Community Corner

Cemeteries: Creepy or Cool?

I've visited many cemeteries in Illinois, Wisconsin and even Florida. Do you like cemeteries, too?

I have a confession to make.

I love going to cemeteries. Is that weird?

I know some of you are probably thinking that cemeteries are too creepy. I know I've definitely been to some creepy cemeteries. But they're also interesting historically and architecturally. 

Most recently, I visited the Lloyd-Jones Cemetery in Spring Green, WI. The cemetery was the original burial spot of architect Frank LLoyd Wright, though his remains were later removed, cremated and sent to Arizona.

Graceland Cemetery in Chicago is also home to some famous names. Take a driving or walking tour around the cemetery and you'll see names like Marshall Field, George Pullman, Louis Sullivan and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. 

The monuments are just as big. One of the most famous is a statue of a cloaked figure at the burial site of Dexter Graves. It's pretty amazing!

But, of course, I do often visit these cemeteries for their legends and (alleged) hauntings. One of the coolest I've been to is Rosehill Cemetery, also in Chicago. It's home to the statue of a little girl named Lulu Fellows, and legend has it that it smells like flowers by her gravesite. The gravesite can be hard to find because Rosehill is so massive, but the last time I visited the gravesite, it did smell like flowers! (And, for all of you skeptics out there, no, there were no flowers nearby).

One of the greatest things about Rosehill is its mausoleum, which is the final resting place of people like John G. Shedd (founder of the Shedd Aquarium), Aaron Montgomery Ward and Richard Warren Sears.

It's pretty dark in most parts of the mausoleum, which adds to the spooky atmosphere. But one time I was there, my friend Angela and I heard what sounded like a gate slamming shut—as in a steel gate from one of the crypts. We hadn't seen anyone else in the building! And then there was a time my friend Cory and I were there and we were approached by a nice elderly man who chatted with us for a few minutes. Funny thing is, there were no other cars parked outside and we never saw the nice old man again. This may sound crazy, but we're not 100 percent convinced he was among the living!

I've had plenty of other weird cemetery experiences—like the time Cory and I were driving to see a cemetery near Lake Geneva, WI, and it felt like someone rested their (ghostly?) hand on my face. And then there's a cemetery we visited in Florida called the Page Jackson Cemetery. Creepy indeed, though it didn't really feel haunted. And then there was the one we saw in Wisconsin where both of our cameras' batteries were drained while we tried to take pictures. Interesting, indeed.

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I've also been to Bachelor's Grove in Midlothian a couple of times. Nothing too spooky to report from there, although in one of the photos I took, it looks like there's a shadow of a person standing against a tree. I've included it in the photo gallery—let me know what you think!

Have you been to any particularly interesting (or spooky) cemeteries? Tell me in the comment section!

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And a quick editor's note: If anyone chooses to visit these or other cemeteries, all I ask is that they are respectful. Cemeteries are sacred places, and some do not allow photos. Follow all of the rules listed on any signage.


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