There
are some who say, "It's down there," and we can only believe them.
At night, putting your ear to the ground, you can sometimes hear a door
slam.
- Italo
Calvino, Invisible Cities
U r s u l a B
i e l s k i (of Chicago
Hauntings) &
E
d w a r d L. S h a n a h a n (of
the Unexplained World)
p r e
s e n t
B
E Y O N D t h e V
E I L
One night. One location. One chance to cross over.
Join Ursula Bielski, the city's acclaimed ghost
hunter and paranormal reseasrcher, and
Edward L. Shanahan,
Gatekeeper of the Unexplained World, as they usher you into some of the
Midwest's most notorious locations for an intimate night of exploration
and intrigue. Guests
are encouraged to bring their own philosophies about the paranormal as
well as minds open to the ideas and methods of others. Ursula and
Ed
will share their thoughts about the power of spiritual connections and
of
intuitive paranormal investigation, and they'll also introduce guests
to simple investigative tools that can be made at home.
During
the
course of each meeting, Ed welcomes guests to bring items of loved ones
for psychometry readings, and Ursula will be available throughout
each evening to answer questions on the history and folklore
of life's supernatural side. Both hosts look forward to talking
with guests about each attendee's own spiritual
and paranormal journeys.
Beyond the Veil meets
on location, and attendance is extremely limited to ensure the
most profound experience possible for all involved.
Guests will learn the shadowy history of each meeting
place, hear legends of the paranormal as experienced at the
site, freely explore the physical surroundings, and participate
in a number of spiritual exercises designed to heighten spiritual
awareness and paranormal activity, including Edward Shanahan's famed
"Circle of Energy." More than anything else, we'll simply enjoy
spending time together in these
profoundly intriguing places.
A
portion of the proceeds of each event will be donated to a
parapsychological research foundation or organization. For reservations and more information,
call 1-888-GHOST-91, or click on the
reservation link below for your desired meeting.
S
C H E D
U L E
FOR CURRENT EVENTS FROM
ED SHANAHAN AND URSULA BIELSKI,
VISIT THEUNEXPLAINEDWORLD.COM
_______________________________________________
Saturday evening, September 15th,
2007 T h e H u m p h r e
y H o u s e Orland Park, Illinois Only 14 tickets
will be sold.
Ed
Shanahan was drawn to stop his car and knock upon the door of this
unassuming home one Fall afternoon. He soon found that the house
had some tales to tell. The home of Senator and Mrs. John
Humphrey, the couple lived in this Orland Park home until their
first
child died at birth. The infant girl was buried at nearby
Bachelors Grove, one of the most haunted cemeteries in the world.
When Mrs. Humphrey was found dead in the house soon after,
extraordinary events at both the home and the cemetery began, leading
even the home's caretakers to wonder whether the
famed "Madonna of Bachelors Grove"--one of Chicago's most infamous
phantoms--is, in fact, the shade of Mrs. Humphrey bearing her lost
child. A ticket to this intriguing event includes full access to
the
Humphrey House for the entire evening's event, and guidance through the
past history and present hauntings
of this fabled structure.
EVENT REPORT: Humphrey House,
Orland Park, Illinois. September 15, 2007
"Had such a
great time!" "Enjoyed it
immensely." "Ed's
readings were phenomenal." "Ursula's
guidance . . . really taught me a lot." "The
experience was . . . more than a little spooky. I was
literally shaking."
An intriguing time was had
by all who attended our September 15th event at the Humphrey House
in Orland Park, Illinois. Gracious members of the Orland Park
Historical Society were on hand throughout the evening to provide
information about the erstwhile residents of the house, and
also of the family's sometimes disturbing history. Many
guests felt uneasy upon first entering into the unassuming home,
especially in the children's bedroom upstairs, where a sense of
heaviness and shortness of breath
was reported by a number of attendees. Upon further examination,
the room was found to bear an inordinate number of deep, long cracks in
the plaster, one of which passed right through
a framed family portrait, the frame and glass cracked as well. Ed
Shanahan sensed that deep emotional disturbances had occurred in the
room and had left these physical reminders behind.
