Chicago's Gangsterland Ghost Stories Page:
From:"Eric Rupp"
To:
Subject: Munger Road Ghost
Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 12:39:01 -0500
Hi there. If your interested in areas to go poking around for phenomina,
then what follows may be of interest. I have heard other stories about this
place, but what follows is my own brief account. Understand that I am
something of a consumate skeptic when it comes to supernatural
phenomina, but it's the stuff that cannont be explained which is so
interesting. In addition to this adventure recounted below, I've had 4 other
encounters with what may be the supernatural. I don't know. 3 of those
encounters did have other people present who likewise witnessed the
phenomina. If interested, feel free to ask and I'll to into it. -eric
This happened about two years ago. My brother, my cousin and I
decided to play a joke on one of my brother's friends. There's a road
in DuPage Co. called Munger Rd. It's just off of Rt. 53 I believe. The road
is allegedly haunted by something or another, and we played it off on my
brother's friend, scaring him by stalking him while in the woods just
off to the side of the road. It went well and we had our fun and was
time to go... (being a very practical person, I was much much more
worried about cops than ghosties). Well, as I was pulling my car around,
my headlights panned across the forest lining the other side of the
street. Standing there was a human shaped figure which was completely
gray and featureless [at least that's how it registered with me and is
how I remember it]. The figure then just sorta dissappeared off into
the blackness of the forest behind it. Normally, this would have caught
my attention, however I was so focused on trying not to get my car stuck
in the mud that it didn't register until about 15 mins. later. As I was
driving my cousin back to his house, it suddenly dawned on me what I'd
seen and I said to my cousin, "You know, I just realized that we were
being watched out there..." He said "Yeah, I know. I think I saw a
strange woman standing by the treeline. I was going to say something."
Now that surprised me. I later asked my brother and his friends if he
saw anything out there.. They didn't see the form/person, but they did
say that they had seen some green lights floating through the trees that
night. Dunno. The odd thing about all this is that the road cuts
through a swath of land with a forest on one side and a forest/marsh on
the other. It is remote and not exactly a place that you'd expect to
see a lone individual at 1:00 am. As for the lights, who knows. There
are a couple of old houses along the road here and there, but for the
mostpart, it's a pretty much natural and rural. Could have been a local
resident in either case, but that just doesn't feel right. Anyhow.
From: Chris Gaulding
Date:Tue, 28 Aug 2001 14:01:20 -0500
Subject: Munger Rd. + Mays Lake
I just joined Chicagoland Ghost Club today. I was in my car the other
day
reminiscing of the time I spent there in the Chicago suburbs, working
with
the Forest Preserve District of Dupage Woods. I am not necessarily a
believer in ghosts as spirits of the dead walking the earth, but I am a
firm
believer in the supernatural, meaning to me, Angelic and Demonic beings.
However, I began to think about Munger Rd, and The stories I heard about
that area. This led me to search the internet, and subsequently come
across
the post which started out
From: Jamie Spiral Dragon
Date: Fri Jun 8, 2001 5:53 pm
Subject: Fwd: Haunted Chicago Sites-Munger Road and the Monastery
I love the legend of Munger Rd, partly because of how I discovered it
and
the time of my life when it all happened. But I also hate to ruin
anyone's
fun.
As I stated, I worked with the Forest Preserve District, as a Park
Ranger.
I had access to all properties at all times. I spent many a day
patrolling
Munger Rd, which goes through the middle of Pratt's Wayne Woods. I found
out
from one of the Seasonal workers, a college freshman, that this road was
legendary in Chicago, and It was haunted. I laughed. She told me the
stories which all fall right in line with the stories posted in this
group.
The Bus story never happened. I can confirm that with several
individuals,
Old Timers who worked in the area for the last 25 years. However the
train
derailing and smashing all the houses can be confirmed. The two legends
I
have heard go like this:
1) There was an old man who lived on Munger Rd. He was a mean and
heartless old fart, and he spooked people out in general. The story is
that
a train derailed, and smashed his house, killing his family. This made
him
bitter and he would attack and kill you if you went down his road.
2) The train derailed and smashed a number of houses (I just heard that
one.)
The truth. There was an old man who lived in a small house on Munger
Rd.
It was situated about 15' from the tracks. He was not mean or
heartless, he
was just old and lonely, and these stupid kids kept driving down the
street
and egging his house and prying around his yard on a nightly basis.
(realize, people, many drunk, came from as far as Gary to investigate
Munger.) The Rangers in the area befriended him and helped him out.
His
kids had moved away, and he was alone. Many years ago, a train
derailed.
It slid many yards and came to rest against his house, almost pushing
the
house off its blocks. A catastrophe narrowly escaped, no one was hurt.
