“So it was early December and my dad took ma and a couple friends to Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery which was about 25 minutes away from my house. I was in 7th grade and had heard Bachelors grove was one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States, so I wanted to go. Umm… the cemetery itself is located a mile within a forest preserve that is close to a quiet road. It was dusk when we walked down the long path to the cemetery. Once we arrived we walked around and looked at different tombstones. Many of them had been damaged or knocked over since the cemetery went out of commission in the early 20th century. I remember coming across a grave with the name Rippet engraved on it. I saw a penny that was very shiny, like brand new, but was dated 1900. I decided to take it. Eventually, when we had left and were walking down the path, I casually mentioned the penny. My dad, whom had a summer job at a cemetery when he was in high school and had had a bad experience with taking things from the cemetery, told me I should go back and replace the penny on the grave. I brought one of my friends with me half a mile down the path back through the gates of the cemetery. As we crossed the thresholds of the cemetery the winds howled up and the night seemed instantly darker. I threw the penny back on the grave and on my way out I noticed a tall figure in black plain clothing standing off in the forest beyond the fence to my right. Me and my friend, who also saw the figure, ran down the path and back to the car. We told everyone about tour story. I still don’t know if what I saw was real, but i do believe it was a ghost.”

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is notoriously known as one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States. The cemetery holds many early Illinois frontiersman of the early 19th century. After the event, my informant researched previous occurrences at the cemetery and found several other accounts of people witnessing a tall man in 19th century style black clothing standing beyond the Northern fence in the forest. One of the other stories even states that three of the four witnesses died within a year of the incident. Other illusions seen include vanishing prairie houses. The cemetery gets its name, however, from more recent events. The name Bachelor’s Grove comes from the unknown number of young men whose bodies were hidden in the pond on its grounds by Chicago gangsters in the early 1920s and 30s. The most common apparition regarding this history is of a phantom car that stops on the road, right next to the creek, just as the mobsters would have done when burying their victims.

Personally believing in ghosts, I too believe the story. My informant is a local to the area and is a very credible source. The fact that he witnessed an event that is similar to what others have seen in the same area makes the story very believable. Growing up in Illinois, Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is notorious for being haunted and having a credible first hand account further proves this. Regardless of beliefs, Bachelor’s Grove is a spooky place to be after dark.