Humphrey House Investigation

Senator John Humphrey was born June 20, 1838 and built this house in 1881 and it was the 2^nd house built in the town of Orland Park. He had seven children with his first wife, Amelia. Their children, Lillian, Thomas, Mable and Libby died as very young children and in Libby’s case at 11 months old was the first to die. They also had a child named Clara, Maude, and Wirt who was the oldest. Amelia was found dead in the dining area in 1894.

His second wife, Ida Stuart was wed within months of Amelia’s passing and was the Senator’s secretary and assistant in his law office. Senator John Humphrey died in 1914 (age of 76), Ida lived here until the 1950's and something very rare for that time frame was done when she died. John, the only child from his second marriage had the viewing of his mother in the living room of the home, as was done with other family members in the past. John was the person who eventually willed the Humphrey House to the Orland Park Historical Society in 1987.

Amelia and the children do come through and handled with gentle care. Baby John due to the fact of being the youngest child, had a practice of his own that was a bit unusual. He owned the coffin he was going to be buried in and kept it at the Humphrey House when he moved back there after his mother's death.

The Senator John Humphrey family has a couple of significant ties to the haunted Bachelor's Grove Cemetery.

Mrs. Humphrey's family (Patrick) had a family plot and family buried at Bachelor's Grove Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey had Libby buried with Mrs. Humphrey's family members at Bachelor's Grove, as the Humphrey family did not own a family plot.

The question even asked by some of the officials of the Orland Historical Society, is Mrs. Amelia Humphrey buried in a different cemetery than her first child Libby and is buried at Bachelor's Grove Cemetery. Could Mrs. Humphrey be the woman holding a child seen at Bachelor's Grove? Most feel that she is. Many also believe that Amelia is the woman in the very famous ghost picture taken by Jude Huff in August of 1991 with infrared film.

This building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 2005. A bronze statue of Senator Humphrey now stands just outside the Orland Park Metra Station.

(History courtesy of Edward Shanahan and Chicago Now Article of September 18, 2014 http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-paranormal-and-spiritual/2014/09/senator-john-humphrey-house-in-orland-park-il-haunted-historic-home-and-family-spirits/ )

Address: 9830 W 144th Pl, Orland Park, IL 60462

Telephone: 708-349-0065

Website: https://orlandhistory.org

Hauntings: There are numerous reports of apparitions encountered here throughout the house, from the living room that the wakes were held, to the different bedrooms of possibly the children, family and the Senator himself. Many of the encounters stem from an upstairs room, the Servant’s Room.

Equipment setup: Digital recorder and Phasma Box with external speaker were used and pictures were taken.

Experiments performed: Two Phasma Box sessions were conducted in the upstairs Servant’s Room.

The Ghost Research Society investigated the Humphrey House September 15, 2018. Team members included: Kylie O'Connell and Dale Kaczmarek. This was a public ghost tour sponsored by the Bridgeview Park District with help from psychic medium, Edward Shanahan.

Personal experiences: This was an interesting interaction between the spirits and psychic medium, Edward Shanahan. I did not feel anything out of the ordinary while there but the upstairs room was extremely hot and stuffy.

Evidence collected:

Ain’t that silly Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #2, a question was asked, “Was Ida involved?” (Referring to whether Ida was involved in the death of Amelia). The device responded with, “Ain’t that silly.”

Can’t help you Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #2, a comment was made, “Libby, you’re buried at Bachelor’s Grove.” The device talks over part of the question and responds with, “Can’t help you.”

Million dollars Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #2, the device spoke in a very clear female voice and said, “Million dollars.”

One none Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #1, a question was asked, “How many spirits are in this room?” The device responded with, “One” and followed with, “None.”

We’ll build this house Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #1, and the device says, “We’ll build this house.”

Were killed Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #1, the device said, “Were killed.”

You know me Humphrey.MPG – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant’s Room, Session #2; Ida was called by name to which the device replied with, “You know me.”

Conclusions: There were many, what I believe were, intelligent responses and phrases that came through the Phasma Box during our two sessions in the Servant’s Room upstairs. It’s impossible to know who actually might have responded to these questions but they seem to fit the pattern of the people who once lived and died here.

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Another ghost tour conducted on October 13, 2018 sponsored by the Bridgeview Park District again stopped at the Humphrey House in Orland Park, Illinois for a mini-investigation in the upstairs Servant's Quarters using the Phasma Box device. We were joined by psychic medium Edward Shanahan who explained the history and took the participants through an abbreviated tour of the house before joining the EVP session in the Servant's Quarters. Kylie O'Connell, a member of the Ghost Research Society was there and was also the coordinator from the Bridgeview Park District.

Evidence collected:

Goodbye, night night Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #2, a question was asked, "Do you like us?" The device responded with, "Goodbye, night night."

Hello Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #2, a question was asked, "Can you say hello to the group? Hello?" The device responded with, "Hello."

Katherine Bingham that's you Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #1, the device said, "Katherine Bingham." It appeared that someone in the group was named, Katherine. She, Katherine, said that was too freaky. Another person from the group asked, "Are you Katherine?" The device then said, "That's you."

Maude Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #2, a question was asked, "Who's here? Give me your first name." The device responded with, "Maude." (Maude was one of John Humphrey's children.)

Someone in the light Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #2, a question was asked, "Are you hiding from somebody?" The device responded with, "Someone in the light." A follow-up question asked, "How did you know I wouldn't hurt you?" The device responded with, "Isn't bad."

Unknown Humphrey.MPG - while conducting a Phasma Box session in the Servant's Quarters for Session #1, a question was asked, "Were you a trophy wife?" It's hard to make out the female response but some believe it could be saying, "Mortgage on the enemy." (Any thoughts on this please email me with what you think she might have said.)

Conclusions: Another interesting session at this very historic old home! We apparently got some exact responses to questions asked which seem to indicate an intelligent haunting rather than something residual. It would be great if a longer session could be conducted in the future that might yield even more results. More recorders, cameras and equipment might acquire additional evidence and perhaps even some video evidence or paranormal pictures.

Can't wait to try something else there sometime in the future!