The Most Bone-Chillingly Haunted Places Around Chicago

From eerie street corners and haunted hotels to unexplained sightings inside your neighborhood dive.

It ’s time for everyone ’s favorite autumnal activities : apple picking , leaf peeping , pumpkin spice caffe latte drinking , and of line , thrill - quest ( it is a skittish season after all ) . trust it or not , Chicago is known as one of the most haunted cities in America , its history filled with tarradiddle of mysterious house blast , extrasensory sightings in hotels and residential construction , and of class , ghosts . fortune of them . And even if this kind of thing is n’t your thing , there ’s no traverse that some of Chicago ’s past is just plain creepy-crawly . So , no need to pay for ingress at a stalk house this Halloween season — this year set out for these haunted Chicagoland destinations for a good old - fashioned spook .

Liar’s Club

1665 W. Fullerton Ave . With KISS - theme figurines and a KISS pinball machine , Liar ’s Club in Chicago ’s Lincoln Park is a pop , albeit edgy than your middling neighborhood dive and music venue . The quaint two - story building that it live in has a much more sinister retiring than one might think — not one but two gruesome execution occur there . The first happened in 1958 when bar owners Frank and Julia Hansen take into a fighting over money , and , supposedly , Frank grabbed an ax , killed his wife , and leave her dead and undiscovered for days . Story goes that ten years later on , second story residents John Parlea and Samuel Castell Jr. get into a fight over a used pair of bloomers . Castell is said to have attacked Parlea with an previous soda bottle and thrown him out the windowpane . He die a few twenty-four hour period later in the infirmary . Now patrons cover seeing both ghosts lurking around the building , opening doors , grabbing guests , and walking up and down the stair .

Lincoln Park

500 - 5700 N Lake Shore DrMany of us have enjoyed a passive stroll through the iconic Lincoln Park Zoo to look up to exotic animals in the summertime or marvel at the yearly light show in the winter . But before the 1800s , the land that the green and menagerie model on housed the city burial ground . Fearing the necropolis ’s bodies would pollute Lake Michigan , the metropolis began a process of relocating the body in 1865 . But the Chicago fire of 1871 upend those plans . The flaming destroy many of the Lucy Stone and grave mark , complicating the effort to move the body . Though city workers were able to relocate some of them , more than 12,000 people were left in what is now Lincoln Park . So the next meter you ’re appreciate the wonders of the raw domain , like an endangered rhino or colourful macaw , just call back what lurks below the ground .

James M. Nederlander Theatre’s Death Alley

24 W. Randolph Street , LoopOver on Randolph Street in the heart of Chicago lurks a pedestrian alleyway know as Couch Place , which has a far more sinister history than the name might entail . While the Nederlander Theatre , put up in 1926 , now reside the neighboring lot , the turn of events - of - the - one C Iroquois Theatre once stood in its place . The Iroquois was built in the Renaissance - stylus , and was read to have cost a whopping 1 million dollars — that ’s 32 million dollar mark today — boasting a opulent sumptuousness that surely attracted orotund audiences .

At the meter , the paper claimed the dramatics was completely fireproof , quelling public fears leftover from the Great Chicago Fire 32 years in the first place . During a sold - out show on one parky December daytime , fire erupt from a phase twinkle ’s spark , and , panic , the 1,724 patron could n’t find the exit doors . The hysteria lead to many people parachute to their death , shoot down in the skittle alley where a growing turn of body piled up on top of one another . By the clip the fire was get rid of , a total of 602 masses had lose their lives .

The calamity resulted in much - needed update to fire safety measures both in Chicago and around the world , but at a massive cost . Today , there aredocumented accounts of sidesplitter , dim cries , physical pushes , cold spots , and other extrasensory activityin and around Couch Place , earning itself the morbid soubriquet “ Death Alley . ”

The Drake Hotel

The Drake Hotel|RozenskiP/Shutterstock

The Drake Hotel

140 E. Walton Place , Mag MileGuests of the famous Drake Hotel can have a bun in the oven unparalleled sumptuosity and comfort , but that might not be all they ’re in for . The iconic 1920s housing has had its fair share of far-famed Edgar Guest , include Bing Crosby , Queen Elizbeth II , Marylyn Monroe , Princess Diana , and Walt Disney . But lesser - known are the visitors who made a name for themselves not by checking in , but by never checking out …

Two such guests are say to be the grieve parents of Bobby Franks , the 14 - yr - sure-enough boy who was abduct and murdered by infamous criminals Leopold and Loeb , two flush University of Chicago students intent on entrust the criminal offence of the century . During the famous murder trial run , the forlorn parents move into the hotel to get off from the jam and outstrip themselves from their anguish . While Franks ’ father later died in his suite from “ a broken gist , ” his go mother never stick over her son ’s demise , cry insistently in that same suite for years . Rumor has it they both live on inside that way , listlessly wandering the halls engulfed in everlasting grief .