After the initial tours of the house,
guests split up into three groups and spent time separately on each
floor of the house. In the parlor, each group seemed to make
contact with a little boy and his mother through the use of dowsing
rods. Temperature drops also occurred during these
"conversations," as well as several instances of unexplained
fluctuations in the EMF (Electro Magnetic Field), leading some present
to believe that something paranormal was indeed at work.
During the evening, guests
participated in two circles of energy, designed to tap into the past
events and present energies in the
house, one held in an upstairs storage area and one in the first floor parlor.
During the second circle, one of the guests became aware of a
heavy force pushing down on his body, and
sensed the willful, overpowering presence of John Humphrey. This guest
sensed that the late Mr. Humphrey was preventing the other entities in
the house of making contact with the circle, imposing his will even
long after death.
We'll definitely be returning to the Humphrey House for another Beyond the Veil
event. To be informed of the next event here, please join our
mailing list by sending an email to info@hauntingchicago.com Hope
to see you soon beond the veil!
Sunday evening, September 30th, 2007 f r a n k i e ' s r o a
d h o u s e Willow Springs, Illinois Only 20 tickets
will be sold.
Return
to one of Chicago's most notoriously haunted sites for an evening like
you've never experienced. Previously Rico D's and Cavallone's,
this authentic speakeasy is believed to shelter a mass gangland grave
under the basement floor. Once settled, we'll enjoy dinner
and ghost stories
as only Ursula Bielski can tell them. After a tour of the
premises, we'll venture into a realm seldom
traversed: the ancient and spirit-ridden woods beyond Archer Avenue,
one of the most haunted byways in the world. These woods are believed
to have been part of Native American sacred ground, and Indian graves
here are said to still radiate paranormal energies throughout this
haunted region. With Ed Shanahan as our guide, we'll attempt to
tap into this sacred energy and experience the age-old truths of this
electric land. A ticket to this event includes pizza, salad
and one drink--choice of pop or beer--, tour of premises and full
access to the expansive rear woods for the duration of the evening's
event.
EVENT REPORT: Frankie's
Roadhouse: September 30, 2007
A
bizarre--and short--time was had by all who attended this event.
We arrived to find that there was no power in the building and
that our ghost hunt would be lit by candlelight alone. Fine by us, but
not to the Willow Springs Police Department, who showed up at the door
and forced our evacuation after about an hour. The owner told us
it was because we were ghost hunting, and claimed that one week before
there had been 150 extreme skateboarders partying on the back patio
with live bands blaring until 3am, with nary a peep form the
authorities. Hmmmm . . . . the intrigue
of this place never ends . . .
We will try
to reschedule this event for the future. Can't wait to see what
happens next!
Saturday and Sunday, November
10th-11th, 2007 c a p o n e ' s s u l p
h e r s p r i n g s & s t a r v e d r o c k
Ottawa,
Illinois B&B accomodations are extremely
limited. Spend
a haunted night along the Fox River in historic DeBolt House, a
comfortable bed and breakfast just a stone's throw from the abandoned
Sulpher Springs resort, a favorite haunt of Al Capone. Spend
the afternoon touring the gangland haunts of the Starved Rock
region, enjoy a campfire BBQ amid tales of the unknown, and spend
the night ghost hunting at Capone's
wishing well, Stations of the Cross, and almost 71 acres of
haunted forest. A
ticket to this
event includes comfortable accomodations at the Fox River Bed &
Breakfast, full tour of area gangland historical sites and haunted
Starved Rock, Bobby's famous BBQ dinner around the campfire,
on-your-own ghosthunting Saturday night on 71 acres of historic--and
haunted--land, and breakfast Sunday morning. Accomodations vary
and bed and breakfast accomodations are extremely limited. Call
early for best selection.
EVENT REPORT: Sulfer Springs
and Starved Rock, Illinois. November 10/11, 2007
"Amazing.
Just Amazing." ". . .
one of the most eye-openings weekends I've ever had." "There is
definitely something out there." "I'm hooked!"
