CHICAGO'S HAUNTED GRACELAND CEMETERY

2016 was the year Visitations issue one came out. As  people walked through the aisles of C2E2, I would ask them questions about their knowledge of Chicago ghost stories. Because the graveyard in the comic is based partially on Graceland Cemetery ( see my earlier blog post HERE) I would ask the passersby if they had heard of it. Some had and some hadn't. I got a surprise from someone early Sunday morning, the last day of the convention: 

"Have you ever heard of Graceland Cemetery?"

"Yeah, my friends and I used to break in there at night and get drunk."

"Really? Did you ever see anything while you were there?"

"...Mmmrf..."

" I'm sorry- did you ever see anything when you were there?"

"We were drunk."

" Um - what did you see?"

" An old man in a newsboy cap floating towards us."

"Floating??"

" Yeah, but we were drunk."

"Did your friends see this too?"

"Yes."

"Um, alcohol doesn't work THAT way..."

This is not the only personal testimonial I've received about the cemetery. In fact, the graveyard is one of those places that has, not only a lot of ghost stories surrounding it, but if you talk to enough people you run into someone who has personally experienced the supernatural there. There is a long history of interesting tales from the place.

Established in 1860, Graceland Cemetery's first residents were individuals moved from the Lincoln Park graveyard known as City Cemetery. It is a stone's throw away from Wrigley Field and is the final resting place of many famous Chicagoans such as Daniel Burnham, George Pullman, Marshall Field, Mayor Carter Harrison, Potter Palmer, Cyrus McKormick, John Kinzie, Louis Sullivan, and Allan Pinkerton. Architect Louis Sullivan, in addition to being buried there also designed a number on monuments. The monuments that populate the cemetery are unique works of art that stand out well past the Victorian era in which they were erected.

The monuments are so interesting that visitors can't help but be impressed. However some of these carry some strange stories along with them. For example, the tomb of a man named Ludwig Wolff was carved from a built up mound with stairs leading down it. There is a vent at the top. The reason behind this, according to legend, is that Wolff himself was afraid that he would be buried alive and had ventilation installed along with literal bells and whistles. While no bells have been heard, something has been seen lurking around the tomb at night. Apartment dwellers nearby have seen an animal with florescent eyes, which has been identified as Wolf's phantom dog, guarding his master's burial place. Many believe this is only a coyote the lives in the cemetery grounds, but nobody knows for sure.

Architect Daniel Burnham has been see near his burial place. He stands on the banks of the island where he is buried with his hands in his pockets. One wonders what he is thinking about.

Reports of a little girl in victorian clothes frolicking around the cemetery during rainstorms are legendary. Truthfully, one just has to look at the monument of Inez Clarke and the imagination takes over. That being said, the statue of the child has numerous stories of disappearing from it's perch, including a first hand account that was related to me at the Chicago Ghost Convention a number of years ago. Oddly enough, her disappearances from the spot have occurred even after a glass case was placed over her statue. Children visiting the cemetery with their families have wondered off only to be found later claiming they were playing with the girl.

Lastly, is there statue known as Eternal Silence. It is one of two monuments  by Lorado Taft. An uncomfortable image reminiscent of death- or at least the Ghost Of Christmas Future of Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol". There are many stories surrounding the stutue. First, it is seen by many as the mystical Ferryman of Greek legend who would provide passage across the River Stix. Surrounding the feet of the statue are numerous coins by visitors hoping for safety to the next life. Second, is the story that staring into the statue's eyes will show someone the after life- or a vision of the person's own death. I personally was afraid to look and find out...

There are many other interesting monuments within Graceland Cemetery.  Certainly it is worth a visit to anyone interested in art or architecture. Graceland Cemetery is truly an important part of Chicago and it's history. 

Order a free PDF of Visitations 1 by emailing us here: visitationscomicbook@gmail.com

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: THE PIPER BOY

 

In an earlier post, I described where the designs of many of the characters in Visitations came from. One that was left out was a young boy with a flute. The story of his creation is an interesting one.

