Chicago south suburbs: Chuck Cavallinis, The Cottage and The Tivoli restaurant

My mother and I moved from the south side of Chicago to Dolton, Illinois in 1970 living in an apartment at 15222 Chicago Road within walking distance of Cavallinis Restaurant at the intersection of Sibley and Chicago Road. I was a steak lover and it was here that she and I would have the occasional Sunday dinner. It was also here in 1976 that I had my first vodka gimlet; soon to be my drink of choice…then. Not anymore. It was also a favorite place of friends from Thornton Community College now South Suburban to hang out for lunch, dinner or to celebrate a special birthday. It was also place I visited in the early 1980’s to celebrate a special anniversary and almost fell asleep at the table; not knowing that I had mononucleosis at the time. Chuck Cavallini opened his first restaurant in Midlothian beginning as an ice cream shop in 1932 but then a family restaurant finally closing in 1989.

The Cottage in Calumet City was a wonderful French restaurant that was truly an exclusive dining experience. A friend mine took me to the new restaurant in 1976 for my 21st birthday and the food was so good that it became a major Chicago destination. The restaurant opened in 1974. It was owned by Carolyn Bust Welbon and her husband for about 20 years located on Torrence Avenue. It was a risk but the atmosphere was really special….just like a cottage….with the most tasty soups and swordfish that was out of this world. According to sources, the couple divorced in 1993, the husband brought in another chef but closed the restaurant in 1996. Carolyn passed away in 2017.

The Tivoli in Chicago Heights was opened in 1947 and grew from 50 to over 300 seats. It was an excellent restaurant located at 19800 Glenwood Rd but also offered banquet rooms for birthdays, funerals and weddings. My girlfriend’s daughter celebrated her wedding at the Tivoli. They offer great steaks but was known for its Italian cuisine. John Giobbi was founder and opened another restaurant called the Tivoli II in Country Club Hills. He was known for greeting many patrons by name. He passed away in 1990 and his wife, Dolores in 2007.

Worthpoint offers a wonderful menu that I remember, preciously holding in my hands. It is in beautiful condition with gold engraving. Inside it says may it always be bluebirds in your trees. Strange, how that memory stays with me decades later. Worthpoint also offers a vintage ash tray of Chuck Cavallinis restaurant in Midlothian in great condition; packed away for many years. I had just started smoking back in the days when smoking was allowed inside and I am sure I had shared an ashtray with several. Matchbook covers were available to represent The Cottage but no longer for sale. Wonderful restaurants enjoying friends and family are missed but not smoking.

The Other Side

By Caryl Clem

When Halloween approached, I was one of the first kids to ask for a “ ghost story”.  Kids succumbed to magical powers by a person or animal who acts like your long lost friend.  I imagined myself outside the protection of my family. I became  a moving target for evil forces: a fear that quenched exploration of the other side for years.

Later in college dorm life, peer majority exploring mystical forces opened the door to the Ouija Board. I sat huddled in my room with friends who wanted to invite spirits to guide us. A blessing was uttered to protect us against the evil spirits. My turn came, I asked to speak to the spirit of my birth father. I was adopted, had no idea who he was The message spelled out, PLANE DOWN.  I had had dreams of him in a uniform. When cold air  rushed through the room and almost detached my closet door from its’ hinges. Fear was like frostbite chasing my friend back to their rooms.  I gave the board away. Today’s reflection, did it really happen? Over 50 years later a contact through Ancestry said my father was in the service but never came back to marry his girl.   My birth mother went to a unwed mothers’  sanctuary.  

Switching schools while attending college, I lived by a city cemetery. A  new friend who lived across the driveway during an open  window  conversation one night said,” There is a rumor that a ghost appears above this headstone every year. Do you want to check it out.  We can meet at 11:40  p.m. and walk there to see.” I have nothing else to do that night being too old to trick or treat.  I reply, “ Let’s do it !”

I had never climbed over a gated fence before or felt so vulnerable. Getting out would be just as hard. It is near midnight on Halloween while a friend and I walk towards the gravestone. Glistening fear on my neck.  Within a few minutes mist is swirling by the site turning into a gowned woman twirling. I had reacted, “ Let’s get out of here. “  I was running chased by a cool breeze. Once over the fence, I feel a sense of quiet and calm. I was too afraid to look back to see if the mist disappeared.

