Bachelor's Grove

Bachelor's Grove Cemetery is the most haunted graveyard in the Chicago area.

This small cemetery is in the Rubio Woods forest preserve near the southwest suburbs. Just west of Cicero Avenue, the Midlothian turnpike makes a curve to the right. Here, passing motorists see a path into the woods, blocked off by posts with a chain stretched between.

The rocky and weed-choked path is cool and shaded. The highway soon disappears from sight as you proceed into the forest, but its dull roar can always be heard. About one-half mile in, a chain-link fence will come into view on the right. This is Bachelor's Grove Cemetery.

A gaping hole has been torn at the main gate. A pile of trash is just inside, a reminder that something is wrong here, that this cemetery has been desecrated and abused.

The cemetery was established in 1864. It, and the surrounding woods, were named for the large number of unmarried men living in the area. This cemetery was reportedly used as a dumping ground for murder victims who had been "taken for a ride" by 1920's gangsters.

No more than a few hundred feet on each side, the cemetery has a single entrance, the south gate. The only path leads from this gate most of the way to the opposite side. A stagnant pond lies to the northwest, where another hole has been torn in the fence. Across this pond and through the trees, the highway can be seen.

There are only a few monuments remaining here, nearly all in the eastern half, most clustered around the path. Most of the western half is empty, with only a single marker in the southwest corner.

The cemetery is said to have been abandoned in 1965 (although there are a few burials from the mid 1980's). It has gained a reputation for being haunted - no doubt contributed to by its isolated location and the vandalism that has taken place.

Over one hundred sightings have been reported here. Many people have seen a white house in the distance, usually described as a Victorian farmhouse with a white picket fence, a porch swing, and a warm light coming from within. The house disappears whenever anyone tries to approach it, though one version of the legend claims that anyone who succeeds in entering the house will never return.

Ghosts have been seen near the pond to the north, including a two-headed man, and a farmer with a horse and plow (said to have died in the 1870s when his horse bolted, pulling him into the water). A blue light was seen on numerous occasions, floating from stone to stone. Faces in the mist have been reported, as has a face that formed on the surface of a tombstone and soon vanished.

Another ghost here is called "Mrs. Rogers", or the "White Lady". Appearing entirely in white, she seems to be searching for something amongst the graves - thought to be her baby.

Ghost cars have appeared on what was once the road to the cemetery, as well as the Midlothian turnpike nearby. Several people claim to have swerved to avoid hitting these cars, or to have actually passed through them. The cars have vanished within plain sight of these witnesses.

One of the most dramatic encounters involved local psychic Norman Basile and a friend, around 1984. The two were spending the night in the cemetery, with cameras and recording equipment, when Basile's skeptical friend saw a man in a yellow suit and hat, who quickly vanished. This was followed by red streaks of light darting about the cemetery, and a nearby tree shaking violently.

Basile calles Bachelor's Grove "probably the most ghost-infested cemetery in the Chicago area and maybe in the world".

Slightly right of center, a vague form appears to be rising from the ground. It resembles the head and shoulders of a woman in profile, looking to the right. An eye socket and patch of black hair are visible. She is wearing some sort of shawl, covering the top and back of her head and shoulders.

The quality of this picture is poor. I had borrowed an old, beat-up camera, possibly with a dirty lens. I had almost no experience in photography at the time. I was shooting over a horizontal object, so there was nothing to focus on. Because of all of these factors, I cannot state with confidence that this picture is of a ghost. It could be simply a patch of weeds, blurred and out of focus, with a tree root behind.



http://www.graveyards.com/bachelors/graveyards.com - copyright 1996-2002 Matt Hucke

Show all stories by   Author:  62926 ( Click here )