Holy Sepulcher Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery and the Demon Butcher
ALGONQUIN CEMETERY
Cary Road and Route 31, Algonquin, Illinois 60102
directions
From the center of Chicago, take I-90 West for about 26.5 miles to the Roselle Road exit. Keep right on the ramp toward Palatine/Little City and merge onto North Roselle Road. After about 1 mile, turn left onto West Algonquin Road and follow it for about 13 miles. Turn right onto Main Street. After about 0.5 mile, turn right onto Cary Road. The cemetery is on both sides of Cary Road.
history
The first settler in the Algonquin area was a man named Samuel Gillilan, who built a log cabin on the site of the cemetery. Eventually, Gillilan passed away, and the site on both sides of Cary Road was used as the cemetery for the village of Algonquin.
There is a story about a man who lived in the area who raped a woman. The man died soon thereafter and was buried at Algonquin Cemetery. Many felt that his burial in the cemetery was too good an end for a rapist and wanted something worse for him. A priestess who lived in the area visited the cemetery and drew a circle around the rapist’s gravesite. She then cast a spell on the gravesite, forever binding the rapist to this spot.
ghost story
There are essentially two areas to find ghosts at this cemetery, but the section that borders Main Street, on the north side of Cary Road, houses the more pleasant ghosts. People have seen figures in this section of the cemetery and will often see orbs of light floating through the area at night. Voices are also heard in this part of the cemetery when there is no physical body present.
The other side of the cemetery, on the south side of Cary Road, has a much darker presence. The ghost of the rapist haunts this section of the cemetery but cannot leave the circle that was drawn by the priestess around his gravesite. If you stand on the gravesite of the rapist, you will apparently feel extreme discomfort. People who stand on the gravesite will report seeing figures running back and forth in the adjacent woods. Sometimes the ghost of a small boy will stand at the edge of the forest and watch anyone who stands on the rapist’s grave. Other visitors to the cemetery will see the apparition of a man in a black suit standing on the site of the rapist’s grave, watching any passersby menacingly. Angry whispers are heard in the area, and some people report being pushed by some unseen force or grabbed by the ankles when standing on or near the gravesite.
visiting
The cemetery is open from dawn until dusk, so it is closed at night. Your best bet for experiencing the ghost of the rapist is to go into the cemetery just before it closes at sunset. Many of the ghost legends surrounding this site occur at night, but you should not enter the cemetery after it closes or you will be subject to arrest for trespassing. The grave of the rapist is reportedly the one closest to the woods on the south side of the road that loops through the dark side of the cemetery. Some say that you can still see the vague imprint of a circle in the ground surrounding the gravesite.
The balls of light on the north side of the cemetery can be seen from Cary Road, which is, of course, open to the public throughout the night.
ARCHER WOODS CEMETERY
(MOUNT GLENWOOD MEMORY GARDENS WEST)
8301 Kean Avenue, Willow Springs, Illinois 60480
directions
From the center of Chicago, travel south on I-55 for 13.5 miles to the exit for US 12 East and South La Grange Road. Follow South La Grange Road for about 3 miles and then turn left onto W 87th Street. Take a left onto South Kean Avenue. The cemetery will be on your right after about 0.5 mile.
history
Not much is known about the history of the ghost that haunts this cemetery. The cemetery itself was established in 1920 and has been accepting burials since that time, so the ghost could belong to any one of the thousands of people who were buried here.
There are many old and interesting headstones and monuments within the cemetery. Perhaps the most interesting of these monuments is called the Garden of Hymns monument, a stone wall topped with organ pipes.
ghost story
This area is a notoriously haunted part of Chicago. It is near the haunted Archer Avenue, Willowbrook Ballroom, Resurrection Cemetery, the haunted intersection of Kean and 95th Street, and St. James Sag Cemetery. Several ghost stories circulate about this cemetery. The most famous ghost of Archer Woods Cemetery is a woman in white who sobs just inside the front gate. The woman is most often seen by passing motorists after the cemetery has closed at sunset. These motorists report seeing a woman just inside the gates hunched over and crying. When they go up to her to see what is wrong, she vanishes into thin air.
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