The hotel is also home to another history , that of ayoung adult female in a red dress . In 1920 , she attend a New Year ’s Eve Gala only to find her coquet married man with another woman . In a orchestra pit of despair , the woman in red leapt off the tenth trading floor balcony to her decease . There have been reports of her ghost still haunting The Gold Coast Room and the PalmCourt , both place on that very same 10th floor .

Flickr/BartShore

Marina City

300 N State Street , River NorthMarina City , the iconic Zea mays cob - alike structures project out over the Chicago River , has had dark ties from the start . Created in an effort to keep lily-white flight at bay , the developer envisioned a city within a city on Chicago ’s business district riverfront and left it in the hands of architect Bertrand Goldberg . havoc , by nature , ensued .

The east tower has long been the web site ofmysterious accidents and unusual deaths , with some events occurring even before the building ’s completion . In 1961 , three worker fall to their dying from the 43rd floor , and in that same year , seven man were severely injured when their elevator destabilise and plummeted . Only one year after , another worker tragically fell to his demise from that same tower . Once the towers were finished , cryptical reports of apparition and shadow people began to cultivate up , with house physician claiming to be plagued with belief of sadness and depression . A string of slaying , strange deaths , and suicide ensued , and , to this day , the reputation of the corn cob tower remains disturbing and perplexing , leading to its super creepy appearing inJordan Peele ’s 2021Candymanremake .

Golden Dagger

2447 N Halsted Street , Lincoln ParkThe Golden Dagger is a modern music locale on Halsted , but the building itself holds a much more dark and curious past times . In the early 1900s , the edifice was say to house a bordello and , in the basement , a gather place for the Golden Dawn , a secret society that would on a regular basis practice rituals devoted to the supernatural . In 1930 , one woman even claimed she witnessed a ritual execution while attendning a society coming together there . As the edifice sell deal many meter throughout the X , the story of its past tense lingered , albeit faintly . When the current possessor began their renovations , they reportedly uncovered Egyptian symbol on the basement roof as well as a pentacle exhibit on the floor . Previously , a big tongue was also found lodged in the building ’s wall , emblazoned with a skull - form clasp . It ’s no surprise , then , that rumors of ghost sightings and unusual ambient noises blow from the basement have cropped up over the years . Whatever did happen down there , the current nightly live euphony batting order may very well drown out the voice of those unsettled mortal .

Biograph Theater

2433 N Lincoln Avenue , Lincoln ParkThis historical landmark theatre in Lincoln Park , now call Victory Gardens Theatre , was build in 1914 , and has survived through many erras . In 1934 , infamous bank robber , auto stealer , and fugitiveJohn Dillinger , was shoot and killed by the FBI just below the glitzy marquee after leaving a flick screening . Dillinger had been on the run , disguising his personal identity by undergoing legion plastic surgeries to deflect being distinguish . Yet on July 22 , he was cheat by a womanhood named Ana Cumpănaș , a Rumanian sexual practice proletarian and brothel owner dubbed the “ Lady In Red ” by newspapers at the time . There has always been conjecture , however , that Dillinger was not the one that was killed that Nox , but a protagonist who had start to the theatre in his place , add to the mystery . It ’s allege that visions of Dillinger — or perhaps his sacrificial doppelganger — can still be envision scarper through the alleyway near the house late at night .

Site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

2122 North Clark Street , Lincoln ParkIt does n’t take a historian to feign that Chicago ’s famed Mob Era might be creditworthy for at least one or two local spook stories . Throughout the 1920s and 1930s , notorious gangster Al Capone ran most of the northside ’s illicit underground natural process , from drug vending and bootlegging to sexuality trafficking and other villainous trade . On one cold Valentine ’s Day in 1929 , rival gang members disguised as cop entered a characterless garage on North Clark Street — which also happened to be salient mob Bos George “ Bugs ” Moran ’s headquarters . The ambush was a succeeder and the fake cops inject all seven of his men execution - style , while Moran narrowly escaped .

While it ’s never been confirm that Capone personally ordered this collision , Moran was his get it on enemy . The only witness to the bloody night was a dog nominate Highball , who belong to Moran ’s auto-mechanic . Highball was the one who alerted the authorities , howling loudly into the morning . You might have passed this apparently innocuous Clark Street lot before without feeling the thin chill , but stroll by with your four - legged friend in towage and see what happens — dog in the arena have been known to become quite distressed , spark off by the shivery event miserable Highball determine go down that fateful day .

land site of H.H. Holmes ’ Murder Castle611 W. 63rd Street , EnglewoodOne of Chicago ’s most ugly locations is a former torture hotel in Englwood belong to notoriously fertile serial killer H.H. Holmes , the wispy figure that barrack Erik Larson ’s fictional adaptation inDevil in the White City . Before building his South Side dream theatre , the real Holmes graduated from medical school where he had engaged in a especially disturbing shape of insurance humbug , stealing and tampering with cadaver from the schoolhouse and afterwards taking out policies on them . In 1892 , Holmes completed the 70 - way lodgment house , sodding with a peculiar and roundabout design only he was secluded to as well as frightening features like soundproof room with no window or threshold knobs , stairs that led to nowhere , and more than a few trap doors .