He
died in 1999, and his property, (a small yard and house) were left to
the
Forest Preserve District. Before it was demolished in the spring of
2000, I
went into the house and looked around. It was a two room shack,
cluttered,
the only thing of interest was a card hanging on the refrigerator,
probably
from a grandchild, a sweet homemade card urging him to get well soon.
Kind
of heart breaking when you think about all the stuff that guy went
through,
but someone still loved him.
There were and never have been any other houses other than the farm
house.
Now there is the subject of the Farm house up the road to the north of
the
tracks. There is not much history in this one. It was an old farm
house,
the people who owned a lot of the property immediately around it. It
was
abandoned for several years before I got there. But I think the moment
someone moves out of a house like that, it becomes haunted.
This one, I cant blame anyone for being creepy out about. You remember
The
Blair Witch Project. That house and this one were identical. It stood
about 50 -100yrds north of the tracks, a two story white house
surrounded by
huge oaks. I investigated this one also. It was creeeepppyy. I had
seen
Blair Witch just about a week before. I didn't go into the basement.
But the truth of the mater is: It was a creepy old house where a fire
had
occurred. There was a hole in the floor where a fire had ruined the
house
for its inhabitants, the explanation for the abandonment. There were
numerous signs of vandalism and the discarded packages of masks and
things
which some one had used in a lame attempt to scare someone else. There
was
nothing haunted about that place. It was also demolished in the spring
of
2000. I watched the grounds crew tack it down, it took about 4 hours
with a
bulldozer. They left nothing! That explains the house disappearing.
Maybe
next time you go out there you will find the foundation and a tree
growing
up in the middle of it.
Munger road was a creepy place. The old houses in the middle of our
modern
suburbs lent a real eerie twist to this deserted area. But that is the
beauty of the Forest preserve district. There are a ton of places like
that. I urge everyone to look up the District web page and a map of the
area on Map quest, where Munger is actually shown as if it were a town.
Go
to that area some cool sunny after noon. Park on the side of the road.
Walk up the hill and out into the Prairie grass until you can't see the
road
any more. From here you should be able to look west and out over the
whole
preserve. There is where the real supernatural experience will happen
to
you. God is out there just enjoying the view. Sit and talk a while.
That
was one of my favorite past times when I was out there.
Now, about that Monastery. I would like to know the location of that
one. I
have two things to share on that one.
The Forest Preserve District owns a Mansion and Friary at Mays Lake.
There
are many legends about these structures, but I am not familiar with
them, I
worked on the other side of the county. You can check out the web site
once
again for more info. Just look up Mays Lake Preserve. There was never
a
school there, so there is no accuracy in the stories of perversion and
murder. But there is some one living there. The District houses a
Ranger
in a wing of the mansion, and they are in charge of the Friary. They
have
fallen into disrepair except for this wing, due to vandalism. But if
you
were to break into the Rangers wing, you would find living quarters in
good
order. If you went back to find your friends and got lost, you might
run
into a brick wall where you thought the entrance had been. If you got
stuck
in the bathroom, you may pull on a door you were supposed to push if you
were stupid, but if you yelled the whole time, a Ranger Police officer
would
probably show up and give you a ticket.
Now if this is not the area mentioned, there were several other
monasteries
in the area. One of the Ranger Police officers I knew who worked in the
area all of his life, said they used to train in one of them. He said
on
the third floor there was an area in the middle that was always damp,
even
though there had been no water to the building in many years. The
Canine
Unit dogs he worked with always refused to go down the hall onto this
floor.
That sounds like it may be the place.
Now, does anyone remember when that moron Man Cow went into some haunted
woods in south Chicago somewhere and met all those devil worshipers?
any one have any info about that. I would love to hear a dispelling tell
about it. I hate that *ick.
Chris Gaulding,
Please reply
To:
From: "dante129"
Date:Thu, 16 Aug 2001 23:27:56 -0500
Red Lion Pub
I am just sending out a quick message about the Red Lion Pub. I was just talking about the place
last night and realized I had never posted anything to the group about it.
When I come up to Chicago to visit my best friend and his wife we usually have dinner there
(because he knows of my interest in ghosts). Last February, My train arrived late so when we finally
got to the pub it was about 10:00 pm. while we were eating and several other times throughout the
evening the window we were next to (we were on the top floor) kept popping open. We kept shutting
the window but it always popped open. Even the waitress shut it everytime she came by.
Sometimes it would stay shut for a bit, Sometimes it wouldn't. I had been there several times before
and since but this is the only time I experienced something that may be considered supernatural. I
realize this could have nothing to do with the spirits but it is something that was constantly in the
back of my mind while I was there. I tried to inspect the window to see if there was a explanation for
it but unfortunately I couldn't see very well (It was dimly lit).
My question to you is what if any have been your experiences there and have you done any "official"
ghost hunts there? Just curious as to what you have encountered.
