story
A young couple gave birth to a baby that was struck with a terrible illness. The doctors told the parents that the child would not live to see its first birthday. Unwilling to give up on their baby, the parents decided to bring it to the grave of Mary Alice Quinn. They laid the baby on the grave and were suddenly overcome by the smell of fresh roses. The baby got better and has not been sick since. The parents called it a miracle.
Others have experienced the smell of fresh roses when walking near the grave of Mary Alice Quinn. Others have reported actually seeing the ghost of the little girl. The ghost is said to appear in the form of a white mist or figure, which hovers over the top of the girl’s headstone.
visiting
You may only enter the cemetery during regular business hours. It is open 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. in the spring and summer, and 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. during the fall and winter. All of the paranormal activity in this cemetery is reported during these hours, mostly when the sun is shining at its brightest, so these hours are by no means limiting. Do not remove anything from the grave of Mary Alice Quinn.
MOUNT CARMEL 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, Wolf Road. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto South Frontage Road. Take your first right onto Harrison Street. Follow Harrison Street for about 0.5 mile before turning left onto South Wolf Road. The cemetery will be on your right. The haunted section of the cemetery is through the front gate and to your left.
history
The cemetery was consecrated in 1901 and has seen more than 225,000 burials since that time. There are more than 400 private mausoleums in the cemetery. This cemetery is also the final resting place of many of the area’s bishops, archbishops, and even a cardinal.
When you consider the ghost activity here, you may think that some of the cemetery’s other residents may have something to do with it. Mobsters and crime lords, including Hymie Weiss, Dean O’Bannion, Frank Nitti, Vincent Drucci, and the Genna Brothers, are all buried here. They are buried alongside perhaps the most famous mobster of all time, Al Capone, whose marker bears the simple epitaph, “My Jesus Mercy.”
Remarkably, the ghost stories at this cemetery don’t have anything to do with these dark figures from Chicago history. The ghost stories are about a young woman named Julia Buccola Petta. In 1921, at the age of 29, she passed away. Her mother was distraught and had a marker built for her daughter that not only had a statue of a bride, but also a photograph of her daughter in her wedding dress. Six years passed with Petta peacefully resting beneath her magnificent marker. Then, Petta’s mother started having dreams. In these dreams, Petta would come to her and tell her that she was still alive. These dreams haunted Petta’s mother, and she was eventually able to secure permission to exhume her daughter’s grave.
When they dug up Petta’s grave, they discovered that the coffin had begun to rot away. Petta had not decayed at all, though. She appeared the same as she had on the day that she died. Her mother took a photograph of the pristine body. The photograph of Petta, six years dead, was placed on the grave marker next to the photograph of Petta in her wedding dress.
ghost story
It seems that having been exhumed and photographed has upset young Julia Petta. Since the time of the exhumation, ghost stories have been circulating throughout this cemetery about her. People often report seeing a young woman in a white wedding dress walking around the cemetery near Petta’s grave. Many times, those who see her will describe the dress as having a glowing or ethereal look to it. When this strange figure is approached, it either slowly fades into nothingness or vanishes in a blink of an eye. Those who look at the photo of Petta on the gravestone know that the figure that they saw was Petta.
visiting
In order to find this ghost, you would have to enter the cemetery during normal business hours. The cemetery is open 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. daily. Do not attempt to enter the cemetery after 7 p.m. You will be arrested. In order to find the ghost here, you will first have to find Julia Petta’s grave. It’s located at Section A, Block 6, Lot W2, Grave 5.
MT. THABOR CEMETERY
5313 Mt. Thabor Road, Woodstock, Illinois 60098
directions
From the center of Chicago, take I-90 West for a little more than 45.5 miles to the IL-47 exit toward Woodstock. Follow IL-47 for about 8.5 miles to IL-176. Turn right onto IL-176 and follow that for about 1 mile before turning left onto Mt. Thabor Road. The cemetery will be on your right.
history
The property was originally owned by a man named Owen Dyer in the early- to mid-1800s. In 1846, Dyer sold an acre of his land to the Catholic church for $1. The Catholics erected a church on the property known as the “Little Church in the Bush.” As people in the parish began to die, the churchyard was used as a graveyard to bury locals in consecrated ground.
Eventually, the church fell into disuse and disrepair, and it was subsequently torn down. A large cross in the center of the cemetery marks where the church once stood. As of 1890, the cemetery fell into disuse, as well, due to its remote location. For a brief period of time in the 1960s, though, the cemetery was used to bury area babies who had died.
Since the cemetery is so remote, it became a magnet for vandals. Many times during the 20th century, the cemetery fell victim to their activity.
ghost story
At night, the cemetery is sometimes slowly overtaken by a thin green mist. Whenever this green mist overtakes the cemetery, people see shadowy figures walking through the mist. As the mist fades away, the figures are nowhere to be found.
Also at night, people witness balls of red, green, and white light floating through the cemetery. Sometimes, these balls of light appear in photographs, and other times, people see them with their naked eyes.
During the day, people feel cold spots manifest throughout the cemetery for no reason, even on the hottest of days. Witnesses also smell perfume throughout the cemetery.
visiting
There are no signs stating when the cemetery closes, and the gates are always open. Due to the instances of vandalism in this cemetery’s past, though, you may want to stay out of the cemetery after dark so that passing law enforcement does not get the wrong idea about your intentions. This is OK because many of the phenomena found inside this cemetery—the cold spots and perfume smell—happen during the day. The other ghostly happenings usually
