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Gone Haunting
Thursday Oct 18, 2007.
By Libby Ramer
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 photo: courtesy of Bridget Cicenia Though I'm comfortably couched between the window and an agreeable, middle-aged lady, I'm dually skittish at the thought of spying any radically supernatural events. Does Cowan's query imply that we're seated among a ghostly guest? I twist around in my seat and glance at my tour mates the way passengers might survey flight attendants after a bump of turbulence: A curious wave of silence has muffled the 20-person crowd of newbie ghost hunters.
Cowan quickly clarifies, addressing us through the rearview mirror. "Do you see a brown car through that back window that I'm about to hit?" Relieved to learn that Lonnie is merely a fellow tour guide piloting the too-close vehicle, we give him the go-ahead: Apparently, paranormal experts are subject to pragmatic nuisances like parallel parking, too. With that, the ghost mobile is on its way, cruising past the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's and into the haunted underbelly of the Windy City.
The Chicago Hauntings Tour archives the events most deeply embedded in our city's history; it's not about hyping novelty yarns about, say, a dilapidated house in the woods with flickering lights. Cowan and his wife, renowned parapsychology researcher Ursula Bielski, started the tour company in 2001; while both Chicago natives have familial roots here, the city seems to have a lot to offer from a professional standpoint, too.
Often referred to as one of the nation's most haunted towns, Chicago fits this bill for several reasons. The most obvious is its proximity to a body of water (think port towns and ghost ship lore); as a primary conductor of energy, the waters of Lake Michigan are to thank for most of the spooky specters identified along our shore. Yet, beyond its geographic receptiveness, the political fabric and vice of the town's governing forces make for a lot of handily buried history; as Cowan explains, occasionally that history wants to surface. Ghosts are many things, but, most importantly, they are facilitations of commemoration. Just as brightly colored leaves indicate it's fall, spirits create symbols—replicating sounds, smells and sometimes even feelings of past events—to realize a moment in time.
Our first destination is Death's Alley, the scene of the old Iroquois Theater Fire (now the Oriental Theatre) and a spot commonly identified for its white noise and electromagnetic fluctuations. The original building, constructed in 1903, was advertised as "absolutely fireproof." Structurally, the theater was unsafe, with its hemp and velvet seats, faulty sprinkler system and poorly designed exit doors; regardless, a few bribes later and the owners were on their way to enabling the most disastrous single-building fire in U.S. history, responsible for at least 600 deaths. We file off the bus and amble around the alley, holding cameras uncertainly, unsure where exactly to shoot. Finally, we all agree on a doorway and picture flashes ensue. Halloween is only a few weeks out and Cowan is hosting about four tours a day, quietly bemoaning to me, "I'm like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve."
Back on the bus, we cruise along to the S.S. Eastland disaster site, between Clark and LaSalle Streets. In 1903, the passenger ship Eastland acquired a new set of lifeboats, making an already top-heavy boat disastrously off-kilter. In broad daylight, with perfectly fair conditions, the ship slowly keeled over, sacrificing 845 passengers. "This defines the essence of a true haunting," calls out Cowan as we hop off the bus. People report feeling overwhelmed with strange emotions, feeling a magnetic pull toward the water, hearing the sound of voices and capturing photos of mysterious hats, faces and orbs of light. Later, we'll circle around Oprah’s Harpo Studios, learning that the former warehouse was used as a morgue for the Eastland victims.
After several other stops, we hit Jane Addams' Hull House, our final destination. Built in 1889 on sacred Native American ground, the spot is one of the most active sites in the nation—reputedly located over a portal through which negative energy exists. The energy, Cowan tells us, is fluid, dynamic and very dark. Reports of pressure in the chest, mist and shadowy figures are common. It is here, Cowan tells us, that his wife Bielski brought home a spirit who appeared at their bedside around 4 a.m., hours later.
How exactly does one bring home a spirit, I wonder tentatively as we approach the house? People with extreme fatigue or stress, Cowan explains, are extremely vulnerable to such occurrences, which, as someone on three hours of sleep, made me fair game and paranoid. The house is loaded with poltergeist activity, with more false burglar alarms than any other in the area. The real attraction for me, however, is the garden, haunted by a little girl named Rebecca; it has a statuette, shaded walkway and an overhead blanket of rustling tree leaves. The energy is palpable. I’m officially creeped out.
As we gather back on the bus, Cowan suddenly reveals that his daughter was born on a Friday the 13th. It prompts me to consider the power of coincidences: Why might so many people report the same powerful experiences and visions at these specific spots? If I've learned anything on the tour, it's that people explain away subtle signs, using excuses like faulty construction. Like any good teacher, Chicago Hauntings suggests that in order to understand the paranormal—you've got to pay attention!
For more info on the Chicago Hauntings Tour, call 1-888-GHOST-91.
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