There is an old Moorish proverb that states, "He who fears something gives it power over him." This statement could not be truer when it comes to haunted houses and stories. Haunted stories are very common in our society today. They are depicted in everyday life, in items such as movies, Halloween, and folklore. People such as Stephan King have widened our imaginations about haunted hotels, houses, and even railroads. Haunted stories are used to find your fear, stretch your imagination, and measure your courage.
There is a town in Illinois that holds one of the greatest haunted stories I have ever heard. No one location in the Chicago area has more reported sightings and more bone chilling stories than Bachelor's Grove Cemetery in Chicagoland, Illinois. This small, isolated and nearly forgotten cemetery lies at the edge of a large forest near the Chicago suburb of Midlothian. The cemetery was established in the 1830's. It was used as a final resting place for many German immigrants who worked on the construction of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. The work was dirty and the hours were long, which was why many of the workers were not married and giving rise to the cemetery's name.
To get to this decaying property, there lies a long and narrow gravel road. The cemetery has been abandoned since 1965 and is now said to be a ritual site for satanic groups. Over the years many of the tombstones have been vandalized or stolen, only to mysteriously return. While it is not certain how the tombstones return to the graveyard, this unusual trend lends a chilling intensity to the legend that the gravestones in Bachelor's Grove move on their own.
One of the more well known, and frequent sightings is of the "Madonna of Bachelor's Grove" which is said to be a woman buried next to her infant son in the 1870's. This vaporous lady, shrouded in white mist, is often seen moving through the dark shadows of the trees cradling an infant in her arms.
