Bachelor's Grove Investigations throughout the years
Bachelor's Grove Investigations throughout the years 
For
all intents and purposes, the area known as Bachelor’s Grove was a large
wooded area that included a forest preserve north of
One
of the largest landholders was John and Jane Fulton who emigrated from their
native
In
the fall of 1976 a high-school teacher from nearby
The
site for the existing cemetery was said to have been set-aside in 1864, however
the first evidence of private ownership of the land was in 1835.
In 1864 Edward Everden sold this land to Frederick Schmidt but set aside
one acre of land to be used as a graveyard.
It is uncertain how many people are actually buried in the cemetery
because many of the tombstones are missing and historical records are considered
sketchy at best. Some local
historians have been suggesting that the cemetery is actually called
Whatever
the real origin, the cemetery is surely antique and quite spooky.
Located on what was then known as, Bachelor’s
In
the 1960's and 1970's the cemetery was the target of horrible grave desecration.
Some graves were dug up to the wooden coffins while others had the
remains of the deceased disturbed! There
has been occasional desecration in modern times with vandals digging around
gravestones, toppling over markers and spray-painting monuments.
Every Halloween, police have their hands full trying to keep Halloween
pranksters and vandals from further destroying this pioneer graveyard.
In
the middle 1960's there was evidence of cult activity and animal remains found
in the cemetery. Many believe that a
group involved in satanic worship may have been the culprit in these apparent
animal sacrifices. This author had a
chance to interview a few people who had nearly walked right into a satanic
ritual in progress. They described
several individuals in black robes carrying candles who were in the process of
killing a small animal in the cemetery during a well-known witch’s Sabbath.
Many
ask why the cemetery’s so haunted. Most
believe it to be a combination of the grave desecration, satanic worship and the
bodies that have been unceremoniously dumped out here throughout the years.
Add that to the fact that those early pioneers have faded largely out of
existence and are now almost forgotten.
Located
at: 143rd
Street just east of Ridgeland Avenue, Midlothian, Illinois across from Rubio
Woods Forest Preserve Website:
www.bachelorsgrove.com
In December of 1971, Denise Travers claimed that she was
able to pass her hand through the light on a very close encounter.
She felt no heat or sensation at all.
It was like putting your hand into a void.
Skeptics say that the blue lights were actually the methane gas given off
by decomposing bodies. However, most
of those bodies had crumbled to ashes long ago.
The blue lights have not been seen since the latter 1970's however a new
light has been reported with increasing frequency zooming up and down the main
trail leading to the cemetery’s entrance.
This light has been likened to a red skyrocket and is never stationary
but constantly moving. The
most fascinating story is the old house seen on either side of the main trail
leading back into the woods. Witnesses
have also reported the house as appearing the same; a white farm-style house
with white wooden columns, a porch swing and even a lantern burning dimly in one
window. However, there isn’t a
house there nor has there ever been one. The
house is a true phantom house. As
witnesses walk towards it, the house appears to shrink, getting smaller and
smaller before disappearing into the dark woods. The
house is never reported in the same place twice.
It’s been seen near the turnpike, along the dirt trail and even within
the cemetery itself! Arlene McComb
saw the house with a group of friends in 1975 and watched as the house began to
shrink in size until it was entirely gone from view.
Grace Nortman saw the phantom house in the winter of 1966 and 1967 while
another witness, Marianne Kerbs, experienced the ghostly abode in 1966. Along
the Midlothian Turnpike there have been numerous tales of disappearing cars
which one moment are there, the next they’re gone.
The first occasion was in June of 1977 when a passing motorist saw a car
parked on the side of the road near the creek that flows past the cemetery.
That same individual saw it again in September of 1978.
He was driving past the cemetery when he saw a car backing across the
road into the Rubio Woods area. He
assumed it was a police car setting up a speed trap but within a few seconds
after he arrived at the forest preserve entrance, it was nowhere to be seen.
The chain was still up over the entrance to the picnic area but the
vehicle was gone. Others have passed
by cars parked on the shoulder across from the cemetery.
After they pass the automobiles and look in their rearview mirror, the
cars have vanished. Some have made a
U-turn only to find no car there. In
1975 a south-side man went to visit the site in the afternoon.
Suddenly as he approached the cemetery, his SX-70 camera began taking
pictures by itself. Several pictures
begin spilling out of the instamatic camera without the shutter being depressed.
On each of the photographs was evidence of a strange white mist.
Some of the mists had an almost human-like form to them.
After sending the film and camera back to Kodak for warranty work, he was
told by the technicians that the camera was in perfect operating condition and
the film was new and unflawed. Since
that experience he has returned one other time and had some similar images show
up on the film. In the late 1970's two Cook County Forest Rangers on late
night patrol came across a most unusual image that they could not explain.
As they began to approach the lagoon, they saw what appeared to be a
farmer and his horse pulling a old-fashioned plow suddenly materialize in the
middle of the road and quickly disappear into nearby Rubio Woods.
They both looked at one another in utter shock and disbelief but
continued their nightly patrol. While
they both had seen the same thing, neither one made an official report of the
incident apparently fearing ridicule from their superiors and peers. Later
research indicated that in the 1870's a farmer and his horse did in fact drown
in the lagoon while clearing some land for crops.