I lived in my Grandmother’s last residence built by an aging contractor who told my father, “ This is my last job.” I loved the quaint cottage style dwelling. I prayed for blessings as I moved in, young, ready for my life’s journey. My hairbrush traveled without my help. It could be resting on the kitchen counter,  or on the stove , or in the refrigerator. It was part of a set that was parked on my vintage dresser. A ritual every morning, brush your hair to life. I often searched for the hairbrush mumbling, “ Thanks for watching over me, I need to brush my hair now.” Guided by an unknown force, I would find the hairbrush and carry on with my day.I live on this side but unexplained forces exist.  

Put forth blessings for all of us facing the day in front of us, no matter what side you are on. 

The Ghost of Al Capone

My Aunt, who has long since passed, claimed that she knew Ralph Capone and had a date with him. And she had heard that his brother Al, was trying to really help other businesses in Chicago prosper but that all changed and no one that knew the infamous man talked about him in later years. He became Public Enemy #1 and better known as Scarface; the most dangerous organized crime leader of all time. Al Capone was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York working brothels there and came to work for Johnny Torrio, in Chicago as a body guard and was hit by a gang. He was an Italian-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s deciding to retire giving Al Capone his entire business.

Al’s brothers came from New York to help, which included Ralph. Al was truly Untouchable, like the movie, until he prompted the St. Valentines Day Massacre though he was not officially connected to the rival gang murders. Al expanded the boot-legging business which he ran for seven years and was put in jail for tax evasion in 1931. He was also suffering from neurosyphilis and had know for sometime that he had but was embarrassed to get treatment. He was released from prison because he was so sick after 8 years and died at his Miami Beach home on Palm Island on January 25, 1947 at the age of 43. Sources say his mind was that of a 12 year old and died of cardiac arrest after a stroke.

Where is Al Capone’s ghost now?

Maribel Caves Hotel in Wisconsin was demolished in 2013 but some say the Capone who owned it still walks on the premise.

Many still claim to see his ghost sitting at the bar of the Congress Hotel which is haunted with many ghosts. He was known to hang out there and have many a business meeting. Several of his friends actually lived in the hotel in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The corridors where used for smuggling and many other illegal activities.

Capone’s home at 7244 South Prairie Ave., Chicago was originally built in 1908, and purchased by the mafia boss in 1923. Capone lived there until he bought his Miami home and after that, he gave his Chicago home to his mother. The house had few owners; the house finally sold to for 226,000 in 2019 being on the market for several years.

The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge is the beating heart of Uptown’s historic entertainment district. Chicagoans have enjoyed drinks and music here since 1907, when it opened as a roadhouse. Capone henchman “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn ran the joint during Prohibition. Chicago Tours have frequently designed custom tours that visit this famous juke joint though I have not seen any ghosts there when I have visited.

He has been seen by many floating by the Chamber of Commerce in Chicago as well as sitting on a bench. Some say they have seen him at a Bulls game.

Windy City Ghosts offers some great Chicago Gangster Tours. The tour is perfect for people who want to learn more about the Second City’s history, those who would like to get to know a specific Chicago neighborhood in depth, as well as those interested in the paranormal. Everyone is welcome, from ghost tour newbies to history buffs to professional ghost hunters. Gangsters and Ghosts offer a walking tour on the streets to really acquaint yourself with the infamous city of Chicago, through a guided Chicago Gangster Tour or Ghost Tour, detailing the crimes, deals, and charisma that made the city what it is today.

More Prairie Avenue Ghosts

I love to walk up and down the historic avenue. I have read many historical novels such as Prairie Avenue by Arthur Meeker.  It’s always a new field trip to walk with the ghosts on Millionaires Row and to read about them. Residents of the street have influenced the evolution of the city and have played prominent national and international roles moving there after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. By 1886, the finest mansions in the city, each equipped with its own carriage house, stood on Prairie Avenue. In the 1880s, mansions for George Pullman, Marshall Field, John J. Glessner, Philip Armour and Kimball. Mansions were located between 16th and 22nd streets.

A few of the mansions do remain such as the Glessner House which is an active museum and the Henry B. Clarke house, also a museum. The Marshall Field, Jr. Mansion at 1919 South Prairie Avenue, now condos, is a marvel of preservation and sensitive reuse. And many say that Prairie Avenue is haunted.

