This cemetery has not taken in any new residents since 1965, and has become overgrown and in disrepair, leaving the ghosts to take over the area. More than a hundred occurrences of paranormal activity have been reported on this small acre of land. The property was set aside as a cemetery 1864, though some of the plots date back to the 1830’s.
Bachelor’s Grove is named for the large number of single men resting in its graves. One of its most prominent ghosts is a woman known as the White Lady, the Madonna 0f Bachelor’s Grove, and as Mrs. Rogers. She appears only when the moon is full. The White Lady is believed to be a woman who is buried in a grave next to her young son. She is seen wearing a flowing ivory gown. Sometimes, she appears to be holding a phantom infant who wails soundlessly.
Other apparitions seen include a grotesque two·headed man who no one has been able to identify. One theory is that maybe he is a spirit of someone killed in the late 1920s, when the site was a favorite dumping ground victims of Chicago mobsters. Their spirits, are said to appear as humanoid phantoms or amorphous globes of blue light, are probably the ghosts of those murdered for crossing the Mob. Most of these unfortunate souls were dumped into the lagoon near the cemetery during the 1920’s.
Additionally, a ghostly farmer with his horse and plow have been seen many times. The farmer died in the 1870s, when his horse suddenly bolted into the water, taking the farmer and the plow with it. Reports say the spectral farmer and his horse and plow can be seen working the land at night.
In the 1950’s, a bizarre ghostly farmhouse, complete with a white picket fence, appeared on several occasions. The phantom house is said to rise from the mist and waver for several minutes before it fades away again.
Strange blue lights are metimes seen dancing from tombstone to tombstone. In December 1971, a woman said she put her and right through the ghost of a figure walking down lath in the cemetery. In 1984, a skeptical investigator encountered the yellow glowing apparition of a man. The image only lasted for a few seconds but was followed by a display of darting red lights.
Perhaps the most eerie and dangerous apparitions at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery are the phantom cars. These ghostly cars and trucks have materialized racing around the roads surrounding the cemetery. They have been know to run other motorists from the road.
Bachelor’s Grove is located west of Midlothian, a suburb south of Chicago. Take the Midlothian Turnpike. Go west to the bio Woods turnoff. The cemetery is three quarters of a mile inside the Rubio Woods Forest Preserve.
Find out more about Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery here.