For no apparent reason, the horse suddenly reared up and galloped
headlong into the lagoon. The farmer
not having time to let go of the reins was quickly pulled into the waters and
both drowned by being yanked down by the weight of the plow. A
local legend has been circulating since the 1960's of a two-headed monster that
supposedly crawls out of the lagoon and across the Midlothian Turnpike before
also disappearing into Rubio Woods Forest Preserve.
Perhaps this apparition was actually the ghost of the farmer and his
horse in a state of partial materialization?
Surely no one believes in a two-headed monster? Within
the cemetery itself an apparition of a lady dressed in white and holding an
infant in her arms allegedly appears on moonlit nights.
She has been dubbed “The Madonna” of Bachelor’s Grove.
No one knows whom she is however there is a small tombstone with no name
or date but simply “Infant Daughter” etched into the granite. Electronic
devices such as cameras, tape recorders and camcorders react strangely while in
or near the cemetery. Tape
recordings of strange sounds and sometimes voices have been recorded in the
cemetery over the years. One
recording simply says, “Hello, blackman”, while another sounds like a
forlorn voice calling, “Minna. Minna”; just wailing in the wind.
Within the cemetery is a tombstone with that name Minna. During
a weekend in August 1984, Carol Williams and her girlfriend experienced sweaty
hands, someone following them, strange voices stemming from nearby bushes and a
weird white form near a grave marked Of
course there are many folk legends also “told as truth” about Bachelor’s Couples
who have visited the area at night to make out have sometimes complained of a
sound of metal on metal near their front door handle.
Finally after the female is totally spooked, she asks to be taken home
whereby they find a hook swinging on the door handle.
Allegedly he was about to open the door when the couple drove away,
pulling the hook from his arm! Another
favorite tale spun at Bachelor’s Grove is the story of another couple parked
out there kissing and listening to soft music.
Suddenly a news bulletin tells of an escaped convict that has been seen
in the area. The girl again becomes
frightened and begs her boyfriend to take her home.
He tries to start the car but discovers he is out of gas.
Telling his girlfriend to wait while he takes a gas can to fill up; he
departs but warns her not to leave the car.
The girl now totally scared at being left alone begins to hear a weird
scratching on the roof of the car. Finally
after quite a long wait, a patrol car arrives at the scene.
They tell the girl to get out of the car and approach the police car but
not to look back. Of course her
curiosity gets the best of her and she does look back and sees her boyfriend
hanging from a tree above the car. His
throat has been slit and his fingernails scraping on the roof of the car, is
what the girl had heard all evening. While
these last two stories aren’t true, actual witnesses related the others just
as they remembered them.
The GRS first investigated Bachelor's Grove Cemetery on
May 1, 1982 and the team included: Pat Shenberg and Dale and Wayne Kaczmarek.
Equipment
used: Two Canon AE-1s 35mm SLR cameras,
video camera and portable cassette tape recorder. Film
used: One camera was equipped with 400
ASA color slide film and the other was color Ektachrome infrared film which was
pushed to 400 ASA. Observations:
Pat
picked up a number of ghosts roaming the cemetery on that particular day even
though she had never before visited the site and lived in Morris, Illinois.
These included: a group of about thirty people all milling around the area
between Newman’s grave and the lagoon which included a baker dressed in
baker’s attire, a man that when first observed was dressed in monks robes with
an animal-type face who was always sneering and growling, a small girl near the
Infant Daughter grave, a woman and a strange light near Newman’s grave, and
possibly the ghost of Hamilton near the outer fence. The
following is the never before released entire psychic transcript between Pat
Shenberg and I and exactly what she saw and where within the cemetery. (Near
the Fulton tombstone) Pat:
This thing keeps switching between this hideous looking thing to a man dressed
in strange looking clothes that looks like what I would think a saloon keeper
would look like. Has a lot of money. He won’t say what he did. Something very
wrong. The little girl is his daughter who is now a young woman. Dale:
What
style of clothing does he have? What era can you pick up? Pat:
He
looks to me like a cross between a saloon keeper and an Irish dancer. He’s got
loud, classy looking checkered vest on. Strange looking derby and a gold watch.
He feels very guilty about something and cannot even leave this area. He
complains that he’s fenced in because of his deeds. I have to assume from what
I have seen that there was a black iron grill fence here and he feels that
because of what he did, he has to stay within this perimeter. I told him that he
doesn’t have to. Dale:
Can
you pick up any names? Pat:
When
you said that, the name John comes to mind. (John Fulton?) Whether that’s
accurate or not. John might have been the man that he committed the terrible
offense against. I believe that it might have been someone in his family. His
daughter is not an infant anymore. She looks like she’s about seven years old
now. They call her an infant but she may have died younger and she died of some
kind of disease. She is aging and she won’t leave this place because he
won’t leave. She could leave, he feels he can’t. Dale:
He’s
sort of dominating? Pat:
Yeah,
but she was standing over here (indicating an area between a small tree and the
Fulton tombstone) and trying to hide from someone. He was very bold and standing
right out in the open. I don’t get the impression of murder but he did
something that was terribly wrong. It had to do with money. I don’t know why
he takes on the form of an animal, snarling and growling. Dale:
Any
idea why only half the tombstone was finished? Pat:
No.