Glessner House was designed by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in 1887. So different from the Victorian houses that were being built at the time and eventually those, for the most part, were torn down. The House is a National Historic Landmark and offers wonderful tours with many of the rooms accurately restored to their original appearance and decorative objects and furnishings have been added by the Glessner family. John Glessner lived there until 1936 and thousands tour the house every year. Henry Hobson Richardson never got to see his creation built since he died after he completed the blue prints. Many have seen him walk the halls. Even during the time the Glessner family lived there, Haunted houses.com claim that many family members felt a cold presence moving through the mansion,even today.

The Glessner House Museum offers haunted tours of historic Prairie Avenue. Director of the Glessner House has admitted that there is a strange feeling that has been experienced on the street. The Keith House, privately owned by Marcy Baim, is another on the street. It has been restored, at 1900 Prairie and offers special events, such as weddings.

The Kimball House: The house was built in 1890–92 for William Wallace Kimball, a piano manufacturer. I still have a Kimball upright that was built in 1949.  Kimball reportedly spent $1,000,000 on the home. The house is located at 1801 Prairies and though some feel that the outside design is cold, the inside is beautiful with maple floors and 29 rooms which have been sub- divided though many have stayed the same such as the library, huge drawing room, and dining room that housed Mrs. Kimball’s massive silver collection. She also collected many paintings by such artists as Rembrandt, Millet, and Monet including many others. But when Mrs. Kimball died in 1921, the house was converted to a boarding house which eventually failed and was bought by Daisy Hull for 8,000 backward children. But finally, the house, along with the Coleman house at 1811 were acquired by R. R. Donnelley in 1973 who donated them to the Chicago Architecture Foundation in 1991.  They leased and then sold the properties to the U. S. Soccer Federation for use as their national headquarters, which is how the building is used today. Mrs. Kimball still walks the halls. Noises have been heard along with apparitions seen as well as the feeling of being watched.

The Marshall Field Jr. House was designed by architect Solon Spencer Beman, the home sold to the son of one of Chicago’s most famous 19th century entrepreneurs for $65,000 in 1890. After a stint as a psychiatric hospital, the structure was sold to the Chicago Architectural Foundation in the 1970s before being partitioned into condominiums in 2007. There are six million dollar condos with a private courtyard in the back. In the past, there have been claims to hear footsteps and strange cries.

Glessner House

By Caryl Clem:

Mrs. Frances Glessner started Monday Morning Reading classes on November 21, 1894 to explore great scholars and experts’ works with 25 or more Chicago ladies. The tradition to inspire and provoke thoughts is still alive and thriving.  Standing indestructible on stone blocks at 1800 Prairie Street, the Glessner House is a Chicago cornerstone.  Visibly Glessner’s outside is stern, simple architecture, an original Richardson Romanesque, inside gracious airy rooms. The Glessner home was deeded to Chicago after the couple’s deaths as a museum to provide a place for great minds to find expression and appreciate culture.

William Rainey Harper, Yale graduate became President of the University of Chicago from 1891-1906.  He wanted woman faculty newcomers to be able to meet prominent Chicago wives throughout Chicago. He approached Frances Glessner for suggestions and the Monday Morning Reading classes were born. The Who’s Who of Chicago’s aristocratic Southside met educational trailblazers from a variety of cultures.   Many of the faculty wives were living in crude conditions while homes were built.  The city seemed foreign and difficult to maneuver for these university women.  Friendships emerged during the meetings that made strangers to Chicago feel welcomed.

John Glessner’s farm machinery business finesse resulted in the formation of International Harvester. He instigated the mergerof the largest farm implement companies together to end the reaper wars. He devoted his after work hours to serving various organizations to improve life in Chicago. The following are just the tip of his social iceberg:  Citizen’s Advisory Board to Chicago, Chicago Relief and Aid Society, Chicago Orphan Asylum, Rush Medical Group, Art Institute of Chicago and trustee of Chicago Orchestra Association.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation in 1966 did not want to see the Glessner house meet the fate of other homes of the Gilded Age suffering neglect and eventual tear down.  The home was fortified for continued use. The architect Henry Hobson Richardson died before he could see his completed masterpiece. Rumors abound that a white entity is seen floating in different rooms in the house leaving a telltale trail of cold air. John Drury mention in his book, Old Chicago Houses, that rooms were a laboratory for  the Institute of Technology  designing aptitude tests for students to identify what career choice best suits their personality and strengths . Glessner house is now a museum.

https://www.glessnerhouse.org/programs

Haunting of Joliet Prison

Built in 1858 and in operation until 2002, the Joliet Prison is still open for haunted tours. The architect that designed Chicago’s Water Tower also designed the gothic prison built with the same limestone. The prison in Joliet replaced the first state penitentiary in Alton which was horrendous as far as inmate conditions and though Joliet Prison was supposed to improve, by 1878, over 1,200 people were housed there. The Prison still offered terrible accommodations. Statesville was opened in 1926 in Cresthill, but many gruesome disasters happened at the Joilet Prison.

