The Haunted Near West Suburbs Tour is where all the haunted sites are that are located within western Cook County and all of DuPage County.
Haunted Near West Suburbs Tour Maps
Haunted Near West Suburbs Tour Information
Haunted Near West Suburbs Tour Information -> PDF files
COUNTRY HOUSE
241 55th Street, Clarendon Hills
The Country House Restaurant that currently stands on this site, was once a roadhouse back in the day. There are two stories that could be the reason for stories of the building being haunted. One was that a woman asked if she could leave her baby with the bartender while she runs some errands. The owner refused, so the woman left with said child and shortly crashed into a tree killing herself and the child. Another story is that a woman hanged herself in one of the upper story rooms.
[41°47’18.3″N 87°57’19.4″W]
COUNTRY HOUSE LINKS
Country House of Clarendon Hills -> HauntedHouses.com
THE ITALIAN BRIDE
Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside
The Italian Bride was named Julia (nee Buccola) Petta. She died at the age of 29 while giving birth and the baby also perished. She was buried in her wedding dress with the baby in her arms. Afterwards for years her mother, Philomena, had dreams about Julia. In these dreams, Julia wanted her mother to open her grave and exhume her body. After 6 years, her mother won the case and Julia was dug up. Julia’s body was perfectly preserved even though the infant child in her arms was decayed and skeletonized. She was re-interred and a new headstone was erected, paid for by people who considered her to be holy. A photograph was taken and placed on her new headstone.
[41°47’18.3″N 87°57’19.4″W]
THE ITALIAN BRIDE LINKS
The Italian Bride -> American Hauntings
Julia Petta: The Italian Bride -> Wikipedia
ROBERT R. MCCORMICK MANSION
Cantigny Park – 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton
The Robert R. McCormick Mansion was once the home of Robert R. McCormick, a member of the wealthy and powerful McCormick family, made that way by the invention of the McCormick Reaper, which revolutionized the grain industry. Robert was a lawyer, a Chicago Republican Alderman and eventually publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
There is a small graveyard near the mansion, where Robert and his family were buried. There has been reports of upper story lights turning on and off and a sighting of a little girl appearing in a window, as if gazing out over the gardens.
[41°51’20.9″N 88°09’13.5″W]
ROBERT R. MCCORMICK MANSION LINKS
Cantigny Park -> Website
Robert R. McCormick -> Wikipedia
RESURRECTION MARY 1 | RESURRECTION MARY 2
Willowbrook Ballroom Site, Willow Springs | Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Justice
Resurrection Mary is a legend in Chicago. She is unknown for sure but believed to be of Polish ancestry. She was once thought to be Mary Bregovy, but her story does not fit. Perhaps she is actually Anna “Majira” Norkus, but we shall never known for sure. She was believed to have been killed while walking home to Justice from a dance at the Oh Henry / Willowbrook Ballroom.
There have been many sightings of a girl hitch-hiking along Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom and Resurrection Cemetery. Just as the drivers pass the cemetery, the girl always vanishes without a trace. There have also been sightings of a woman in white aimlessly wandering the cemetery at night. Supposedly Resurrection Mary was seen inside the cemetery at night. A woman was yelling, thinking someone had been locked in for the night. The figure inside came to the fence and in the morning, handprints had been bent into the bars, as well as the bars themselves were bent, as if something was trying to get out.
[41°43’43.3″N 87°52’54.2″W] | [41°45’35.4″N 87°49’38.7″W]
RESURRECTION MARY LINKS
Resurrection Mary -> Wikpedia
Resurrection Mary -> WindyCityGhosts.com
SHOWMAN’S REST
Woodlawn Cemetery, Forest Park, IL
In 1918, the Hogenbeck Circus Train was stopped for the night in Hammond, IN. In the morning it was to continue onto Chicago, but it never got there. Instead someone wrongly switched a troop train onto the same track and tragedy struck! 56 persons were killed, along with numerous animals. Showman’s Rest is where these circus performers and workers are buried.
There have been reports of the sounds of animals at night. Is this the animals killed in that fiery wreck bemoaning their fate? Of course not! It is from the animals at Brookfield Zoo, a short distance away.
[41°51’02.7″N 87°49’05.9″W]
SHOWMAN’S REST LINKS
Showman’s Rest