You may find out later as we continue to work together that sometimes these
things follow me around. (Laughs) Dale:
Is
she still here? Pat:
She
was still here when…she’s trying to hide but it’s very obvious that
she’s still here. Dale:
Is
she a shy person? Pat:
Yeah.
She may be shy because she’s had no real contact with a lot of people, but
she’s had contact with this snarling man. I get the name Ann for her. (Emma
Fulton?) I’m sure that’s correct. Dale:
Ann? Pat:
Yeah.
Anna. (While many today agree that the Infant Daughter is that of Emma Fulton. I
found it interesting that Anna and Emma sound so much alike.)
That little tree is where she is. I saw a group of about thirty people. I
don’t know how many stones you’ve got here but they were over here
(indicating an area west of Fulton’s tombstone and near the lagoon). I looked
up to see why they would be over here. There’s nothing over there. Dale:
Did
something happen in that section? Pat:
There’s
a group of about, might even be more than thirty… Dale:
How
are they dressed? Same era? Pat:
I
don’t know, I was just aware that they were there. I’ll have to go into
trance to see exactly what they look like. This other one though is – she –
now the person that I feel is there isn’t there but there is somebody there.
Ok. I think the person that is there is…seems to be some sort of a guard over
a body. It’s a young woman. But you want to know about these people over here?
I can go into a trance and find out about them. Dale:
Do
you feel that they’re on this side of the fence? Or on the other side? Pat:
This
may be a wagon and a horse, fell into the water somehow. I don’t know if I’m
getting this from you or not (telepathy). Is that correct? Dale:
Yes.
I wasn’t thinking about that just now. Pat:
I
didn’t get it just now. (The area Pat was describing is often associated with
the farmer and horse drowning in the lagoon. She absolutely had no prior
knowledge of this story.) Dale:
Ok. Pat:
But that’s alright, I can still use that. These people, I think, don’t have
anything to do with that action. Dale:
How
are they dressed? Pat:
These
people aren’t dressed in any one time period and really they would not be seen
in their dated clothes. They are more inclined to be wearing robes. The main
complaint amongst them is that they must stay here. Wait a minute; I want to
find out why. (Trance) The
reason that they must stay here is that no one has taken them away. Now I
don’t know why that is, why no one has taken them away. Some of these clothes
could be dated I don’t think any earlier than the 1890s.
But they are really later than that, I would say between the 1920s and
the 1940s is the time frame when most of these people died. Dale:
Do
you feel that the people that you are seeing were buried in the cemetery? Pat:
Yes,
Definitely! But I don’t know…they’re not Germans though. They’re not all
Germans. Dale:
Do
you feel that they know each other? Pat:
Oh
yes, definitely, by this time. Dale:
Do
you feel that there are more men or women? Pat:
It’s
about evenly distributed and there’s children there too. When looking at this,
it almost make we wonder about the idea that I had that a certain aspect of man
cannot ever leave the earth and these are really bonded here for some reason
until a certain time has passed. Then they are taken away. Dale:
Do
you pick up any names at all? Pat:
Strange
name like Dorma or Dora; Dora Myers. (This is interesting as she was looking
from across the cemetery at the Newman grave and the woman buried there is Dora.
We know her maiden name was Flassig.) Dale:
Where
do you pick up the most of them, by the trees there? Pat:
Do
you see this tree right in the middle? They’re more grouped in front of it.
They’re sort of wandering around aimlessly. I can sort of hold them in a
suspended state, I think. There is a baker here saying, “You shouldn’t be
doing this.” Dale:
Is
he dressed in a bakers outfit? Pat:
Yes.
In fact, he even has a rolling pin in his hand. Dale:
Did
you pick these people up as you first walked in? Pat:
I
just knew that they were there. I wasn’t trying to pick up anything at that
point. I have never just sat down and done this in a cemetery before. I did this
at a funeral in a cemetery where I saw the person who had died. I never expected
to go to a cemetery and find people hanging out in one specific area. The
peculiar thing is that man doesn’t leave that area. (Near
Newman’s tombstone) Pat:
There’s
a woman over there that won’t leave that area as well though I don’t think
she’s the occupant of the grave. Dale:
Possibly
the wife of the… Pat:
She
might be. She looks sort of angelic; she might not even be a woman. She might be
something that doesn’t….she looks like a guardian type. Dale:
Like
a guardian angel, almost? Pat:
Well,
you know…I think I’ve seen angels but I’ve also seen angels that again
have characteristics of animals. They don’t have wings. I can’t tell if that
feeling is just from the fact that she is guarding that area. She wants to talk
about something. I don’t know what. There’s a nice white glow around that
area also. Dale:
Right
near the tombstone itself? Pat:
Over
the tombstone and in back of it a little bit. I don’t know which is the front. Dale:
Well,
that white smaller section is actually the tombstone with the name engraved and
belongs on that pedestal. Pat:
No,
it’s behind both of those pieces. Dale:
Ok. Pat:
And
it’s…I mean I haven’t looked at it. This is visually. Clairvoyantly, it
extends about four feet high and three feet wide. Now what it really is – it
looks like – a lot like that cloud over my sons. It’s an energy. The
apparition that I see is not a part of it. She’s sort of standing to the side
and I have to see her in my third eye. Dale:
Feel
any emotions about the woman? Pat:
I
wouldn’t know until I went into some kind of trance. I don’t feel the
emotion yet, that I felt over there (indicating towards Fulton’s grave). There
