The second account is more verifiable than the first. On May 4, 1951, a flight instructor at the nearby Naval Air Station Glenview was flying out over Lake Michigan on a calm day. Up until this point, all other flights from the base were uneventful. After the flight instructor lost radio contact with the base, search parties were sent to look for him, but no traces were found. Two days later, his body washed up on the North Shore of Lake Michigan across Sheridan from Calvary Cemetery.
ghost story
The ghost here near Calvary Cemetery is one of the most frequently sighted apparitions in all of Chicagoland. People who drive down Sheridan around midnight will sometimes see this apparition walking across the road between Lake Michigan and the cemetery. The apparition takes the form of a man in his late 20s or early 30s who is covered with seaweed. There will be a slight green glow coming from him as he drags himself across the street towards the cemetery. After he crosses the street, he vanishes into the cemetery.
The locals are well aware of the ghost who crosses the street into the cemetery. They have even given him a name, “Seaweed Charlie.”
visiting
This is one of Chicago’s easiest ghosts to go looking for for a couple of reasons. First, the ghost is not in the cemetery, which closes before dark every night. The ghost crosses Sheridan Road just outside the cemetery gates, and the road is open throughout the night. The ghost is most often seen by passing motorists, who are able to drive up and down Sheridan Road in this area all night without fear of legal ramifications. Second, this ghost appears often. There are literally hundreds of reports of people who have seen this ghost. Sometimes, the ghost has even been reported to have disrupted traffic in the area. Witnesses will see cars ahead of them swerving to avoid hitting something, which they soon discover is a green glowing man covered with seaweed.
COUNTY FARM CEMETERY
(JOLIET POTTER’S FIELD)
880 Mission Boulevard, Joliet, Illinois 60431
directions
From the center of Chicago, take I-55 South for 40 miles to Exit 253 toward Joliet. Turn left onto US-52 East and follow this road for 2 miles. Turn right onto Infantry Drive and then, after 0.5 mile, right again onto County Farm Road. Take a left onto Mission Boulevard. You will need to park by the soccer fields. Standing on Mission Boulevard facing the field, you proceed to your right until you come upon a thin line of trees adjacent to a residential area, then follow that line of trees away from Mission Boulevard until you hit another small grove of trees. The cemetery is inside this grove.
history
The cemetery was founded in 1850 and belonged to Will County Farm. Will County Farm was a home for the elderly and the homeless. It is likely that many of these people were buried in the cemetery. Other poor people who could not afford a plot in another cemetery were also buried here over the years. Historians think that there could be as many as 150 people buried in the cemetery.
Throughout the cemetery, there are 48 stones. Most of the stones are marked with numbers instead of names, which suggests that multiple people are buried in each of the areas marked by the stones. Only one stone currently bears a name in the cemetery. It says “George Miller.” He died in 1907.
In more recent years, the cemetery had fallen into complete disrepair. Broken headstones littered the ground. Bones from the deceased had surfaced and been taken by local wildlife. Local volunteers are working to fix up the cemetery, but its disrepair still echoes through the ghosts that haunt this potter’s field.
ghost story
The cemetery itself has an air of sadness and despair. People who enter it are sometimes overwhelmed by this feeling. As soon as they step out of the cemetery, they are no longer sad. It is almost as if the cemetery has its own atmosphere of depression that only affects people when they are within the cemetery grounds.
Inside the cemetery, trees and bushes often rustle and move by themselves on windless days. When investigated, no cause for the rustling can be determined. Other witnesses have reported seeing glowing orbs of light floating through the cemetery.
Perhaps the strangest thing to happen here is that many photographs of the cemetery are distorted. Many photographers state that on certain days it is impossible to get a clear picture of the cemetery. Certain elements are out of focus for no reason. Other parts seem stretched beyond recognition.
visiting
The cemetery is open from sunrise until sunset. This is not optimal for ghost hunting here, but there are still some things that visitors are able to experience. The distorted photographs can be taken during daylight hours. The oppressive feelings of despair are experienced during both day and night. Unfortunately, the glowing orbs of light are only seen at night and the cemetery is too far from any adjacent roads to see after darkness falls.
EVANGELICAL CHURCH CEMETERY
3724 Washington Street, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523
directions
From the center of Chicago, take I-290 West for a little more than 13.5 miles to Exit 15A, I-294 South. Follow I-294 South for a little more than 3.5 miles and take the US-34 West exit. Turn right onto Ogden Avenue and then turn right onto North York Road after a little less than 0.5 mile. Take your second left onto Spring Road and then your first left onto Washington Street. The Faith Fellowship Church will be on your right. The cemetery is just to the west of the church, on the other side of the church from the road.
history
In 1852, a water-powered gristmill called the Graue Mill was constructed in Oak Brook. While on the outside the mill seemed unassuming, the building was actually used for secret but noble causes. This building was an important stop in the Underground Railroad, and countless escaped slaves would stop here before heading to Canada.
Unfortunately, many of these slaves did not make it to their final destinations. Some were caught and killed. Others succumbed to the brutal Chicago winter. Others simply committed suicide. While many used the mill as an important stepping stone to freedom, many more had experienced too much hardship by this point and could not make it farther. Many of the fleeing slaves who died in the area were buried in what is today the Evangelical Church Cemetery.
The cemetery became official in 1877, as burials were first officially recorded here. The Faith Fellowship Church next door was built in 1881. Today, the Graue Mill is a museum.
ghost story
Although not the best-known haunted place in the Chicagoland area, this cemetery is considered by those who know it to be one of the most haunted in not only the city, but the entire country. The cemetery is haunted by the ghosts of slaves who died in the area and were
