When I was a teenager, Bachelor’s Grove was a scary place, said to be haunted and the scene of near-murders. Bachelor’s Grove is a cemetery connected to Rubio Woods in a southwest Chicago suburb. I went to there once during the day and was unimpressed…it was like any other forest preserve. Apparently, all the action takes place at night.
The story circulated among my teenaged friends told of a young couple sitting in a car after dark, doing what teenagers do. The boy tried to scare the girl by telling her about a murderer with a hook-hand who had been hung in the woods. His ghost still roamed Bachelor’s Grove. As the boy made his moves, the couple kept hearing scraping on the roof of the car. The boy scared even himself, so they sped away. Apparently just in time. Later, they discovered a hook hanging from the passenger side door. The scraping was the hanged man’s feet as he swung from a tree.
If you’ve heard that one before, let me know. I believe similar stories have been told in different cities, so it’s just an urban myth.
HOWEVER, in 1979 a photo was taken in the cemetery showing a woman in white and said to be the spirit known as the Madonna of Bachelor’s Grove. The photo showed a cloaked figure standing near the cemetery’s fence.
The photo here is another one taken in 1979, showing the woman sitting on a headstone (see far left arrow).
According to many witnesses, the figure sometimes appears dressed in a white flowing robe with long brown hair and wandering through the maze of tombstones. Her appearance is translucent and gives an eerie energy that cannot be denied.
Also known as the White Lady or the Woman in White, the ghost has been seen with and without a baby in her arms. Some believe that she’s looking for the child, as she stands near a grave with a small tombstone marked “Infant Daughter.” People still leave toys and dolls for the baby. Others believe the woman could be the spirit of Luella Rogers, who died in a fire along with her young child.
There have also been sightings by numerous people of a disappearing farm house, a ghostly farmer and his horse rising from the pond, glowing orbs, and even a ghost dog. Real facts include a history of satanic rituals in the 1990s, guys gone afoul of the mob dumped in quarry pond, and several murdered teenagers.
Bachelor’s Grove dates back to the 1840s. It was a peaceful place until the 1950s when the road was closed and vandals desecrated the graves. Paranormal professionals say it became a very active haunted spot and one of the most talked about in the world because of the photo.
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Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 