was an immense amount of that child’s crying on and off but I feel that the
crying was due basically to the fact that she’s staying there because her
father is there. She doesn’t know what to do about the situation. Where this
sort of has negative vibes, that has more positive ones (Newman). This area here
where they are (the group of people) is sort of neutral which is interesting. (Walking
over to the Newman grave) Pat:
Her
name is Dora. Dale:
Do
you think that this might have been the Dora that you picked up before? Pat:
I’ll
find out when I go into trance. She had been calling me over here, actually. She
wanted to talk to more than him. He couldn’t have cared less. He just (she
snarls). He is not very friendly. This one was, but there’s no man here. That
is very strange. I don’t have the sensation that there’s a man here. (A
group of boy scouts begin to walk through the area of
the Fulton grave) Dale:
Is
she still there as well? Pat:
She
tried to get away, fade away. He (scoutmaster) walked right on his feet. Dale:
I
bet that he appreciated that. Pat:
It’s
fascinating! Dale:
That
particular tombstone always seems to draw people to it. It’s always the first
one that people go to. Even though there’s so many, just as you walk into the
main trail, that huge one always seems to draw people to it like flies. Pat:
It’s
a very negative thing too. When they’re walking by they’re all looking over
there. There goes another one (indicating a small boy scout), he’s about the
size of the little girl. Dale:
But
you pick up more of a negative vibration there than you do… Pat:
But
the man causes it. I don’t know if it’ an action of reality. I think in
order to see a lot of things; you have to be able to not be stirred up by
anything you see. Now he’s snarling at me and looks kind of beastly but, in
other words, you have to be sort of accepting. If someone saw this character, a
lot of people would just go screaming away. Dale:
Is
it actually a human form that you are seeing? Pat:
It
changes. It’s pretty sad. No, what I saw originally was a monk with a dog-like
face. Pretty sad. But then when I asked him to reveal himself as he was, what I
saw was this man. It could be that his interactions with money with many people
was that he was a crook. Dale:
Do
you feel that he revealed his true self to you or that he was maybe concealing
something? Pat:
No,
he seemed very conceited really. I suspect that’s he really looked like. He
was sort of a chubby main, somewhat rotund, small, about five-three. When he’s
standing next to the tombstone, he’s about three to four inches taller than
the tombstone. He may have been a banker. Whatever he did, he did something that
was crooked and I believe that it had something to do with a brother. Dale:
A
swindle or something? Pat:
Yeah,
I mean the big crime may have been against someone of his family. I think he was
crooked all the way around. I feel that he committed what he feels was a really
terrible thing. I try not to make any judgments. Dale:
Think
it might have been some kind of swindle or something? Pat;
I
think he constantly did things like that and I think he did something worse to
his brother. I don’t know what. Could have been… Dale:
Are
they aware that the other people are here, though? Pat:
I
think that they’re aware but there seems to be this sort of contented motion
to most of them. This one here, she seems very interesting though. Dale:
When
the young kid was walking around, was the little girl just sort of shying away
too? Pat:
Yeah.
I don’t know if she wouldn’t have done that with me. I had the tendency to
try to hold her where she was. I feel somewhat bad about that. Dale:
Can’t
be any worse than her father holding her there. I think he’s more dominate. Pat:
I
don’t think he’s holding her. She just doesn’t know what to do. Too bad. I
told him I’d come back and see him tonight. (Laughs) He didn’t seem to be
happy or sad about that either. Dale:
Sort
of indifferent, huh? Pat:
He
seems almost sarcastic about anything you’d say about him but I think that may
have been a life-long attitude about him. Dale:
One
interesting question…I don’t know if you can answer it or not…the same
time that you were picking up the people by the tombstones, the people over
here, were they – were both of them aware of each other? Pat:
I
don’t know. Dale:
Or
are they on sort of a different plane from the others? Pat:
I
think that he has set himself apart. I think that he’s aware that there are
others here, but he has no interest. In fact, the iron fence that is there may
have been something that he contrived also to keep others away from him. To set
himself apart. I’m sure there’s an awareness between the two groups. I know
there’s an awareness between this one here (Newman), that she knows what’s
going on. Dale:
Do
you want to try this one? Pat:
Yeah Dale:
And
if you can, try to find out why she doesn’t want to join the other group.
Might be interesting why she, if she’s aware of the other people, then why is
she all by herself? Pat:
I
never thought about…but now that you said it, I do not know why she is alone.
This is the grave that we are talking about, that nobody (referring to the fact
that this grave is in a section of the cemetery all by itself). This light that
I see, I’m not sure that it has anything to do with her. There are two
different kinds of phenomena here. (Trance) She
knows they’re there. She can go back and forth and she’s waiting for her
children to die. Her husband is gone. This is another interesting statement. She
says that her husband is no longer here, so she’s here alone waiting. I told
her she’s waiting for nothing. Dale:
Maybe
her husband moved on? Pat:
Yeah.
That’s what she said. Now that’s the first one that I’ve heard say that.
That sort of discounts my theory that they have to stay here. It he’s not
here, she looks very happy, very content. (Picture with Pat touching my camera)
There’s no problem with her at all. You don’t even have to hold her at all.