According to Chicago Magazine, Joliet is among the oldest prison complexes in Illinois. Most famous for its appearance in The Blues Brothers movie, the penitentiary has hosted such notorious criminals as John Wayne Gacy, Richard Speck, and Adolf Luetgert, the original “sausage king” of 19th-century Chicago, who famously dissolved his slain wife in lye at his meatpacking warehouse.

In 1924, Leopold and Loeb were given a life sentence known for kidnaping and murdering Robert Franks. Baby Face Nelson was held there and in 1975, the Almighty Black Stone Nation and other Chicago street gangs took over a cell block and held officers hostage. Other horrible events happened at the Prison that included the warden’s wife being set on fire as well as other violent crimes throughout its history.

Joliet Hauntings offers video’s displaying contact with spirits that include voices as well as being touched. They were the first to investigate in 2018. Award winning author and ghost hunter, Ursula Bielski and the Joliet Paranormal Crew offer an amazing book that details the authorized investigations of hauntings at the Prison just launched this summer. Ursula is founder of Chicago Hauntings and has been writing and researching the spirit world for decades here in Chicago. She is a renowned expert on Chicago’s supernatural folklore. She has written thirteen books as well as a guest on many television shows describing her experience with the paranormal world.

Tours are available at Joliet Prison but because of the state mandates due to Covid, tours are mainly outdoors. All tickets must be pre-purchased at jolietmuseum.org. You can also get involved at the historic site as a volunteer, donate or share artifacts from the Prison.

Dark Shadows

It was junior high and we would race home to watch; beginning at 3 Central time in Chicago. Like millions of others throughout the Chicago area. Sometimes, I would race to a friend’s house and we would begin our favorite, American Gothic, horror soap opera, Dark Shadows. It was presented on ABC or Channel 7 for Chicago kids in junior high and high school. Beginning in 1966 to 1971, the wealthy Collingsport family lived in Maine and was plagued by supernatural occurrences. The show really became popular when Barnabas Collins, (Johnathan Frid),a vampire, joined the cast. I wanted to grow up and be the beautiful witch, Angelique, played by Lara Parker and, of course, no one could live without Quentin Collins (David Selby).

Growing up during my years, everyone loved Quentin and today Etsy provides memorabilia from Dark Shadows that specifically compliments David Selby. He was very alluring to most young women growing up during my time. There were postcards, book marks and posters of Quentin to purchase that every girl wanted. In 1968, Selby joined the cast of the TV series Dark Shadows as werewolf Quentin Collins. After the series’ cancellation in 1971, Selby played a different, non-werewolf, version of “Quentin Collins” in the second feature film based on the show, Night of Dark Shadows, released later the same year.

Currently, David Selby has an active website and is an author. Besides being an actor, David Selby’s first book, In and Out of the Shadows, is a career retrospective featuring photographs from throughout his career as well as a few poems, one about Dark Shadows. Its release coincided with the 1999 Dark Shadows Festival in New York. He is written seven additional books. Not only does he have a Facebook page for David Selby but a Facebook page entitled Quentin Collins.

According to Wikipedia, the original network run of the show lasted for nearly five years to amass 1,225 episodes. In 2004 and 2007, it was ranked #19 and #23 on TV Guide‘s Top Cult Shows Ever. Since 2006, the series has continued as a range of audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions, featuring many of the original cast, including David Selby, Lara Parker, and Kathryn Leigh Scott.

 

 

Chicagoland/Suburbs: More haunted theatres

The Biograph Theater, now known as the Victory Garden, was opened September 5, 1914. All 942 seats were on a single floor. This Lincoln Park neighborhood landmark is probably best known by Chicagoans as the place where John Dillinger was shot and killed on July 22, 1934 after attending a screening of “Manhattan Melodrama” starring Clark Gable. There are stories of people seeing a shadowy figure of a man running on the sidewalk, or heading for the alley. He runs, then falls and disappears, almost as if reenacting the shooting over and over again. Some feel that Dillinger was not shot but some believe it was a look alike. According to the Ghost Research Society, some people have even claimed to have photographed strange shadowy figures lurking in the alleyway, just steps from where Dillinger was killed.

