the cemetery. Experts say that the movement of the headstone is based on high water tables, causing the graves to become waterlogged, but they are unable to explain why the grave is moving toward the burial location of Butcher’s head.
visiting
The preschool area is completely off limits. Indian Hill is privately owned and plays host to young children at a preschool. Do not, under any circumstances, step onto this property to search for ghosts. Oak Hill Cemetery, however, is open from sunrise until sunset. You can enter the cemetery grounds to find the grave of Hermann Butcher.
OAK WOODS CEMETERY
1035 East 67th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637
directions
From the center of Chicago, take Lake Shore Drive to the south for about 5 miles to the 47th Street ramp. Turn right onto 47th Street and follow it for about 0.5 mile before turning left onto Woodlawn Avenue. Follow Woodlawn for another 2.5 miles before turning right onto East 67th Street. The cemetery will be on your left.
history
Oak Woods Cemetery is home to many famous people. Mayors of the city, as well as gangsters, Civil Rights activists, and scientists, are all buried here. One of the more famous burials is that of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. The ghost stories about this place do not focus on any of these famous folks, though; they focus on a piece of ground within the cemetery known as the Confederate Mound.
During the Civil War, one of the worst prison camps in American history was in Chicago and was called Camp Douglas (see Camp Douglas chapter). Poor conditions led to many Confederate POWs dying within the camp. Many died of disease. Some died from escape attempts or even starvation. By the end of the war and the closing of the camp, thousands upon thousands had died on this site.
Many of those who died here were buried in the Old North Side Cemetery. But when the city cemetery closed, the bodies of the Confederate dead were moved to other cemeteries throughout the city, including Rosehill and Graceland. The most significant number of dead were moved to Oak Woods Cemetery. At least 6,000 Confederate dead are buried around the central monument on the Confederate Mound. This is the largest collection of Confederate dead in the North.
ghost story
The cemetery is haunted by the ghosts of the soldiers that are buried here. People see men dressed in either Union or Confederate Civil War uniforms walking through the cemetery. These apparitions are most often seen near the Confederate Mound. These apparitions mysteriously vanish soon after they are first seen.
People also hear screaming coming from the cemetery during both day and night. Those who investigate the screams never find any source for them. Strange lights have also been seen throughout the cemetery at night. These balls of light are said to float through the cemetery, then suddenly blink out.
visiting
The cemetery is open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Saturday, and 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Sunday. You will be unable to enter the cemetery outside of these hours. The apparitions are most often seen within the cemetery during the day, so you can enter and look for the apparitions during regular hours. However, the screams and lights are most often experienced at night, and you will have to look for them from outside the cemetery gates.
QUEEN OF HEAVEN CEMETERY
1400 South Wolf Road, Hillside, Illinois 60162
directions
From the center of Chicago, take I-290 West for about 13 miles to Exit 16, the Wolf Road exit. Turn left onto South Frontage Road and then take a right onto Harrison Street. After a little less than 0.5 mile, turn left onto South Wolf Road. The Queen of Heaven Cemetery will be on your right after a little less than 1 mile.
history
Two historical events seem to affect the paranormal activity at this cemetery. One event is tragic, while the other is uplifting.
On December 1, 1958, shortly before classes let out for the day, a fire broke out at the foot of a stairway in Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago. While the school was officially in compliance with fire codes of the time, it was still somewhat of a death trap for those caught inside during the fire. There was only one fire escape and few exits from which people could escape. The second-floor windows were a full 25 feet from the ground. Many people were trapped and killed inside of the building. Many more were injured or killed from jumping out of the second-story windows. All told, 95 people were lost in the fire. Of those killed, 92 of them were children at the elementary school. The victims of the fire were buried at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
The other story about the cemetery involves a man named Joseph Reinholtz, who was mostly blind. He went to Bosnia Herzegovina to visit a Virgin Mary apparition site and, upon returning home, was again able to see. He went back to the site in Bosnia and spoke to a visionary there named Vicka, who told him to go home and find a large crucifix by a three-branched tree to pray. Joseph found a crucifix that matched the description in the Queen of Heaven Cemetery.
For two years, Joseph prayed at the crucifix until, on August 15, 1990, the Virgin Mary appeared to him there. On November 1, the Virgin Mary appeared to him again, along with four angels. For a while, Joseph would experience the apparitions almost daily and reported to have seen apparitions of Jesus and Saint Joseph as well.
Since this time, the cemetery has become a pilgrimage site, where more than 11 million people have come to try to experience the holy apparitions themselves. The Catholic church has not yet designated the location as an official apparition site.
ghost story
Besides the apparitions of the Christian figures that have been reported at the crucifix, several other strange things have reportedly happened at Queen of Heaven Cemetery since Joseph first saw the apparition in 1990. The hands and feet of the crucifix have reportedly bled in front of witnesses. Witnesses will smell a strong scent of roses when they are in the vicinity of the crucifix, even in the middle of winter and despite no roses being close by. Another strange occurrence involves a rosary turning to gold.
There are also strange things that happen at the Shrine of the Holy Innocents. People report hearing the voices of small children, as well as crying. Others say that they see strange balls of light floating around the shrine. Some have captured these balls of light on film.
visiting
While Joseph Reinholtz saw apparitions at this site quite often, he strangely never experienced the apparitions or any other strange events on Tuesdays. If you go to the cemetery, you may want to avoid going on Tuesdays because, apparently, this is the day when you are least likely to experience something
