Читать книгу Chicago Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 19

MOUNT CARMEL CEMETERY

1400 South Wolf Road, Hillside, Illinois 60162

directions

From the center of Chicago, take I-290 West for about 13 miles to Exit 16, Wolf Road. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left onto South Frontage Road. Take your first right onto Harrison Street. Follow Harrison Street for about 0.5 mile before turning left onto South Wolf Road. The cemetery will be on your right. The haunted section of the cemetery is through the front gate and to your left.

history

The cemetery was consecrated in 1901 and has seen more than 225,000 burials since that time. There are more than 400 private mausoleums in the cemetery. This cemetery is also the final resting place of many of the area’s bishops, archbishops, and even a cardinal.

When you consider the ghost activity here, you may think that some of the cemetery’s other residents may have something to do with it. Mobsters and crime lords, including Hymie Weiss, Dean O’Bannion, Frank Nitti, Vincent Drucci, and the Genna Brothers, are all buried here. They are buried alongside perhaps the most famous mobster of all time, Al Capone, whose marker bears the simple epitaph, “My Jesus Mercy.”

Remarkably, the ghost stories at this cemetery don’t have anything to do with these dark figures from Chicago history. The ghost stories are about a young woman named Julia Buccola Petta. In 1921, at the age of 29, she passed away. Her mother was distraught and had a marker built for her daughter that not only had a statue of a bride, but also a photograph of her daughter in her wedding dress. Six years passed with Petta peacefully resting beneath her magnificent marker. Then, Petta’s mother started having dreams. In these dreams, Petta would come to her and tell her that she was still alive. These dreams haunted Petta’s mother, and she was eventually able to secure permission to exhume her daughter’s grave.

When they dug up Petta’s grave, they discovered that the coffin had begun to rot away. Petta had not decayed at all, though. She appeared the same as she had on the day that she died. Her mother took a photograph of the pristine body. The photograph of Petta, six years dead, was placed on the grave marker next to the photograph of Petta in her wedding dress.

ghost story

It seems that having been exhumed and photographed has upset young Julia Petta. Since the time of the exhumation, ghost stories have been circulating throughout this cemetery about her. People often report seeing a young woman in a white wedding dress walking around the cemetery near Petta’s grave. Many times, those who see her will describe the dress as having a glowing or ethereal look to it. When this strange figure is approached, it either slowly fades into nothingness or vanishes in a blink of an eye. Those who look at the photo of Petta on the gravestone know that the figure that they saw was Petta.

visiting

In order to find this ghost, you would have to enter the cemetery during normal business hours. The cemetery is open 8:30 a.m.–7 p.m. daily. Do not attempt to enter the cemetery after 7 p.m. You will be arrested. In order to find the ghost here, you will first have to find Julia Petta’s grave. It’s located at Section A, Block 6, Lot W2, Grave 5.