Haunts of the White City

The author of Chicago Haunts explores historical reports of ghosts, the curse of H.H. Holmes, and other dark tales from the Windy City.

At the close of the nineteenth century, Chicago offered the world a glimpse of humanity's most breathtaking possibilities—and its most jaw-dropping horrors. Even as the White City emerged from the ashes of the Great Fire, serial killers like H.H. Holmes stalked the sparkling new boulevards and tragic accidents plagued the factories, slums and railroads that powered the churn of industrial innovation. In other words, amid the city’s shining achievements, there were a lot of ghosts.

Demons, mesmerists and birds of ill omen preyed on the unwary from the shadows. Ship captains spoke to the dead, while undertakers discovered reanimated corpses no longer requiring services. From posh mansions built on massacre grounds to the drowned quarries of a forest preserve, Chicago historian Ursula Bielski reveals the many hauntings and unexplained phenomena hidden within the Second City.