Читать книгу Chicago Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 7

CHICAGO: It’s one of the brightest, most inviting places in the world. At the same time, it’s one of the darkest, coldest places you’ll ever find yourself. And yet, it’s one of the warmest places on Earth—filled with hard-working people that would give you the shirts off their backs, even if you didn’t ask.

Having lived in this city my whole life, I realize it has issues, but still there is a kind of inexplicable magnetism that keeps pulling me back. It’s almost as if the city’s deepest secrets—held within its cemeteries, deep within its willow and oak trees, and atop the towering John Hancock Center—are calling me to explore them. Sometimes, it almost feels like the very veins of this city are not necessarily its roads, people, or buildings, but the stories that live on and are begging to be heard and retold.

Although the formula of this handbook may seem simple, let me assure you, gathering the contents for the book was no easy task. Chances are, if you’re currently reading this, you have probably picked up another haunted Chicago type of publication. To be honest, I have read them all. And the truth is, they are all pretty informative and do a decent job of telling stories about some of Chicago’s most haunted locations.

Knowing this, we’ve tried to do something different with our Chicago Haunted Handbook. This time, we’ve only included locations that, one, we actually thought were haunted and, two, you can physically visit and investigate. This is the reason for omitting a place like Harpo Studios, which is impossible to visit unless you are Oprah herself or at least a worthy doppelganger. That said, we’ve still included favorites, such as Bachelor’s Grove and Willowbrook Ballroom, but we’ve also added new places that you have probably never heard of, such as the Grease Factory, located in the small town of Huntley, or the California Clipper in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. There is no other book that includes information such as visiting hours, exact directions, history, and the ghost story for each of these locations.

I’ve learned so much about Chicago and Chicagoland in the past few years while collecting the information for this book, yet there is so much more out there for you to find for yourself. Hopefully, this handbook can guide you in the right direction.

Chicago is much more than a place to live; every nook and cranny has its own dark story to tell.

—Vince Sheilds