She just stays there. Dale:
You
said you, at first, saw a light? Pat:
The
light is still there. Dale:
Is
it surrounding her? Pat:
No,
the light is really more of a high…right over…she’s bright too but this is
more of a diffused light. (Feels the ground) This is warm. To me to touch, this
is warm. (Another area) This is cold, very cold. She’s happy though. Strange. Dale:
Did
she give you any clue why she was by herself, here? Pat:
I’ll
have to ask her, she’s still right there. (Trance) This
is fascinating. (Feeling the ground) This is the head and this is the chest. She
doesn’t want to associate with them because they’re…you see, she knows
that you don’t have to stay here. She doesn’t have to stay here. To stay
here is a form of self-punishment. In other words, they are staying here because
they want to stay here. It’s a sickness to a certain extent. To want to stay
in a cemetery. She doesn’t have to. So, she feels better by herself. I think
there’s a lot of interaction between her and those children there. She would
be somewhat upset by the fact that those children are there and really
shouldn’t be there at all. But again, they have clung to a situation
that…where their families are there and they don’t want to leave. She
doesn’t seem angry about it but she just knows better. They don’t seem to
know better. They’re more like zombies except for the few that are animate.
They sort of mill around. Dale:
Do
you feel she knows some of those people? Pat:
Oh
yeah, now she does. Yeah. She has flowers in her hand; an Easter lily. It’s
better than the baker. Dale:
With
his rolling pin? Pat;
She’s
not an angel. She’s just a person but she’s waiting for her children.
She’s satisfied just to wait in spite of the fact that I tell her that they
won’t be coming. Dale:
How
do account for the glow? Is that associated with her? Or it that another
phenomena? Pat:
I
believe that’s another person. That looks like an older stone and obviously
it’s been desecrated. I believe that may be a father. There is definitely a
person in that grave. They’re very highly evolved. Now why the energy would
stay there perhaps the energy was so great from that person there, per se.
There’s a body there and there’s an energy field around it. But there’s no
soul there. Dale:
Does
the mist always stay in that one spot? Pat:
I
believe it does. That it wouldn’t change. Looking at all of these people, I
would say that the most highly evolved person here was the woman. Dale:
Now
that you were in trance, do you feel that she was the same Dora that you picked
up before? Pat:
Yeah,
In other words, she was over here (indicating Fulton’s area), and when we went
over here, she followed us. Dale:
So
she can sort of roam free? Pat:
Yeah
and I believe that she has more of the tendency to do that than the others. (Area
near Foskett’s tombstone which was partially dug up) This
is fascinating! This ground here feels somewhat cold, yet whenever you get near
a body, heat is much stronger. I’m sure these people have been dead…how many
years? Fifty years? That’s amazing! Dale:
What
do you actually pick up when you go into trance? Pat:
When
touching things, I can pick up images, vibrations which usually starts
telepathic pictures going. First of all, I look for heat to tell me that
something’s there. The tombstone is less helpful than the ground. Dale:
Do
you ever get a numbing sensation? Pat:
Yes.
It’s like my hands are tingling. Dale:
Does
the man react when people come in? Pat:
Yeah,
he was snarling at that guy who was walking on his feet. Dale:
Does
he seem to be just limited to snarling? Or do you think that he’s capable or
more than that? Pat:
He
talked to me but he didn’t want to tell me what he had done. He seemed ashamed
of it. I don’t know why he would feel like that, particularly most souls
usually realize that I don’t make any judgments but maybe he did something
that I would have made a judgment on. Dale:
Does
he realize that he is dead? Pat:
Yes!
(Emphatically) In fact, he’s quite resentful of the fact that he is the way he
is. (Area
near Hamilton’s grave) Dale:
Do
you pick up any date at all? Pat:
When
you said that I get a 1907. Again I see an energy field here but it’s not that
strong. It was stronger, very strangely, when those kids (boy scouts) were
there. Something’s standing right by your camera. Dale:
On
which side? Pat:
Right
behind the camera. When I first looked at it. Dale:
Did
it seem to notice the camera? Pat:
Yes. Dale:
Is
that what you picked up before, when the cub scouts were here? Pat:
Yeah. Dale:
Let
me try something. Let me move the camera back and see if it follows it. Is it
still there? Pat:
Yeah.
It’s right behind the camera on the right side. Dale:
See
if it follows the cameras. (Moves the cameras) Strange feeling! Pat:
Definitely
interested in the cameras. I’ll go into trance so I can communicate with him.
He wants us to take his picture. He wanted to have his picture taken. He’s
straightening his hair. He looks like a farmer. He looks older. That says that
he’s around 38 but he looks about sixty. He doesn’t like the sound of that
because he thinks he’s very handsome. He says he died of a heart attack. Dale:
Did
he live around here? Pat:
He
was a farmer around her, small farmer. I don’t know what that means, small
farmer. Dale:
Maybe
he had a small acreage. What kind of emotions does he have? Pat:
Very
sharp. He seems very much alive as compared to those others. Very interested in
your cameras and how they work. Dale:
Is
it much more of a positive type? Pat:
Much
more. He’s a very vibrant individual. He says he wouldn’t have anything to
do with those other people over there. Dale:
So,
he is aware of them? Pat:
Oh
yeah. He’d like you to come back and show him your pictures. Dale:
Does
he always stay in this area or does he move around a little bit too? Pat:
No,
he says he can leave here. Dale:
Why
does he stay? Pat:
Strange
answer, I have no place else to go. Dale:
Do
you know if he is related to anyone else in here? Pat:
No.
