Lithuanian Free Thinkers Cemetery Investigation

Lithuanian Free Thinkers Cemetery, or it is better known, Lithuanian Liberty Cemetery, was incorporated in 1914. The only upright stone mausoleum houses three Massock brothers; Anton, Jacob and Peter who had proceeded Anton. The mausoleum was built in 1920, when brother Jacob developed a streptococcus infection of his mastoid bone. Possibly an untreated middle ear infection might have caused more serious complications including a metastatic abscess in his knee and possibly the liver as well. Acute tonsillitis affected Jacob and while seeking a treatment regime for nearly two weeks; he ended up at People’s Hospital in Peru, Illinois. Unfortunately, he did not recover from the infection and other complications and he died March 18, 1920 at just 48-years-old. He was later interred as the first of three in the large Massock Mausoleum.

Just a few years later, Peter developed very similar symptoms experienced by his late brother Jacob. It began with a diagnosis of intestinal nephritis often known as swelling around the kidneys. He was rushed to St. Margaret’s Hospital. For some reason, he refused to let doctors treat him for his inflection which would have required a surgery. He later died December 3, 1928. Several days later on December 6^th he joined his brother Jacob in the Massock Tomb.

The last surviving brother, Anton, continued to live in Spring Valley through World War II. In 1945 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and started treatment from May through February of 1946. However, on February 1, 1946, Anton passed away to the other side. He was almost 70 years ago when he died and the last of the brothers who now slept in eternal peace within the Massock Tomb in Lithuanian Liberty Cemetery in Spring Valley, Illinois.

But are they truly at rest?

Address: near 71w, 351w, 2625 Rd., Joliet Street, GPS 41.33890, -89.18940

Hauntings: In January of 1966 a group of around two dozen sick and depraved teenagers broke into the crypt and stole the skull of Anton Massock. What possessed them to contrive such a nefarious deed is anyone’s guess. The later deposited the skull in the town of Mark. The skull was retrieved and placed back inside the crypt and peace once again reigned but not for very long.

In September of 1968, another attempt of grave robbery and desecration occurred of Anton’s skull again. They started a fire inside of the mausoleum that singed his coffin. Around five months later sicko vandals pulled down one of the other brother’s caskets on top of Anton’s. It was said that two skulls were missing in the latest break-in.

Soon, State’s Attorney Rudolph Comba petitioned the courts to forever seal the mausoleum with concrete and Judge William Wimbiscus Sr. granted the petition.

A strange article came out in the National Examiner (tabloid) from November 20, 1984 and it speaks of an alleged vampire that has been seen and encountered in the cemetery. It featured information supplied by the late Richard T. Crowe, a prominent researcher, lecturer and folklorist.

Supposedly a Vietnam Veteran that, according to the article, came face to face with “a classic vampire apparition – thin, pale, and with an unmistakable aura of evil.” The vet apparently fired five shots at the apparition with a revolver that he was carrying and it did not have any effect. They all took off running and did not look behind themselves.

A local freelance writer from Chicago and her friend visited the tomb in May of 1983 shortly after the shooting fiasco. They knocked on the door of the mausoleum and then poked a stick into a ventilation hole. All of a sudden, some described as “unearthly, black and round shot out of the and onto the ground.

“It was as if the devil himself had rolled a ball on the ground and I was supposed to catch it.”  Nobody from the group wanted anything to do with this amorphous black blob and left, only to return a later that evening with some holy water which they sprinkled into the vents.  Within seconds, a “painful groaning” emanated from the crypt and they spared no time in leaving the area for good.

The Ghost Research Society investigated Lithuanian Free Thinkers Cemetery on September 15, 2025  and the team members included: Mike Rosario, Paul Adams and Dale Kaczmarek.

Equipment setup: handheld equipment was used like digital recorders, camcorders, Para Tec via Samsung Galaxy S-21 Slim Ultra and Melmeter.

Experiments performed: A single EVP session was conducted using the Para Tec.

Personal experiences:

Dale Kaczmarek: I did not feel or experience anything out of the ordinary during our daytime visit of the cemetery. It was very peaceful. Here’s hoping that those dastardly deeds of the past which violated the sanctity of this cemetery have had no lasting effect in the future.  

Evidence collected: None!

Words spoken by the Para Tec: symbol, impossible, winter, Alec, rabid, or, wipe, thinking, anything, mouth, interfere, nomination, salty, dashing, advice, investigator, rise, try and astonishing.  

Conclusions: This cemetery and mostly, the Massock Mausoleum were plagued by vicious attacks, vandalism and grave desecration. Some of the alleged paranormal events that have been reported by visitors in the past were nothing more than urban legends and sensationalism in some infamous tabloid newspapers. People of all ages should respect both the living and the dead.

There were some interesting words that came through the Para Tec like thinking (Lithuanian Free Thinkers Cemetery?) and investigator.