Bachelor's Grove Investigation 2022

The area around Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery was probably first settled in the 1830s by mostly German and Irish immigrants and many of them were originally bachelors. The initial deed was from around 1864 by a gentleman called Everdeen. Parcels of land were purchased for $1.25 per acre and about an acre of this land was eventually set aside for a cemetery. Today it is owned by a Land Management Group. The original Bachelor’s Grove Road went right past the cemetery and into the thick woods. When the Midlothian Turnpike was constructed, this road was closed off to vehicular traffic. Much to the surprise of many this cemetery is not located at Bachelor’s Grove Woods, which is a nearby forest preserve.

Throughout the years, much grave vandalism has occurred here and a number of stones were moved, discarded in the nearby lagoon or simply stolen. Many are not in their rightful place and some do not have names or dates inscribed on them.

In the late 1960s and through the mid-1970s there was evidence of satanic worship at this location. Occult symbols were scrolled on some tombstones and larger trees near the current lagoon. Decapitated remains of animals have also been recovered.

Some unsubstantiated reports of alleged mob victim bodies were discarded in the lagoon during the Capone era however, to date, no factual reports have surfaced.

The fence around the cemetery was put up in 1976 to keep unwanted people out, however the gates were breached and holes cut in the cemetery fence near the lagoon. The original Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery sign was probably first photographed by Dale Kaczmarek around 1980 or so. Many attempts were made to cut down the sign and even burn it. Today the whereabouts of this classic sign is unknown.

Unfortunately throughout the years this location became a hangout for teenagers, party goers and vandals in the dead of night. Today it is better maintained and a closer watch for trespassers exists, in thanks to local law enforcement and forest rangers.

Located at: 143rd Street just east of Ridgeland Avenue, Midlothian, Illinois across from Rubio Woods Forest Preserve

Hauntings: The amount of reported sightings would fill a library of books and range from a disappearing house that appears alongside the trail leading into the cemetery. It has always been reported as a white framed house, with a porch swing, white wooden pillars and even a light burning dimly in the windows. The unusual thing about this house is as you walk towards it, it appears to get smaller and smaller before finally disappearing into the woods. The house has been reported on either side of the trail and even within the cemetery boundaries.

Many different light formations have been reported starting back in 1970 by a Joliet man named Jack Hermanski who reported seeing a ball of light about the size of a soccer and blue in color bobbing around the graves in “an intelligent manner.” As he would reach out to touch the light it would suddenly disappear and then reappear behind him. About a year later a woman, Denise Travers, claimed to have put her hand through the light! She felt no heat and no sensation. It was light putting one’s hand through nothing at all. A red light, much like a Roman candle, has been reported zooming up and down the main trail at times.

A woman in white sometimes referred to as “Mrs. Rodgers” or “The Madonna” has been encountered on moonlit nights sometimes carrying an infant in her arms. Her attire is that of a white bridal, wedding or dance gown. Perhaps this is the same figure that was captured during a GRS investigation of this cemetery on August 10, 1991. Members were given maps of the location and told to walk through in teams of two documenting anything unusual. When the maps were collected and later compared several locations were marked by investigators. The group then revisited those locations for additional experiments and photography. Jude Huff (nor Jude Huff-Felz) took pictures using a 35mm SLR camera loaded with high-speed black and white infrared film. Later examination showed a woman in an old-fashioned full-length gown that appeared in one picture taken at a tombstone with a checkerboard pattern but had no name. Was this the famous “Lady in White?”

Disappearing cars and pick-up trucks have been reported along the Midlothian Turnpike. Sometimes passing cars catch a glimpse of what appears to be the silhouette of a car parked alongside the road. As they pass this image and look in their rearview mirror, they discover that it has completely vanished. Other times motorists report seeing a pick-up truck apparently backing into a forest preserve entrance (most often Rubio Woods). When they arrive at the site a few moments later, they are amazed to find no truck and the chain is still strung between the entrance of the forest preserve.

Many visitors to this location have come away with strange photographs on everything from 110 Instamatic, SX-70, 35mm and even today’s modern digital cameras. This includes strange fogs and mists, shadow figures, semi-transparent people, strange lights etc. Numerous EVPs and disembodied voices and sounds have been both heard and recorded. Electronic devices often have their batteries drained very quickly and sometimes don’t work properly.

An apparition of a farmer and his horse was reported by two Cook County Forest Rangers in the late 1970s. Traveling west on the Midlothian Turnpike, they both saw this visage exit the lagoon and cross the road before disappearing into Rubio Woods. No official documentation of a death of a farmer and horse can be documented but it does seem to be a real possibility as a lot of the land was farmed.