We
gathered at noon at the historic DeBolt house just outside Ottawa,
Illinois, in the beautiful Fox River Valley. While we got settled in,
Bobby Joe, our gracious host, entertained us with tales of the historic
house, where Charles Lindbergh spent a night after his mail plane
crashed in the adjacent field during the 1920s. At 1:30, we
boarded the Ottawa Fun
Bus for a fascinating tour of the Valley's gangland sites. The
afternoon was gorgeous, with the leaves having turned from the sudden
cold, and we all thorougly enjoyed the excellent guide, author Dan
Churney, an Ottawa native and expert on his subject. Before
descending into St. Louis Canyon, site of the Staved Rock Murders, we
enjoyed a drink and the view from the pub at Starved Rock Lodge.
The Canyon hike was all we had hoped for and more, as Dan knew all the
details of the murder case--which he supplemented with crime scene
photos he shared with our group. We traded theories and
possibilities for nearly an hour at the murder site before reluctantly
heading back to the bus as the sun dipped.
Back at DeBolt house, we were met by delicious smells from the kitchen.
As we eagerly awaited dinner, we enjoyed a great cocktail hour,
sharing ghost stories with our new friends-in-ghosthunting, as some
brave souls got a campfire going against the chilly evening air.
After dinner, we prepared for our ghost hunting expedition into
the haunted woods surrounding the house. Our destination?
The area known as "Capone's Wishing Well," a grotto which marked
the original healing springs. Many had felt strange sensations at
the area during our earlier walk, and Ed Shanahan in partiular felt it
would be the perfect site for his "Circle of Energy." Armed with
dowsing rods, cameras, thermometers, compasses, video and audio
recorders, and gaussmeters, we made our way through the woods to the
site, where Ed chose the members for the Circle and others readied
their monitoring equipment.
The
accompanying photos, provided by one of the attendees, provide
something of a physical counterpart to what we experienced during
that circle, when dowsing rods confirmed the presence of a former
sanitarium guest, extreme bodily pains and pressures were felt by
nearly all the circle members, and cameras and audio recorders
mysteriously died. One member or our group
suddenly and inexplicably burst into tears.
Though we had planned additonal exploration into the old sanitarium and
a second Circle of
Energy at the Stations of the Cross, we were all so spooked by the
experience of the first Circle, and by the
feelings of dread and foreboding of the sensitive members of the group,
that we returned instead to the house for the remainder of the evening.
We'll definitely be
returning to DeBolt House next year for another Beyond the Veil event.
To receive news of the next Sulpher Springs and Starved Rock
overnight, as well as all of our other special events, please join our
mailing list by sending an email to info@hauntingchicago.com Hope
to see you soon beyond the veil!
_____________________ A B O U T
Y O U R H O S T S ______________________
Edward L. Shanahan
is one of Chicago's most respected and astute psychic feelers, and is
also gifted in the art of psychometry--deducing spiritual truths from
the personal items of loved ones. Ed, a native of Chicago's
richly storied Southwest side, began his lifelong involvement with the
unknown as a young child, when his mom bought him his first magic
set at Ford City. Magic did not long hold Ed's attention; however. He
soon discovered Real Magick and, accordingly, became engaged in
exploring the realities of the unseen world. As a young man, Ed
was intrigued by the work of his uncle, a handwriting analyst, who
sometimes appeared on Eddie Schwartz's popular Chicago radio show, and
he was intrigued by the stories told by famed Chicago personality
Richard Crowe, one of the world's first full-time "ghosthunters." As a
teenager, Ed began his first wide-eyed journeys into Chicago's
paranormal underworld to explore some of Chicago's most
notoriously haunted sites. Ever since, Ed's joy has
been exploring both the spiritual and paranormal realms with
fellow travelers from around Chicago and around the world, but he's
also explored the world of high celebrity in the Pro-Wrestling and
Glamour industries. Today, Ed's web community, "The Unexplained
World," draws thousands of visitors each week, many of whom tune in to
his popular and acclaimed webcast of the same name, and he remains a
popular reader at private and public gatherings throughout the Chicago
area. Ed has contributed to Jeff Belanger's Encyclopedia of Haunted Places and
Scott Markus' Voices from the
Chicago Grave, as well as Ursula Bielski's forthcoming Chicago Haunts 3: From the Secret Files of
Chicago Hauntings, Inc.