Dante
From: Sobkowicz Rob-CRS015
To: "'ghostlly@yahoo.com'"
Subject: your website
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 09:37:21 -0500
Hello Jamie,
My name is Rob, I'm 32 years old and very, very interested in ghosts.
I've never experienced one ( I think) and am looking for somewhere to
go that I can experience this awesome phenomenon. I live in the
Crystal lake area and would like to know from you if you have ever been out
in the Northwest Suburbs and experienced something, if so can you please
tell me where and the name of the cemetery or house. About 3 years ago
me and two of my friends went to Bachelor's Grove Cemetery. It was
Halloween about 12:30 in the morning, only had a camera and flashlight, we
snuck in through the forest since police were sitting in the parking
lot not letting no one in. When we finally saw the fence for the first
time we were all a little apprehensive on going in. I finally took the
first step in, it seemed that the wind at that time picked up and made
all the trees rustle. We walk around and took a bunch of pictures but
saw nothing. This is when something weird happened, we all heard it. We were just standing around waiting for something to happen
when we all heard the leaves crackling just like someone is walking. The
sound was coming from the path that leads to the main gate. I don't
think it was an animal because we heard on two steps at a time.. We all
freaked out (thinking it was some kids, police, or worse some Satanist (
I heard stories that some Satanist come there to do weird stuff) and
ran behind a tree to take cover.. The steps in the leaves stopped and we
all walked out cautiously. I never thought of it but after reading
some of these stories I thought maybe that was a ghost making those
sounds, although my logic side is telling me it was probably an animal and
our minds were just playing games. Anyhow, can you please tell me what
areas by the Crystal lake area are best to go to see or hear something.
Thank you so much and I love your website,
Rob
From: "C.T. Thieme"
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 04:22:01 -0500
Subject: It was Southern Illinois-- and it did have big feet
But that's about where the similarities leave off from the traditional bigfoot.
Hey Jamie et al,
I came across a mention of the bigfoot legend of Southern Illinois in and around Shawnee National
Forest on the Chicagoland Ghost Club on-line postings that reminded me of a personal encounter
down around that neck of the woods back when I was attending Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale. Now, suffice to say, this is a true story. Then again, true story is an oxymoron just
like reality TV. There's plenty of holes in the memory banks as college was kind to me. Still, the
main details should be close to accurate. And of course I've got no corroborating evidence or
witnesses as those folks I either alienated or just lost touch with and the evidence went with one of
them. My college friendships and relationships tend to go either of those two routes.
I was dating a girl from Murphysboro, IL, about 20 miles down Route 13 from Carbondale in between
Interstates 55 and 57 (maps attached). Old Route 13 itself has a colorful history. Charley Burger,
Southern Illinois' version of John Dillinger, used to joust with police on that road using Tommy guns
and modified Model T's armored in sheets of riveted iron.
It was a warm humid night much like tonight and the moon was full. We had stopped off at
Kentucky Fried Chicken and headed down Old Route 13. There was (still is probably) a small
semi-circular parkway nestled into a small bay on Little Grassy Lake. The moon was picturesquely
poised over the water. To the left, the land extended out. We were familiar with that area as my
friend spent her summers as a counselor in the girl scout camp set back in the woods there. To the
right was a slim peninsula accessible by a narrow dirt road. Three camp fires burned along the
shore and a crowd of people were gathered around them despite the heat.
Now despite the beauty of the location, it had an infamous reputation. The bay itself was
supposedly the site of a grizzly murder. The story went that a local man had seduced a college boy
and brought him to the location. He then cut off the boy's head and threw both body and head into
the lake. It may have been just a local legend conjured up some demented homophobe. Still, the
name "Gay Bay" stuck though never used by me personally.
Regardless of this, because of our familiarity with the area and it's proximity to the girl scout camp,
we never thought of it as anything but a romantic setting for a moon lit meal. Soon after we arrived,
a minivan pulled in with the same intention as ourselves. After finishing dinner, we sipped watery
Cokes and watched the moonlight flicker on the rippled water.
Our attention was soon turned to the camp fires as they started doing something camp fires don't
often do. Starting from left to right, the flames leapt from ground level to a good six to seven feet in
the air. First one, then the middle, then the next. They continued to do this as a man in a long coat
or cloak strode violently between them. The people surrounded the outskirts of the firelight watching
the proceedings. It didn't take long before the minivan folks decided to call it a night. The minivan
threw gravel out behind spinning tires. I decided to get out of the car and try to get a better look.
Although some distance away, across the water I could hear the man's voice though I couldn't tell
what was being said. I watched for a while as my friend began insisting in ever increasing intensity
that it was time to go. The tense oppression of the saturated air increased with her panic. The hairs
raised on my neck, and eventually I agreed with her. We drove off down the dark road surrounded by
impenetrably black forest. I couldn't shake the feeling that something followed and strained the
speedometer past the outer edge where 80 mph was a no man's land that my four-cylinder 1988
Chevy Nova had never ventured into.