He says he’s not. Dale:
Perhaps
the farming took a lot out of him or something. Pat:
He’s
very tanned. His hair is almost completely white. He has a full head of hair
though. He’s very interested in our mechanical age. 1903? He hadn’t even
seen an airplane? Dale:
Nope. Pat:
He
says it’s a shame that nobody comes back here with those machines anymore.
(Probably referring to when you used to be able to drive down to the cemetery in
the past) Dale:
He
would have been right off the trail then, if this is where he was. Pat:
I
don’t think is exactly…I think it’s closer to here. He said he wanted to
be near the fence so he could see the road and there’s nothing here anymore. Dale:
So,
he probably relates more to the horse and buggy days. Pat:
I
don’t think he does. He would like to know what the machines are all about. Dale:
Do
you feel his grave is right here or where? Pat:
It’s
near the fence he says. It’s right around here somewhere. We
continued for a little while longer walking through the cemetery with Pat
picking up psychic impressions. Pat did hit on a lot of interesting points
having never visited this graveyard before and this being the very first time
every investigating any location with a clairvoyant. Needless to say, I was
flabbergasted. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Follow-up investigation on
August 10, 1991 GRS members present: Bill
& Rochelle Zaszczurynski, Michelle Bradford, Howard Heim, Judy & Mari
Huff, Paulette Stanek, Roman Klepczarek and Dale Kaczmarek. Experiment: All
participants were given a crude map of the cemetery with a pre-determined route
for each of them to follow. Each team was equipped with a clipboard and a
transparency covering the map and were instructed to mark with grease pencils
anywhere they have any paranormal activity or psychic feelings or if any of
their equipment went off. Below is their impressions. Bachelor’s
Grove Field Excursion Impressions by members Rochelle
Zaszczurynski: 1:58pm
– Hageman, felt vibrations, energy pulling from left of me. Something on top
of fence line following me. Reached Newman, no more vibrations. 2:02pm
– Deck, suddenly still and peaceful. Bill
Zaszczurynski: #1
Feeling of anxiety, being watched and followed #2
Slight humming feeling and sound, confusion, dizzy #3
Light-headed feeling, same as #2 but weaker. In
general a feeling of being followed (this started before the next person started
walking) and watched. This was very strong at the south fence-line near Hageman
and Foskett. In the past on other trips, but here sensed a large object at
southwest corner. Michelle
Bradford: #5
As I looked across the lagoon, felt as if someone was watching me. Walking
through the cemetery in general, felt as if someone was watching or following
me, but it was really strong by the lagoon like someone was in or by the water
watching me. Felt anger. Whomever was watching me was really angry. Mari
Huff: #1
Strange feeling like being watched and a buzz #2
Strange buzzy feeling #3
Buzz. Jude
Huff: #1
Before Fulton, coldish temperature in the sun #2
Pulling feeling by stone next to Deck #3
Heavy pulling feeling by Moss area, depressive feelings #5
Cold area down main strip. Paulette
Stanek: #1
Sweet smell #2
Sweet smell floral & buzzing sound #3
Floral #4
Smell of cigars #5
Cigar smell Roman
Klepczarek: #1
Headache near Newman then just went away #2
Patrick very cold but just might be that area. Several members marked on their
map a checkered board tombstone that had no name on it. So later we
returned to that site and others within the cemetery for additional experiments
and photography sessions. One member, Judy Huff, had a 35mm camera loaded with
black and white infrared film that afternoon. She snapped a picture of the
vacant tombstone and saw nothing out of the ordinary until she had the film
developed. Upon closer inspection, parts of the woman's
body, namely her head and knee are semi-transparent where one can easily see
tree and bushes through those areas again indicating that she is not a real
person but a ghostly image. This picture was widely circulated in both the
Chicago Sun-Time and Tribune and featured in several documentaries including on
from the Discovery Channel entitled Phantom Photographs. It
has been shown to photographic experts from Kodak in Rochester, New York. While
some claim that the image is nothing more than a real person sitting on the
tombstone because you can supposedly see the shadow cast by the person on the
ground around the tombstone. Actually the entire tombstone was situated in the
shadows cast by the trees that afternoon and not by a real person attempting to
hoax the photograph. Some believe this could be the ghostly
"lady in white" that allegedly roams the cemetery on moonlit nights.
One thing is sure, nobody can be absolutely sure who the figure is to this day.