Woodstock Opera House: The four story structure has been used for many years to host live performances of celebrities including launching the career of Orson Wells. The Woodstock Opera House, built in 1889, originally housed the library, city council, court, and fire department for the city of Woodstock, Illinois. The Opera House sat above on the second floor. According to Family Travel on a Budget, in the 1940s, Shelley Berman was working on scenery for a production. A loud noise in the seating area startled him. He scanned the room and noticed that several chairs in row DD were in the down position. He ran over to investigate, and when he arrived, all the seats were in their upright position. Berman shared his experience with other cast members, and a haunted legend was born. Many claim that the ghost is a young woman from the early 1900s that threw herself from the belfry of the opera house since she could not get a part and could not handle rejection.

Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford is an historic theater that opened on October 9th 1927; a grandiose movie palace and stage with a Barton Grand Theater pipe organ that hosted a number of celebrities and movies. With the support of the community, the theatre was re-stored in its original style in 2001. However, according to sources, paranormal groups have documented several ghosts at the theater, but the Van Matres, Louis St. Pierre, a manager, and Miss Kileen, a secretary, are the core spirits watching over the historic theater. Many have seen the ghost light, as they refer, during their visit. Besides attending events and shows at the theater, tours are available. Feel free to contact Coronado to plan your visit.

Rialto Square Theater opened in 1926 as an old vaudeville and movie palace in downtown Joliet. The grand space has been restored to its original beauty including an elegant rotunda and dome with amazing chandeliers throughout. The theatre is also home to a Barton Grand Theater pipe organ. Accidents have happened in the building including the balcony according to Haunted Houses who claim that staff and workmen have seen an apparition of a women floating around the theater. Apparentaly, she is more active after the the theater is closed to the public.  Visitors have also taken pictures and have seen strange figures in the photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

Ten of the most haunted Chicago/ Illinois bars

Excalibur /Chicago Castle,the nightclub dates back to the late 1800s and was the original location of the Chicago History Museum. With its three levels and 60,000 square feet of adult entertainment, it is a Gothic graystone located at the corner of Dearborn and Ontario. It is a designated landmark building and used to be the Chicago Historical Society. It closed as the Excalibur in 2012. Most recently the Tao Group opened its signature Hybrid Asian Cuisine/ Nightclub in the location in September of 2018.Tao operates on the 2nd floor. Many employees felt the place was haunted and it has been filmed on a variety of paranormal shows.

Websters Wine Bar located at a 2601 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago is said to be haunted by a lumberjack from the early 1900’s and has been seen in the party room on the second floor. Websters has a comprehensive global wine list and a great menu of small dishes, salads and cheeses.

Red Lion Pub is on the north side of Chicago at 2446 North Lincoln Avenue. Now a more upscale neighborhood, according to Haunted Houses people have died in the building including a woman who died from an epileptic seizure, a mentally challenged woman, a young cowboy, and another male entity according to ghost experts. These spirits walk the floors of the restaurant to name just a few.

Bucktown Pub was established in 1933 and a very typical, cozy tavern with creamy, draught beer. According to TrueIllinoisHaunts.com, the pub is believed to be haunted by the site’s former owner who committed suicide in 1986 and whose spirit apparently thinks he still runs the place. Napkins are re-arranged and sometimes the jukebox goes on and off.

Liars Club located at 1665 West Fullerton is supposedly haunted by a women who was killed by her husband. They lived in the apartment above the bar. One employee actually saw an illusion leaning against the bar and some have been tugged on their arm but no one is there. This unique club was formerly known as the River East. The club is located between Clybourn and the Metra tracks on Fullerton.

Country House in Clarendon Hills is a two story building erected in 1922 as a place for locals to congregate for drinks, food, and good conversation. In 1974 during a meeting with a contractor to renovate the restaurant the men were sitting in the bar and shutters on the windows opened without human contact displaying shafts of light. Other workers have seen dishes move and have heard moaning in the walls. Others have actually seen a woman who they call the lady in blue.

