Читать книгу Chicago Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 14

CALVARY CEMETERY

301 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60202

directions

From the center of Chicago, take North Lake Shore Drive for about 6 miles, then turn right onto Sheridan Road. Follow Sheridan Road for a little more than 2.5 miles. Sheridan continues through a narrow stretch between Lake Michigan and Calvary Cemetery.

history

There are many historical figures from the Chicagoland area buried in this cemetery. White Sox founder and ballpark namesake Charles Comiskey is buried here, as well as a mayor and prominent businessmen from the area. Those who are buried at the cemetery have little, if anything, to do with the ghost who haunts the place.

There are a couple of different historical accounts that may explain the strange ghost that is seen here. The first account describes an aviator at the nearby naval base who was doing maneuvers over Lake Michigan during World War II. While flying, the plane experienced a mechanical failure and crashed into Lake Michigan. Eventually, wreckage from the plane washed ashore near Calvary Cemetery, but the body of the aviator was never recovered. The second account is more verifiable than the first. On May 4, 1951, a flight instructor at the nearby Naval Air Station Glenview was flying out over Lake Michigan on a calm day. Up until this point, all other flights from the base were uneventful. After the flight instructor lost radio contact with the base, search parties were sent to look for him, but no traces were found. Two days later, his body washed up on the North Shore of Lake Michigan across Sheridan from Calvary Cemetery.

ghost story

The ghost here near Calvary Cemetery is one of the most frequently sighted apparitions in all of Chicagoland. People who drive down Sheridan around midnight will sometimes see this apparition walking across the road between Lake Michigan and the cemetery. The apparition takes the form of a man in his late 20s or early 30s who is covered with seaweed. There will be a slight green glow coming from him as he drags himself across the street towards the cemetery. After he crosses the street, he vanishes into the cemetery.

The locals are well aware of the ghost who crosses the street into the cemetery. They have even given him a name, “Seaweed Charlie.”

visiting

This is one of Chicago’s easiest ghosts to go looking for for a couple of reasons. First, the ghost is not in the cemetery, which closes before dark every night. The ghost crosses Sheridan Road just outside the cemetery gates, and the road is open throughout the night. The ghost is most often seen by passing motorists, who are able to drive up and down Sheridan Road in this area all night without fear of legal ramifications. Second, this ghost appears often. There are literally hundreds of reports of people who have seen this ghost. Sometimes, the ghost has even been reported to have disrupted traffic in the area. Witnesses will see cars ahead of them swerving to avoid hitting something, which they soon discover is a green glowing man covered with seaweed.