Ghost stories: Illinois is haunted and entertained by spooky tales

Coletta Przekaza was in the mood to tell a haunting tale. So the 72-year-old Palos Hills resident told a group of about 20 about her deceased mother's music box, which she said would play a tune every morning when she walked past it.

"It did that for about two years," said Przekaza. "The whole song would play. It wouldn't play when my husband walked past it.

"I don't know if I believe in ghosts," she said, "but it's sure strange."

Chad Lewis believes in ghosts. He even considers himself a modern-day ghost-buster. And that's why Lewis, co-author of "The Illinois Road Guide to Haunted Locations," recently drove from his home in Eau Claire, Wis., to Green Hills Public Library in Palos Hills to give a slide show presentation on some of the Midwest's most haunted sites.
 

Armed with cameras, motion detectors, laser-guided thermometers and even a Geiger counter to detect radiation, Lewis, 35, has traveled the world -- including all of Illinois -- in search of the unexplainable. He describes Illinois as a "weird state" with a number of haunted locations. Some of the scariest can be found right in our own backyard.

Lewis said each state is known for different types of ghosts. He said Illinois has a reputation for gangster ghosts like those of Al Capone, who supposedly can be seen standing near his grave at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, and the ghost of John Dillinger, who allegedly roams the Biograph Theater on Chicago's North Side.

"I do believe in ghosts," said Lewis, who has a psychology degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. "What they are I don't know. I haven't had any experiences myself with them but many people do. I don't believe everybody is hoaxing their experiences. I think that's part of the curiosity that keeps me moving to the next case."

Lewis has traveled the world looking for ghosts and "mythical creatures," including tracking vampires in Transylvania and searching for the elusive Loch Ness monster in Scotland. In most cases he brings his equipment along.

"If there's a 50-degree temperature drop in one area of the room, that just proves to me something weird is going on," Lewis said. "Does that mean it's a ghost? Who knows? I use [the equipment] more to rule out normal explanations. Maybe a draft is coming in. Most of the time we never really know for sure."

He said he likes ghost stories because of the history attached to them.

"That's what keeps me interested in the paranormal," Lewis said.

As for Przekaza's husband, he just likes to hear about them.

"It's fun to get scared," said Lee Przekaza, 73. "It's entertaining."