Bridgeview Park District Séance Investigation

The Ghost Research Society was the first official paranormal team to investigate this location!

The park district was the brainchild of several local residents. They wished for a park district that could offer spacious open lands and areas for children and adults to use as recreational locales. Bridgeview residents collected money and even hired an attorney to work with them to accomplish their goal. They circulated petitions throughout the neighborhood and even got a referendum put on the ballot which was passed by voters. The park district was officially established in 1965 after several legal court battles over common ground claimed by both Hickory Hills and Bridgeview.

Listed near the bottom of the priority list for land acquisition was what was then known as the Belke property, east of Oketo Avenue just north of 79th Street. August Belke and his wife originally bought the land in 1905. When their home burned down in 1911, Belke erected a house he purchased as a unit from Sears Roebuck & Co. This house and a concrete storage shed which stood behind the Belke House still stand on the property as a way of keeping part of Bridgeview’s history alive.

At that time this property was poorly drained marsh land. Four steel radio towers used to guide airplanes into Midway Airport as they landed were located on this property. At that time, Midway was the busiest airport in the world with a plane either taking off or landing every forty seconds! The property also had giant ant hills measuring ten feet across and two feet high. As late as 1973, many of the parks were still marsh land.

Between the years of 1980 to 1983 the appearance of the Park District changed forever. In the fall of 1979, the Park applied for a matching grant from the Illinois Department of Conservation for the specific purpose of park development. In the spring of 1980, the district received word that Bridgeview was one of the few park districts whose grant had been approved in an amount exceeding $100,000. The Park district had $100,000 of its own money, so combined with the grant; this money was pledged to transform the Park District.

Throughout the latter part of the 20^th Century, additional buildings and parks were built around the city, further expanding the park district to its current status. (Thanks in part to the Bridgeview Park District website for much of this history!)

Address: 8100 S. Beloit St., Bridgeview, Illinois 60455

Phone: 708-594-1818

Website: www.bridgeviewparkdistrict.com

Hauntings: There is a local legend that has been going around for decades. Event coordinator, Kylie O’Connell speaks of a murdered neighborhood n’er do well named Hobo Jack. O’Connell and others believe that he haunts the current location of the park district.

The Ghost Research Society investigated the Bridgeview Park District Gymnasium on September 21, 2019 and the team members included: Kathie Para, Marge Sucha, Mike Rosario, Charles Williams and Dale Kaczmarek, with help from Edward Shanahan, psychic medium. This was a public séance after-hours event.

Equipment setup: A long table along with candles was prepared by Shanahan. Kaczmarek deployed a REM Epod on the séance table along with a Melmeter to pick up any EMF fluctuations. Also used was a digital camera and recorder with the Phasma Box app and Tri-Field Natural EM Meter.

Experiments performed: A 32 minute séance and Phasma Box session was conducted in the gymnasium while participants joined hands around a long table with candles. Shanahan started with an opening prayer while participants piped in with any personal encounters or feelings. Kaczmarek employed the Phasma Box in an attempt to document any spirts brought forth during the séance.

Personal experiences:

Dale Kaczmarek: I did not feel anything out of the ordinary while involved with the séance where I was standing, however several participants felt a cold breeze on the table and sometimes a burning sensation on their hands and arms.

Evidence collected: nothing relevant

Words or phrases spoken by the Phasma Box: “It’s me again”, “Investigate”, “Don’t waste your time!”, “Jackie” and “An investigation.”

Conclusions: This wasn’t the idea setting for a séance or Phasma Box session as there was too much reflective noise due to the auditorium setting. High-vaulted ceilings like an auditorium create sound bounce that almost creates an echo effect. It was difficult to hear what Shanahan was saying, interactions of others seated at the table and what was coming through the Phasma Box.

The only somewhat interesting word that came through the Phasma Box was, “Jackie.” Was this possibly a connected to “Hobo Jack”? If park district personnel were really interested to see if this facility was haunted, a more thorough investigation under stricter scientific conditions would be in order.