There are some theories as to who she may be but then they are only
allegations. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Field Excursion on
8-6-94 Participants:
Lucy
Solis, Kenneth Powell, Nancy Andrews, Tom Baker, Donna Boonstra, Denise Lewis,
Barbara Huyser, Fran & Lisa Pizano and Dale Kaczmarek. Object:
To
detect with the equipment and personal feelings anything out of the ordinary,
then to register that on the enclosed maps and transparencies with grease
pencils. Later to compare maps and observations and then to attempt photography
at those areas which were hot spots. Teams:
Lucy
Solis & Kenneth Powell used the Dr. Gauss Meter, Nancy Andrews and Barbara
Huyser used the MFD-1 EMF Meter, Donna Boonstra and Denise Lewis used the Geiger
Counter and Tom Baker assisted me and employed his camcorder and compasses. Observations:
Fran
Pizano felt chills around the Hageman tombstone (#1), tightening in her muscles
north of Mendenhall (#2) and a pressure in her chest around Mendenhall (#3) and
the gauss meter reacted (2.5) around the tree near Fullerton’s (#4). Kenneth
Powell and Lucy Solis’ Dr. Gauss Meter also reacted near Fullerton with a 6.0
reading (#4). Donna
Boonstra felt a heavy feeling/depression like “a cloud hanging over me” near
Newman tombstone (#5), she also felt shivering and chills in the open area
before the hole in the fence and the clearing felt a scary feeling (#6). Donna
sensed a pulling feeling in her chest near Deck by the two trees (#7) and
smelled a moldy smell and uneasiness near Deck (#8). Tom
Baker, Nancy Andrews, Lisa Pizano, Barbara Huyser and I experienced nothing out
of the ordinary. Conclusions:
It
was interesting that the members picked out at two areas within the cemetery
where they had similar encounters, near Fullerton and around Deck and
Mendenhall. Fran felt a pressure indicative of a push while Donna felt a pulling
sensation both in their respective chest areas. Besides this, the gauss meters
seemed to be reacting to something around the Fullerton grave and in the area
around Newman as well. Photographs:
To
date, photographic documentation is inconclusive as there doesn’t appear to be
anything to verify the feelings or equipment reactions within the cemetery that
afternoon. Further analysis is probably necessary. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Investigation on June 12,
2011 GRS members present: Stan
Suho and Dale Kaczmarek Other investigations
present: Mari Bushway and husband Experiments performed: Ovilus
X and EVP sessions were conducted at the checkered board tombstone, Newman's
grave and Fulton's grave. Personal experiences: The
Epod went off while sitting on the Newman grave and it was captured on video and
audio. I had my name called out very plainly on the Ovilus X. Evidence collected: Bachelor's Grove scream.MPG
while conducting an EVP session near the checker board tombstone, a question was
asked, "When you were sitting on that stone, what were you looking
at?" Two high-pitched female screams can be heard in the background. Dale Ovilus.MPG while
conducting an Ovilus X session near the checker board tombstone, a question was
asked, "How many of you are here?" The Ovilus X says,
"Dale". Dale Ovilus video.MPG this is
the same file as the Dale Ovilus however this is the actual video shot of the
event when the Ovilus called my name. Epod.MPG while conducting an
EVP session near the Newman stone suddenly the Epod begins to go off by itself
and clearly no one is near enough to set it off. Newman noise.MPG while
conducting an EVP session near the Newman stone, a noise is heard in the
background. Newman voice.MPG while
conducting an EVP session near the Newman stone, a comment was made, "You
can tell through this black box here and we can hear your voice". A voice
is heard faintly in the background and requires headphones to hear properly. Spooky.MPG while conducting
an Ovilus X session near the checker board tombstone, the Ovilus X suddenly says
in phonetic mode, "Spooky." Conclusions: In my
personal opinion this was a fairly active afternoon at Bachelor's Grove Cemetery
for both EVPs and Ovilus responses but personal experiences and equipment fluctuations
such as the Epod going off by the Newman stone. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Investigation on September
21, 2013 GRS members present: Marge
Sucha, Stan Suho and Dale Kaczmarek Other investigators present:
Jeanne Chilton Experiments performed: Ghost
Box and Echovox sessions were conducted near the Fulton tombstone and the
checker-board tombstone where the white lady was photographed in 1991. Full
spectrum and ordinary digital pictures were taken throughout the cemetery but
nothing out of the ordinary showed up on any of them. We also employed the Epod
at both locations and it did not go off a single time. The Melmeter 8704-REM was
pretty much flat-lined at 0.0 throughout with an occasion 0.1. Evidence collected: Burn get out.MPG while
conducting an Echovox session at the checker-board tombstone, a question was
asked, "Did you die of old age?" The device responded with,
"Fire" followed by "Get out." You're the boss.MPG while
conducting a Ghost Box session near the Fulton tombstone the Ghost Box suddenly
says very clearly, "You're the boss!" Conclusions: I did not
feel anything out of the ordinary this afternoon while conducting this
mini-investigation of Bachelor's Grove Cemetery. There was no EMF fluctuations
to speak of and very little in the way of communications or direct answers to
questions posed during EVP sessions. It was a very quiet and peaceful day with
no sign of paranormal activity. We did walk around the entire cemetery as I was
showing the location for the first time to out-of-stater Jeanne Chilton. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bachelor’s Grove
Cemetery Investigation Road Trip Date: August 24, 2019 Address: Midlothian Turnpike just east of Ridgeland Avenue and
across from Rubio Woods Forest Preserve in Midlothian, Illinois GRS members present: Kathi Para, Mike Rosario, Charles Williams, Ron
& Laura Lovatt and Dale Kaczmarek Equipment setup: Just hand-held equipment, cameras and camcorders
were deployed along with Phasma Box and digital recorders. Experiments performed: A single Phasma Box session was conducted by
the checkerboard tombstone. Personal experiences: Charles Williams: Two members had never been there before.
