 buildings housing it facilities. In 1963, the University of Illinois-Chicago purchased the building. Because of the Hull House’s social, educational, and artistic programs, it earned a reputation as the best-known settlement house in the U.S. and became the standard bearer for the movement that included almost 500 settlements nationally by 1920. When Jane Addams opened the Hull House in 1889 to help integrate immigrants into society, she strongly discouraged legends and stories from the old world being shared among the immigrants living there. She felt that these old tales kept the immigrants from letting go of old ties. Also, she did not believe in ghosts, but admitted that many believed that the Hull House was haunted. Today, many claim that the Hull House, located on Halsted on the campus of the University Illinois-Chicago, may be the most haunted location in the city. Windows shatter out onto the garden late at night, shutters open and close when the building is empty, lights turn on and off, and motion detectors sense movement where there is none. Some even say they have seen a woman in white, descending the staircase in front hall, leaving some to wonder if Jane Addams is still residing there.
Perhaps facilitating the paranormal activity at the Hull House is the belief that there is a portal to the netherworld where the present day fountain is located. (If it is a portal to the netherworld, it isn’t very exciting after a casual inspection.) The most infamous haunting of the Hull House is the legend of the Devil Baby. Despite her repeated denials, the story of the demon baby persisted. Given that the work of Addams was so well known in the community, especially her interests in women’s and children’s rights, immigrant mothers were attracted to the mission of the Hull House. Legend has it that a pregnant, immigrant woman fled to the Hull House to escape an abusive marriage. Interestingly, the husband at on point supposedly said that he would rather have the devil in his house than a picture of the Virgin Mary. The woman’s pregnancy was a difficult one. She complained of strong and unusual pains, vivid nightmares, and hearing voices. The birth revealed a child with a tail, scales, black eyes, clawed hands and feet, horns and was cold to the touch. Apparently due to the shock, the mother died on the spot. Addams, a responsible social worker, kept the baby at the Hull House to raise it. Many in the house felt an evil was present and growing, and word was leaked to the public. Orphans at the Hull House would often awake to violent noises and heavy breathing only to find nothing there. The infant advanced into childhood and was isolated to the third floor of the Hull House where the child would look down at the other children playing. (Curiously, the third floor addition constructed by Addams has since been removed from the Hull House.) Today reports of a red-eyed child looking out from behind the curtains are common. Also, it should be mentioned that the legend of the Hull House Devil Baby was the inspiration for the book “Rosemary’s Baby.”
Abraham Lincoln’s Train On May 1, 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train made a final stop in Chicago before reaching its destination, Springfield, Ill. Union soldiers, townspeople, officials—everyone came out to the tracks near Roosevelt Road to meet the train and pay their respects. However, that was not the last time that Lincoln’s funeral train was seen. Chicago residents campout on May 1 every year at this site to see Lincoln’s ghostly funeral train arrive. People went to see the Union soldiers and their 1860s counterparts until sometime in the 1970s, when the train disappeared into thin air for the last time.
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre On the west side of the 2100 block of North Clark, there sits an anonymous patch of green space next to a nondescript parking lot. Trees hide the residences and businesses to the east. Fittingly an antiques store, bar, and greasy spoon can be found immediately to the south. This spot was the location of the infamous St. Valentines Day massacre. There are no memorials or even architectural remains to perhaps the most infamous mob murder other than a line on an outer wall where bricks to a garage once rested. On a brutally cold Chicago morning, a group of mafia types and wannabe’s took retreat from the snowy morning inside the garage while they waited for a truckload of hijacked whiskey from Detroit. Johnny May, who was employed as a mechanic by George “Bugs” Moran, worked under a truck while his dog, Highball, was tethered to the truck’s axle. No one noticed that a police car had pulled up to the garage, except Moran who was late for the meeting. As Moran did eventually arrive, he saw the police and fled quietly to his home at the Parkway Hotel. Four men emerged from the police car: two in uniform and two in plain clothes. After the sound of gunfire rang out, the four men left the scene. May’s dog, Highball, howled loudly as the men drove off. Moran’s men had been lined up against the rear brick wall of the garage and were mowed down by machine gun fire. Astonishingly three of the men survived the immediate attack, but none would speak to the police. Police ultimately questioned Frank Gusenberg, who had managed to crawl 20 feet. True to form, he remarkably denied that he was even shot at all and when pressed, he responded, “I ain’t no copper.” Chicago crime boss Al Capone denied involvement. However, when the names of the gunmen were later discovered, they were known Capone associates and ultimately he was implicated. In 1960, the building was demolished. A Canadian businessman named George Patay bought the bricks and built them into the wall of his nightclub. After the renovation, he began to experience what best could be described as “bad luck” Almost immediately, he sold the bricks to crime buffs. Rumors surfaced that anyone who had purchased the bricks was also seemingly a victim of bad luck: money, health, and family problems primarily. The site seems equally affected as well. From time to time, reports of violent screams and gunshots are heard where the garage once stood. Dog owners often note that pets growl or bark at the barren space for no apparent reason. Lights and mists are also said to be visible from time to time. On our visit, to the Lincoln Park location, Rachael did catch a white orb on her camera:
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