Flickr/Lucia Fantasia

With the 1893 World ’s Fair contribute many tourists to Chicago , Holmes publicise rooms for rent hoping to entice untested woman into his house of horrors . uncalled-for to say , the programme worked , and a string of innocent souls found themselves at the mercifulness of this murderous madman . The construction was pulverise in 1938 , and a office office now stands next to the business firm ’s original secret plan . The proletarian there claim to have spot apparition moving about the space , noticed items mysteriously stacked and moved , and , at night , heard distaff voice softly singing and talking from down below .

Tao

632 N. Dearborn Street , River NorthThe former Chicago Historical Society building — once known as Excalibur to party - friendly Chicagoans and now manoeuvre as the Asian - inspired nightclub Tao — has long had a repute for being one of the most obsessed edifice in the metropolis . For decades , employees of Excalibur claimed to have witnessed a wide variety of supernatural activity : dozens of candle being re - dismount or annihilate , wine lights-out turning on by themselves , bottle all of a sudden get out , and even ghastly sightings of a man in a tuxedo , a woman in loss , and a petty girl . Visitors , for their part , have reported hearing children shout , feeling a “ heavy ” vitality , and trouble breathing when in the Dome Room , the building ’s extrasensory spicy spot .

While filming an installment ofGhost Adventures , one cast member claim to have beenpushed down the stairsby an unobserved strength . While there have been plenty of rumour surround the seed of this extrasensory activity — the most common being that the construction was used as a temporary morgue after the Eastland Disaster over a century ago — most are either faux or hard to prove simply because they pre - see the Great Chicago Fire , the catastrophic upshot that burn down the original edifice ( everyone who get hold of shelter inside the supposedly fireproof structure is said to stalk the place , too ) .

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery

143rd Street at the Midlothian Turnpike , MidlothianThanks in part to a viralphoto of a ghostly womanperched on a tombstone in Bachelor ’s Grove cemetery , this site has become known as one of the most obsessed cemeteries in America . There have been over 100 report of extrasensory experiences in and around the graveyard , admit ghostly name , apparition of a phantom farmhouse , and unexplained ball of light . And even if you do n’t consider in specter , the destination itself sports a pretty creepy history , reportedly used as a mundane dumping dry land by Chicago mobsters . In recent decades , vandal have deconsecrate Robert Ranke Graves , with some plots reportedly being dug up for satanic rituals .

Red Lion Pub

2446 N Lincoln Avenue , Lincoln ParkOriginally built in 1882 and lay away just down the street from the Biograph Theater , Dirty Dan ’s Western Saloon — now hump as the Red Lion Pub — lays claim to being the most haunted streak in Chicago . When present - daylight proprietor John Cordwell and his Word Colin purchased the decrepit tavern from its previous owner , draw by the duo as “ an old , intoxicant - sadden , toothless jewel , without one redeem defect , ” they commit to clean house up the place without sacrificing its morbid good luck charm . The 1984 gave it some culture , but harmonise to employees and the medium , the public house remains home to several transcendental residents , include a seedy cowpoke and a prankish female smell who like toplay jokes on staffers .

Congress Plaza Hotel

520 S Michigan Avenue , LoopThe Congress Plaza Hotel is widely thought to be one of Chicago ’s most obsessed hotel by both spectre hunters and unsuspicious visitors likewise , judging from the abnormally high figure of creeped - out review on TripAdvisor . Originally work up in 1893 to house World ’s Fair guests , the hotel has play host to dozens of tragical death and suicides . visitor oft comment on the foreign sealed - off suite — include elbow room # 666 . The twelfth floor ( which also boast a sealed - off way , of form ) is said to be one of the building ’s most haunted stretchability , while room 1408 is rumored to have exhort Stephen King ’s short chronicle by the same name . However , elbow room 441 may be the scary of all : Those who dare stay there frequently describe being attacked in bed by a darkness woman . In 2014 , an attempted overnight in room 447 famously prompt Australian celebrity chef Pete Evans toflee from the hotelwithout irritate to check out .

Resurrection Cemetery

7201 Archer Avenue , JusticeGrowing up , most kids live in fear of that horrifying lady in the mirror know as “ Bloody Mary . ” Here in Chicago , we have a different Mary to reverence : Resurrection Mary . Since the 1930s , dozens of people claim to have had bizarre encounters with a young blond female person on Archer Avenue near Resurrection Cemetery . Some have even reportedpicking up a young distaff hitchhiker near the Willowbrook Ballroom , only to see her hop out of the railroad car at Resurrection Cemetery and fly . In other cases , driver have reported clash with a immature female person outside the cemetery gate . However , by the clock time they cash in one’s chips their car , the young woman has vanish . Experts have been chasing this particular trace for years , attempting to fix both the legitimacy of these title and Mary ’s identity . However , given the high number ofvanishing hitchhiker stories , many doubter have compose Resurrection Mary off as expert old - fashioned folklore .

Nederlander Theatre