The Most Haunted Cemetery in the Midwest, Bachelors Grove Cemetery

Bachelors Grove Cemetery is one of the most haunted places I know, a mysterious and foreboding land steeped in legend and myth. This abandoned cemetery has long been a source of intrigue by many who have entered its twisted metal gates. One of the oldest cemeteries in south Cook County, Bachelors Grove Cemetery, has developed a reputation as the most haunted cemetery in the Midwest.

On a chilly spring day I found the overgrown trail leading to the cemetery entrance. The road was covered with leaves from last year's autumn season; the trees seemed to arch over the road, engulfing the trail and hiding it from the world. The trail was once a section of the Midlothian Turnpike but was closed in 1960s.

Named for the large number of bachelors buried in the cemetery, Bachelors Grove has been neglected even before the Midlothian Turnpike closed. Teenagers would frequent the area for drinking and other activities. Chicago mobsters often dumped the bodies from their murders into the adjacent pond. Satanists used the place for conjuring during their rituals, grave robbing, desecration and vandalism has been a part of the cemetery's long sad history.

As I walked along the trail with my cameras the spring day I visited, I began to feel anticipation of the unknown. The trees seem to tighten around me as I traveled deeper into the woods. This is where tales of a phantom farm house in the woods have been seen. Descriptions of the house have been consistent through the years, a white house with porch pillars, a swing and a soft light burning in the window. When anyone approaches, the house is said to vanish. Legend has it if you reach the porch of the house you will never return. For years records and explorations of the area have given little proof of a house ever being built in the woods near the cemetery until recently. Indeed, two foundations of a house were uncovered, adding a mysterious validity to the legend.

Deep in my thoughts about the many stories of this notorious cemetery, I was startled by the unexpected appearance of the entrance to Bachelors Grove Cemetery. The winter snow that receded only a few weeks previous had weighted down the long overgrown weeds and grass exposing a handful of broken tombstones. I also noticed that no birds were singing around the cemetery.

I looked at the various tombstones, many leaning and broken, as I walked through the cemetery. One particular tombstone jarred my memory; the tombstone had an unusual checked pattern and was the very tombstone from the famous photograph, taken by Mari Huff ,of the White Lady of Bachelors Grove ghost sitting on the tombstone.

So many haunted and bizarre experiences have accrued here its hard not to believe something very strange is happening in this isolated place. Many have seen the phantom of the farmer who was pulled into the water by his plow horse and both drowned by the weight of the plow in the 1870's. Strange colored ghost lights have been seen darting around the tombstones and in and out the surrounding trees. A two-headed creature has been seen several times rising from the muck of the pond. On nights of the full moon the White Lady of Bachelors Grove has been spotted wandering among the tombstones carrying her baby in her arms. Apparitions of monks in long black robes have been observed. Ghostly cars have appeared and disappeared on the road that bridge over the pond.

While I was taking pictures I constantly felt I was being watched. Often times I looked over my shoulder thinking someone or something was standing near by. Once my pictures where shot and my equipment packed up, I was happy to leave. I felt relief as I gained distance walking on the trail from the cemetery. When I reached the edge of the woods I noticed the birds were singing once again.