7 Haunted Places in Northern Illinois

Have you ever been to Bachelors Grove, Rockford University or Cigars & Stripes?

If so, you have already been to three of the creepiest places in Northern Illinois according to RebootIllinois.

I've been to Bachelor's Grove. Trust me when I say very scary and strange things happen there.

I don't know if I could bring myself to visit all of these very scary places, but if you aren't scared... go for it!

7. Cigars & Stripes, Berwyn

Shadowy figures without arms or legs have been spotted floating down the hallway towards the door leading into the beer garden. Others have heard phantom footsteps coming from the basement, and screams and shouts of a party in the basement when no one was there.

People also claim that the ghost of the previous owner, Rose, can be seen lingering at the bar. Glasses tip over, lights turn on and off and more of the very creepy poltergeist stuff!

6. Fox Run Subdivision, Geneva

There is a tiny cemetery at the southwest end of the subdivision. Residents of Fox Run said they can hear singing, knocking and have seen a phantom wearing an old suit. Visitors have also seen a woman in a white gown, heard crying infants and saw red eyes in the woods.

Where the subdivision is built is at the former site of the Illinois State Training School for Girls. It was a 'school' that rehabilitated juvenile girls who have been convicted of crimes. Could that be ghosts of the past?

5. Willow Creek Farm, Shannon

This freaked me out enough reading it, I'll just let Reboot Illinois tell you all about it:

From Reboot Illinois:
Willow Creek Farm dates back to 1838. William Boardman and his wife Mary came from England in 1835 and made their way to Rockford when the future city was merely a trading post. After a few years, William staked out a claim in Cherry Grove Township, Carroll County and erected a log cabin there. According to public records, the current farmhouse dates back to 1878, although there is evidence to suggest it was built more than a decade earlier.

In 2006, Albert Kelchner, the farm’s current owner, bought the property and immediately sensed that he was sharing his house with some invisible guests. He began to record his encounters and has invited mediums and paranormal investigators to his farm in the hopes of corroborating his experiences. Home to as many as seven identified ghosts and as many as a dozen others, Willow Creek Farm has been called one of the most active haunted sites in Illinois.

 

4. Roadhouse Restaurant and Bar, Oregon

What began as a grocery store, turned gambling house and speakeasy became a local bar. Owners have reported being visited by a mysterious young woman who seemed to vanish upon leaving the building. Employees could smell cigar smoke coming from the basement, when no one was there. Many believe it could be the ghost of Mary Jane Reed, who was murdered along with her date Stanley Skridla in 1948.

3. Rockford University, Rockford

Many of the campus buildings are said to be haunted. You can hear the laughter of past students near the Adams Arch and a ghost haunts a former radio station in the Burpee Building. The Clark Arts Center's two theaters are also visited by phantoms as well.

2. Elgin State Hospital, Elgin

Many of the unused older buildings, which now have been torn down, were said to have strange sounds, moving shadows, screams, flashing lights and blood stained walls. Many former patients and staff said they felt they were being watched. The Elgin State Hospital is now called the Elgin Mental Health Center. It was once called the Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane. Maybe that explains the strange things happening in the older buildings.

1. Bachelor's Grove Cemetery, Midlothian

This place is creepy! I've been here many times in my youth, but haven't gone back since I was an adult.

Phantom homes have been sighted around Bachelor's Grove. Many have reported a white farm house with glowing lights in the window that disappears. There is a ghost of Madonna, who is said to be searching for her lost infant. You can even see the tombstone of the 'Infant Daughter.'

The pond that is next to the cemetery has it's own share of haunts. A policeman reportedly saw the apparition of a horse, followed by a man and a plow, walk out of the pond and cross 143rd Street. The ghost is said to belong to a farmer who drowned in the pond when his horse decided to take a swim one day, pulling him under the murky water in the process.

Where is the creepiest place you have ever been to?