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MT. THABOR CEMETERY

5313 Mt. Thabor Road, Woodstock, Illinois 60098

directions

From the center of Chicago, take I-90 West for a little more than 45.5 miles to the IL-47 exit toward Woodstock. Follow IL-47 for about 8.5 miles to IL-176. Turn right onto IL-176 and follow that for about 1 mile before turning left onto Mt. Thabor Road. The cemetery will be on your right.

history

The property was originally owned by a man named Owen Dyer in the early- to mid-1800s. In 1846, Dyer sold an acre of his land to the Catholic church for $1. The Catholics erected a church on the property known as the “Little Church in the Bush.” As people in the parish began to die, the churchyard was used as a graveyard to bury locals in consecrated ground.

Eventually, the church fell into disuse and disrepair, and it was subsequently torn down. A large cross in the center of the cemetery marks where the church once stood. As of 1890, the cemetery fell into disuse, as well, due to its remote location. For a brief period of time in the 1960s, though, the cemetery was used to bury area babies who had died.

Since the cemetery is so remote, it became a magnet for vandals. Many times during the 20th century, the cemetery fell victim to their activity.

ghost story

At night, the cemetery is sometimes slowly overtaken by a thin green mist. Whenever this green mist overtakes the cemetery, people see shadowy figures walking through the mist. As the mist fades away, the figures are nowhere to be found.

Also at night, people witness balls of red, green, and white light floating through the cemetery. Sometimes, these balls of light appear in photographs, and other times, people see them with their naked eyes.

During the day, people feel cold spots manifest throughout the cemetery for no reason, even on the hottest of days. Witnesses also smell perfume throughout the cemetery.

visiting

There are no signs stating when the cemetery closes, and the gates are always open. Due to the instances of vandalism in this cemetery’s past, though, you may want to stay out of the cemetery after dark so that passing law enforcement does not get the wrong idea about your intentions. This is OK because many of the phenomena found inside this cemetery—the cold spots and perfume smell—happen during the day. The other ghostly happenings usually are seen by passing cars at night. Feel free to drive by the cemetery all night long, or even park next to the cemetery and look inside from outside the gates.