Haunted Chicago
as the city’s main cemetery. Though many of the bodies interred here had been relocated by the time the Great Fire struck in 1871, the blaze destroyed the remaining wooden grave markers. Today the park’s verdant lawns and playing fields may conceal as many as 10,000 unmarked graves.
500-5700 N Lake Shore Dr
THE WATER TOWER Legend has it that as the Great Chicago Fire ravaged
Michigan Avenue, one noble soul stayed behind to man the water. When the flames encroached upon the tower, the lone pumpman climbed to the top and hanged himself rather than burn to death. Today it’s said an apparition can sometimes be seen hanging from the tower’s rafters. Bielski says the structure’s paranormality might relate to the material it’s made of. “Limestone has always been known to have some quality about it that holds onto energy, so we actually see things replay themselves like video tapes,” she says. 806 N Michigan Ave
BATTLE OF FORT DEARBORN SITE The 1812 evacuation of the American military fort
and small settlement that once stood at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive turned deadly when the retreating column was ambushed by Potawatomi warriors near what’s now the Prairie Avenue District. Sixty-eight were killed, women and children among them. It’s said that in the 1980s, excavation work at the site (now a
Time Out Chicago September–November 2016
commemorative park) uncovered human remains dating to this violent episode; since then, there have been reports of apparitions in 19th-century dress who wander the area.
1801 S Calumet Ave
THE EASTLAND DISASTER SITE Shortly after boarding for a company outing to Michigan City on July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland capsized in the Chicago River between LaSalle and Clark Streets, claiming 844 lives. “The trauma suffered by those who died at the site left an impression behind, stored up energy,” says Taylor. Since then, it seems some passersby—many with no awareness of the tragedy— have perceived this energy, reporting feeling panicked or compelled to jump into the water. The 2nd Regiment Armory, known more recently as Harpo Studios, served as a makeshift morgue after the disaster. Bielski once applied a contact microphone to the building’s walls. “We managed to record actual voices that seemed to be talking about the Eastland Disaster. There was a woman’s voice that said, ‘Died on the water ship,’ and
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THE RED LION PUB When a brand-new iteration of this Lincoln Park institution launched in 2014, some say it didn’t take long for the original pub’s spirits to show up. Among them is Sharon, the ghost of a woman alleged to have died of measles in 1959, when the site was residential. According to Jim Bergstrom, a magician and paranormal researcher who doubles as a server there, Sharon is mischievous; she might topple books from shelves, interfere with the sound system or even open latched windows. On Saturdays, Bergstrom hosts Manifestations, a dinner show that explores the pub’s supernatural side. 2446 N Lincoln Ave
PHOTOGRAPH: ANDREW NAWROCKI
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