Chets Melody Lounge  The bar got its name from Chet Prusinski in 1963 and is located at 7400 Archer Avenue in Justice. Of course, it is the famous Resurrection Mary that many wait to show up at the bar since those that have seen the ghost in the past run for a drink at the bar, also across the street from Mary’s home, Resurrection Cemetery. The Ghost Research Society has investigated the bar last year.

Cigars and Stripes is a bar in Berwyn Illinois featuring some of the best barbeque and a cigar store. But paranormal experts say that something haunted is going on according to Legends of America. There are many accounts of glass falling off shelves and the phone receiver being picked up and put down. People are actually watching it happen and hearing things as well.

Irish Legend is located in Willow Springs on Archer and has an exceptional menu of Irish classics. According to Only in Your State, It was originally built in the 1920s as O’Henry’s Roadhouse which was a speakeasy with ties to vintage mobsters like Al Capone, who was known for having people killed and then hiding the bodies. According to employees and the owner, things get re-arranged at the pub and restaurant.

The Great Escape restaurant at 9540 Irving Park Road in Schiller Park began in 1889. The bar and banquet room are still part of the original structure and on the website, there is a whole section dedicated to the haunting s that have occurred. Old fashioned music is heard from the 1920’s, there are cold spots and sometimes you feel someone standing right next to you. The Chicago Paranormal Detectives was invited to have the full 10 person paranormal team come in and spend the night investigating. Visit to find out what they discovered.

Five of the most haunted Illinois towns and tours

Alton: The city is actually considered the one of the most haunted towns in America according to Meeting of the Great Rivers. Alton is located on the banks of the Mississippi River and visitors including hunters have seen orbs of light in various places throughout the town. Through the years, many travelers have investigated and inquired about the unexplained happenings and psychic phenomena found throughout Alton.  Several locations that are noted to be extremely haunted, including the infamous McPike Mansion, The First Unitarian Church, and Milton School, have been featured on television shows on the Travel Channel and Syfy Channel. Alton tours is offered by Alton Haunting and tickets are on sale.

Naperville: Naperville has been known as one of the best cities in the US to live but according to Mysterious Heartland, one of the most haunted. A massive train wreck took place in 1946 where two passenger trains collided. Forty seven people were killed and one hundred and twenty five were injured. Many still ghosts or shadows walking on Loomis Street. Buildings at North Central College are also haunted as well as ghosts sited at the Naperville cemetary. Check out Naperville ghost Charlie Yellow Boots who walk the streets and the historic streets are supposedly EMF active.  Naperville Ghosts provides an interesting tour with Kevin Frantz who has also written two books about the Naperville Ghosts and actual encounters.

Galena: Ghost stories have been circulating since 1880 and according to Visit Galena, were actually written in local newspapers back then. The Lady in Black is said to haunt the DeSoto House in downtown Galena and one guest actually has a photograph of her. There has been many natural disasters in the valley but a great deal of historic preservation in Galena which tends to bring on the spirits according to many. Embe Eatery and Lounge has witnessed flying objects and the library at Ryan Mansion is something very strange for those looking for ghosts. Amelia Ghost Tours offer a great evening along with dinner theatre tickets available. Matthews Haunted Pub Crawl leads those to three historic pubs to visit ghosts located in downtown Galena. Ghost equipment is used on both tours.

Decatur: There are many stories of hauntings in Decatur, but few that have received as much attention in the general public at the time of their appearances as the “black ghost,” which there are reports of as far back as 1880 according to the Herald Review. Just south of the main highway in Decatur is the Greenwood Cemetary where people have a young woman crying on a set of stairs and orbs of light. Or visit Avon Theatre which has also been known to have spooky encounters. During the 1920’s, Decatur was known for bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, murder bringing violence which many felt contributed to spiritual drama.  Like Alton Tours, the same company runs the tours called Haunted Decatur.

St Charles: Hotel Baker is a hot spot for ghosts since sources claim that a chamber maid killed herself in the Fox River though there are no records of the suicide. Created in 1928, Hotel Baker was an elegant hotel that included the Rainbow Room, a two-story ballroom encircled by columns that featured a dancing floor and famous entertainers such as Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk. Since the hotel has been restored, it continues to be a choice of luxury. And the Arcadia Theatre in downtown St Charles is another haunted building where the lights go on and off. The Dunham-Hunt Museum is supposedly by Jane Dunham who is believed to have lost some of her personal items while the house operated as a museum. St Charles Ghost Tours is the place to contact for an amazing history.