The design of the character came from a monument in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Unlike most of the sculptured monuments in the graveyard, this one was fairly recent- created in 2007. The idea of a boy playing a flute seemed too iconic to pass up.

After issue one, I decided that each individual character would get a single issue to his or her self, with the leader, Clayton Blackwood being in all of them. Because this monument was one of two with single children inhabiting Graceland Cemetery, I thought it would be an interesting idea to make the Piper Boy's antagonist be the other child - a monument of a little girl. Her story will be told in a later post.

I also wanted to put the young hero in a place where he wouldn't necessarily be at home. The logical choice in this case was to have him in a place where no child  should ever be. Although I had no stories written yet, I did have titles. I knew one issue would be focusing on Chicago's notorious red-light district known as the Levee and decided that would be the Piper Boy's story. I also wanted to cover his origin, part of which was suggested by Len Strazewski. Thus he became integrated into Chicago's most famous historical event The Great Fire of 1871.

What does the future hold for the Piper Boy? All I can say is this: not every character comes out of the first series, which takes place at the Turn Of The Century. The Piper Boy has not been seen in any of the flash forwards that have occurred from issue 3 on. Does he survive Visitations issue 12? Only time will tell...

Order a free PDF of Visitations 1 by emailing us here: visitationscomicbook@gmail.com

DISASTERS THAT CHANGED CHICAGO HISTORY PART TWO: 1919

Anyone living through the ups and downs of 2020 might think that all the events are unique. However, Chicago has gone though all this before. In fact, the events of 2020 and 1919 are eerily similar - with the exception that the 20th Century had a few more things happen. 

In the last year  of World War I, the pandemic known as the Spanish Flu raged through the world.  Like their ancestors 100 years later, Chicagoans found themselves in a whole new world. Businesses shut down, mask wearing was instituted, and large gatherings ( including political and sporting events) were banned. Funerals were limited to 10 people. By the time the pandemic was contained, 50 million people around the world had died,  8,510 Chicagoans among them.

On July 21, 1919 things got worse. A blimp  caught fire flying over the financial district in Chicago's Loop. It crashed through the skylight of the Illinois Trust And Savings Bank, killing 13 and injuring dozens more. This was the world's first major aviation disaster, beating the infamous Hindenburg event by almost 2 full decades.

The next day, a 6 year old girl disappeared on the North Side. Foul play was suspected and families began to worry about their own children. The terror that griped the city's parents was made worse when the guilty party was caught and confessed to choking the child to death. He had known her and her family had been friendly with him. Citizens began to wonder who they could really trust.

The day of the killer's confession, something far more memorable was sparked.  On the South Side of the city, a 17 yr old black teenager was swimming at a segregated beach near 29th Street. He accidentally drifted in into the "white" area where he was stoned until drowning. Riots broke out that spread from the South Side to the Loop. The riots lasted a week, resulting in 38 deaths. Throughout the rest of the  country, other racial unrest  like this took place. This is known in United Staes history as the Red Summer. During the riots, the Chicago Transit System went on strike, paralyzing the city. 

In October, some relief came as the Chicago White Sox baseball team made it into the World's Series. Chicagoans were soon disappointed as the Sox quickly lost the games. A year later it was discovered that eight of the members of the team received money ( $5000 ea.) to purposely lose the series.

Despite these social upheavals, one event occurred in 1919 that would change the city of Chicago forever. The Dusable Bridge replaced the former Rush street bridge. This linked the two sides of Michigan Avenue separated by the Chicago River. 

This change, which had been part of the city's plans going back to 1891, linked the South Side and North Side parks with a grand Boulevard. The location was particularly significant since it connected the historical homestead site of Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable with the site of Fort Dearborn.  This also marks the beginning of what s known as the Magnificent Mile - a downtown shopping district. 

Change and upheaval is inevitable. Events like those during the year 2020 have been difficult for many. We can learn how to handle them by looking to the past. Studying events like the 1918 pandemic and the Red Summer brings some understanding and the knowledge that we have lived through this before. The question is what do we do with that knowledge? It's up to us whether to move forward or backward.

Order a free PDF of Visitations 1 by emailing us here: visitationscomicbook@gmail.com