Ursula
Bielski is the founder of Chicago Hauntings, Inc. and the host of PBS' "The Hauntings of Chicago" (WYCC).
An
historian,
author, 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.
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 in Chicago, 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.
Adam Selzer works by day as an author of young adult novels. He has been described as "subversive,
but in a fun way… like the offspring of Bob Dylan and some Muppet." His
first novel, How To Get Suspended and
Influence People (Random House 2007) made the summer reading list for Chicago
Public Schools, but its reception in other cities earned in him a spot on the
American Library Association's Banned Book Week feature. His other books, which
are now available in six languages, include The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History, Pirates of the Retail
Wasteland, I Put a Spell On You, and the critically acclaimed satire of Twilight, IKissed a Zombie and I Liked
It.
But since writing subversive kids books only keeps him occupied during the day,
he had his evenings free to be a professional ghost buster and Chicago
historian. In addition to being a six year veteran of the ghost tour business,
he is the host of the Chicago Unbelievable podcast and blog, and has written
about Chicago history and ghostlore for a number of different publishers. You
might have heard him talking about ghosts and other strange things on Coast to
Coast AM, The Mancow Show (on a day when the other guest was Hulk Hogan), and
several cable TV channels. His expertise on the subject of grave robbing makes
his neighbors hesitant to attend his barbecues. Find him at AdamSelzer.com and follow his research at ChicagoUnbelievable.com.
Michael Flores
Michael Flores wears many hats:
comedian, playwright ( he has written, produced and directed over 17 plays),
pop culture writer. And, for 20 years, he has been investigating supernatural and
ghostly events in the city of Chicago. He did comedy with Second City legend
Del Close for 7 years, has staged hundreds of events at nightclubs in the city,
and-- believe it or not-- can often be found dancing to rave music! Michael is
currently working on a film about the final days of burlesque in Chicago. Flores'
last play ran at a Chicago punk rock club for 70 weeks-- and was about the ghost stories
of Chicago!