Ursula Bielski is
the founder of Chicago Hauntings, Inc. An historian, writer, and
parapsychology enthusiast, she has been writing and lecturing about
Chicago's supernatural folklore and the paranormal for nearly 20
years and is recognized as a leading authority on
the Chicago region's ghostlore and cemetery history. She is the author of five popular
and critically acclaimed books on the same subjects, all published by
Lake Claremont Press, with more on the way. Ursula's interests in
Chicago ghost hunting began at a young age. She grew up in a haunted
house on Chicago's north side and received an early education in
Chicago history from her father, a Chicago police officer, who
introduced Ursula to the ghosts at Graceland Cemetery, Montrose Point
and the old lockup at the storied Maxwell Street Police
Station. Since that time Ursula has been involved in countless
investigations of haunted sites in and around Chicago, including such
notorious locales as Wrigley Field, the Congress Hotel, the Indiana
Dunes, the Red Lion Pub, Hull House, Bachelors Grove
Cemetery, Rose Hill Cemetery, haunted Archer Avenue,
Chinatown, the Eastland disaster site, Death Alley, Dillinger's
Alley and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre site. Her paranormal
travels have also led her to investigate sites as diverse and infamous
as the Bell Witch Cave in Tennessee; the Oshkosh, Wisconsin Opera
House; New Orleans' House of the Rising Sun; the City Cemetery in
Key West, Florida; and the Civil War Battlefield at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. Aside from her writing, Ursula has been featured on
numerous television documentaries, including productions by the A&E
Network, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel,
and PBS. She also appears regularly on local Chicago television and
radio and lectures throughout the year at various libraries, historical
and professional societies. In addition to her books, Ursula is the
author of numerous scholarly articles exploring the links between
history and the paranormal, including articles published in the International
Journal of Parapsychology.
Ursula is a past editor of PA News, the quarterly newsletter of the
Parapsychological Association, a past president and board member of the
Pi Gamma Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor
society, and holds membership in the Society of Midland Authors.
A graduate of St. Benedict High School on Chicago's North
side, Ursula holds a B.A. degree in history from Benedictine University
and an M.A. in American cultural and intellectual history from
Northeastern Illinois University. Her academic explorations include the
Spiritualist movement of the 19th century and its transformation into
psychical research and parapsychology, and the relationships among
belief, experience, science, and religion.
Ed
Shanahan was drawn to stop his car and knock upon the door of this
unassuming home one Fall afternoon. He soon found that the house
had some tales to tell. The home of Senator and Mrs. John
Humphrey, the couple lived in this Orland Park home until their
first
child died at birth. The infant girl was buried at nearby
Bachelors Grove, one of the most haunted cemeteries in the world.
When Mrs. Humphrey was found dead in the house soon after,
extraordinary events at both the home and the cemetery began, leading
even the home's caretakers to wonder whether the
famed "Madonna of Bachelors Grove"--one of Chicago's most infamous
phantoms--is, in fact, the shade of Mrs. Humphrey bearing her lost
child. A ticket to this intriguing event includes full access to
the
Humphrey House for the entire evening's event, and guidance through the
past history and present hauntings
of this fabled structure.
and
sensed the willful, overpowering presence of John Humphrey. This guest
sensed that the late Mr. Humphrey was preventing the other entities in
the house of making contact with the circle, imposing his will even
long after death.
Spend
a haunted night along the Fox River in historic DeBolt House, a
comfortable bed and breakfast just a stone's throw from the abandoned
Sulpher Springs resort, a favorite haunt of Al Capone. Spend
the afternoon touring the gangland haunts of the Starved Rock
region, enjoy a campfire BBQ amid tales of the unknown, and spend
the night ghost hunting at 
Ursula Bielski is
the founder of Chicago Hauntings, Inc. An historian, writer, and
parapsychology enthusiast, she has been writing and lecturing about
Chicago's supernatural folklore and the paranormal for nearly 20
years and is recognized as a leading authority on
the Chicago region's ghostlore and cemetery history. She is the