We had an encounter with Pete Crapia.
There was a group of people doing some photo shoot.
I woke late and had to meet the group here, also forgot memory cards, so
I have no evidence from this stop. No
personal experiences noted. We did
an EVP session with Phasma Box. Melmeter
readings 0.0mG, 78.0 degrees. Dale Kaczmarek: While standing by the checkerboard tombstone, I saw
a strange fog drift behind the Lovatt’s. This was also witnessed by Para. No
other visitors to the cemetery were smoking at the time and, even if they were,
they were at the other end of cemetery at the time the mist was observed. A photo shoot
was going on at the time of our investigation with women posing on tombstones
which I believe is very disrespectful. Evidence collected: Amelia Patrick bachelors.MP4 –
while conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard tombstone, a question
was asked, “Who are we talking to?” The device responded with, “Amelia
Patrick.” Fulton bachelors.MP4 – while
conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard tombstone, a question was
asked, “What’s the name of the largest tombstone in here?” The device
responded with what sounded like, “Fulton.” I love people bachelors.MP4 –
while conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard tombstone, the device
blurted out, “I love people.” June 20th 1900
bachelors.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard
tombstone, a question was asked, “What’s today’s date?” Near the end of
the clip, the device responded with, “June 20th, 1900.” Minna tombstone bachelors.MP4
– while conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard tombstone, a
question was asked, “Who was that woman?” The device responded with,
“Minna.” (We are extremely close to Minna Hageman’s grave.) We’re forced to stay
bachelors.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session by the checkerboard
tombstone, a question was asked, “Why are you still here? Did someone make you
stay?” The device replied with, “We’re forced to stay.” Conclusions: This was the first part of our first Road Trip in the
15 passenger van. We traveled to other locations throughout the day. The
Lovatt’s had never been to Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery before, so that was the
first logical stop. Since we were traveling to multiple locations, we only
stayed for a while and conducted only one EVP session. It was a somewhat peaceful and
uneventful visit this time around even though we did receive two responses to
questions asked at the checkerboard tombstone where the famous ghostly lady was
photographed by Jude Huff in 1991. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bachelor’s Grove
Cemetery Investigation 9-7-19 Date: September 7, 2019 Address: 143rd Street, east of Ridgeland Avenue and
across from Rubio Woods Forest Preserve in Midlothian, Illinois GRS members present: Dale Kaczmarek Other investigators present: Jason Snider, Jason Dickerson, Courtney
Bowen and Courtney Mendenhall from the Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters
Society. History: (see above) Hauntings: Phantom houses, cars and dogs, mysterious lights,
multiple apparitions including a farmer and his horse and a mysterious lady in
white often seen on moon-lit nights carrying an infant in her arms and numerous
EVPs and disembodied voices and sounds. Equipment setup: Different infrared camcorders and cameras were
deployed including digital recorders and cameras, Melmeter, Tri-Field Natural EM
Meter, REM Epod, Ovilus X and Phasma Box. Experiments performed: EVP and Phasma Box sessions were conducted at
the Fulton tombstone, Rippet marker where there was some evidence of wax and
candle marks from a previous photo shoot that was done in poor taste and near
the checkerboard tombstone. Personal experiences: Dale Kaczmarek: I did not feel anything out of the ordinary during
this investigation of Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery. It was a very peaceful day
and the spirits did not wish to get any messages across this time. Evidence collected: Clara Brown bachelors.MP4 -
while conducting a Phasma Box session near the checkerboard tombstone, the
device blurts out the name, “Clara Brown.” Words spoken by the Phasma Box session: Fulton marker, a few words;
Rippet (Phasma Box wasn’t used) and checkerboard Conclusions: It was a most quiet day at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
that day when members of Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters Society visited.
There was the almost constant drone of cars driving past on the turnpike along
with some wind and visitor contamination. However during session #2 at the
Rippet marker, it suddenly became extremely quiet. It was at this location we
had decided to conduct an old-fashioned EVP session without the use of real-time
devices. We picked up absolutely nothing. During the first session near
the Fulton tombstone, a number of words were produced, but nothing that seemed
to answer any specific questions asked. I was a little disappointed that the
first time members of CCIGHS saw this location; they didn’t come away with any
good evidence. That is how it is however in paranormal investigations; sometimes
you get a lot and other times you receive nothing. We later took a stroll down the
trial past the cemetery in search of the sunken well and house foundations but
could not locate them in the thick underbrush.
Hauntings:
The first ghost stories that began
circulating amongst the tombstones were the glowing blue balls of light that
seemed to display some form of intelligence.
They eluded pursuit even though a
Upon
first glance, the uncropped picture showed nothing at all, according to Huff but
when enlarged, a clear image of a semi-transparent figure of a woman dressed in
a full-length white dress can easily be seen. She is sitting serenely on the
tombstone facing to the right in profile with long brown or light-colored hair.
Absolutely no one was dressed in that fashion in our group that afternoon and I
can attest to the fact, that the tombstone was unoccupied when the picture was
taken. It is truly a remarkable photograph! 
tombstone – “Clara
Brown”, blood, activating and keep walking.
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