A phantom dog has been reported near the beginning of the trail leading into the woods. Jim Graczyk and a friend were visiting the location when they came across a menacing Rottweiler. The animal never made a sound nor even paid much attention to the late night visitors. As they left the location, the animal just vanished.

There are also many local urban legends often associated with this location including the “Hooked Spirit” and the “Escaped Mental Patient”. A more recent story involves seeing what has been described as a two-headed monster that crawls out of the lagoon before disappearing.

Some visitors often become ill when visiting while others simply get a deep feeling of dread and never enter the cemetery proper. Back in the day when one was able to drive up to the cemetery’s gates, their car would often stall and would not start up again until it was pushed more than halfway down the trail.

The GRS investigation of Bachelor's Grove Cemetery was on May 28, 2022 and the team included: Paul Adams, Charles Williams, Kathie Para, Michael Wright, Mike Rosario, Ron Lovatt, Chuck Williams, Greg Kos, and Dale Kaczmarek

Equipment setup: digital recorders and cameras, 4k Sony Nightshot camcorder, full spectrum camera with video, Melmeter with telescopic probe, REM Epod, another Sony Nightshot camcorder, Samsung Galaxy S21 slim ultra for Facebook Live session, portable laptop for Phasma Box app, dowsing rods

Experiments performed: One single Phasma Box session was conducted near the checkerboard tombstone.

Personal experiences:

Greg Kos: No report.

Ron Lovatt: I attended the investigation at Bachelors Grove but did not bring any equipment because this was my first investigation since coming off the health issues I have been experienced.

As a group we walked around at first and our leader Dale told stories and pointed out significant spots in the cemetery to those who never had been there. We also did a couple of EVP sessions but did not get that many direct responses we got a lot of discussions that the spirits were having between themselves.

I did not write anything down nor brought equipment to record the sessions so I don't have a lot to report but will share some pictures I took.

Kathie Para: No report.

Charles Williams: I had no personal experiences here. Nothing sticks out here. It was nice to top things off here for Paul in a spot which has had such history for the group. EVP, Ovilus and Phasma Box used here. It was odd to see a dead animal – probably placed by kids to shock others.

Michael Wright: This is second time I have gone to Bachelor’s Grove, the first time was in the evening and it seemed like more was going on during at that time. The equipment I used during the sessions was the Ovilus and the K-II Meter but did not get much with either device. I could not use any recorders because of all the background noises. Tried several times to use the dowsing rods but the responses were very limited.

There was some unusual voices coming from Dale’s Phasma Box but it was a little hard to decipher what they were saying.

The highlight for the day was a woman dressed like a Gargoyle that was doing some kind of video shoot. It was nice to be here with Paul before he went home to the UK; I hope he had a memorable investigation at this historic location.

Evidence collected:

Fuck BG.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session, the device blurted out what sounds like, “Fuck.”

Greg BG.MP4 - while conducting a Phasma Box session, a question was asked, “Do you want all to leave or just certain people?” The device responded with, “Greg.”

If you’re looking BG.MP4 - while conducting a Phasma Box session, during some crosstalk, the device said, “If you’re looking.”

Its recording you that’s nice Paul BG.MP4 - while conducting a Phasma Box session, the device said, “Its recording you.” A follow-up comment was made, “Yeah I’m recording you if you understand what I’m doing?” The device then said, “That’s nice Paul.”

Leave BG.MP4 - while conducting a Phasma Box session, a partial question was heard, “…asking a question.” The device said, “Leave.”

Words or phrases spoken by the Phasma Box – you, fuck, Greg, don’t be silly, hundred, tell me something, it’s alright, forget that, its recording you, that’s nice Paul, it’s you, …video & leave.

Conclusions: The GRS has investigated Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery many times in the past all the way back to 1982. We had a good turnout of members for this trip but due to time constraints were only able to conduct one Phasma Box session near the checkerboard tombstone. Even with only one session, we were able to get some interesting results and some random words albeit vulgar at some times.

I had thought of trying to put together sufficient numbers so that we could have investigated this location after dark however the planning, permits and time to get this together just didn’t afford itself.

We did have some non-members strolling through the cemetery. They didn’t interrupt us or cause any contamination but a few were a bit eerie with one that almost appeared to be stalking the team throughout our visit. This had happened at least once before in the past but no big thing.

This area has always fascinated me; sometimes producing great evidence, other times near nothing. This time it was an average day of evidence but nothing earth-shattering.