The road curves round by a quarry and then lets out onto the new Route 13. The street lights at the
intersection were like reaching glue when playing tag. We were safe. I dropped her off at her
parents house in Murphysboro. She knew what I had in mind and didn't like it one bit. "Promise me
you won't go back there tonight," she kept saying. "Ok," I finally said. "I promise not to go back
tonight."
I looked at my watch.
It was ten minutes to midnight.
Technically, in ten minutes...well, you get the idea.
But not being a complete idiot, only a partial one, I headed back to Carbondale first to pick up some
reinforcements. The Corner Diner was the only 24 hour establishment in the town and about the
only place that would legally tolerate nocturnal loitering for the price of a cup of coffee. I went
looking for a couple friends I thought would be there. One friend, Jon, was a self-proclaimed "ninth
degree wizard" whatever the hell that meant. He had started a mystical arts class which I sat in on
occasionally till it started bordering on cult status. Another friend and fellow student, Eddy, was
there as well. I walked up to the table, sat down and said, "how'd you guys like to check out recent
ritual site." "How recent," asked Jon. "'Bout half and hour ago." They were interested.
We stopped off at Jon's trailer and pulled together flashlights, a camera and his nine-shot revolver
then headed back to Little Grassy Lake. I turned down the small dirt road that led to the bank where
the festivities had taken place. It didn't take long to find where they had been. In the shallow water
we found the charred wood from the fires. The ground was heavily trodden with footprints of
sneakers, work boots, etc.
Now this is where it gets weird. If I were you, and I hadn't stopped reading this three paragraphs
back, I'd stop believing the whole damn thing. If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd be right there with you
hitting delete. So I don't hold anything against anyone with doubts.
There was an area near where the middle fire had been which was a combination of small hoof
prints. Cloven like a goat. Odd enough, except that on top of all the prints, human and otherwise,
was a deep print. And it wasn't human. It wasn't animal. It was at least twice the size of a human
foot both in length and width. It had a ball heel like a normal foot, but about two thirds up it split into
two large toes. The ends of the toes curved deep into the sand.
We froze...and without a word followed a line of these prints. There weren't many. Whatever it was,
it had a stride that meant it didn't take long to get where it wanted to go. The prints came straight
out of the water, led up to the hoof prints where there were signs of a short scuffle, took two more
steps up the beach...then disappeared. Vanished. There was plenty of sand left before the tree
line. The three of us looked at each other, then looked up.
Luckily for us, there was nothing up there. Nothing but indifferent stars and a moon that knew how
to keep a secret.
Jon began taking pictures of the prints, while Eddy and I looked for anything more as if that wasn't
enough. After a few minutes, Jon rejoined us. "We gotta go," he said. "Now!" Dutifully, we piled
back into the car and left the scene. After we hit new Route 13 again, he filled us in on his sudden
need to vacate the premises. He claimed to have watched his shadow detach from his body and
walk off into the lake while he stood still.
I've been back to the parkway several times in the year that followed. The air was calm and the
sound of the lapping water soothing. The moon still shines on shimmering water, and girl scouts
still earn their merit badges in relative safety.
But two possible questions will bug me probably for the rest of my life.
One side of me wonders about what things stir in the dark waters of Shawnee National Forest. I'd
walk through the town and see faces of the local residents and wonder which of them knew how to
invite creatures from the deep for a midnight snack.
The other possible question and the one I honestly hope to be closer to the truth,
What the hell was in that chicken?
C.T. Thieme
Writer and Web Author
heathen@mc.net
http://www.heathens-haven.com
header???
I live in Crystal Lake and have heard a number of
stories about the Bull Valley area. (The area
between CL and Mchenry) In this area there is the
old Stickney mansion which was built with no
corners. The owner believed that demons could
hide in corners. The legend says that he was
found dead in the house due to unknown causes in
a hallway that contained the only right angle in
the entire house. There is also the Lake street
cemetary in CL. A girl set herself on fire there
a couplke of years ago because her boyfriend
broke up with her. Supposedly you can see a
glowing light at night in the corner of the
cemetary where she died.
header???
The gate that you are speaking of (devils gate) is on River
road between Rte.137 and Rte.120 in Libertyville.
It has a reputation here of being haunted but
most stories are quite fanciful from teens
mostly. The gate used to be the entrance to a
Catholic camp in the 1920s. John
From: "Don Gibbs"
Subject:local spook
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 02:13:49 -0500
in logansport,indiana we had a little girl get hit by acar a few years back now on certain nights you can see
her at the spot where she got hit she always looks and smiles before jumping over the bridge then
dissapering before hiting the ground
Anyone having more information about chicago haunted sites Email me at ghostlly@yahoo.com in the meantime.
Please come back soon and visit me.
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