posted by chicago pop
If you're serious about Halloween, here is HPP's list of the top spookiest houses in Hyde Park-Kenwood. No guarantee that they're haunted, but they sure look like they ought to be (and with good reason in the case of our #1 pic below).
#1. Franks Family Mansion, 2007Kenwood Home of Robert "Bobby" Franks
Big, empty, falling-apart Kenwood mansion two blocks from the home of the President of the United States. But also the home of the poor soul, Robert "Bobby" Franks, the adolescent boy murdered by the most infamous U of C alums in history: Leopold and Loeb. Strangely enough, this tragic site was recently a preschool. The sign still hangs on a plywood board nailed over a window facing 51st Street. Very spooky.
#2. Spooky House on Blackstone & 56thThis house really does look like the classic, Hollywood version of the haunted Victorian mansion, complete with corner turret for strange lights to shine forth at night, ample attic for chain-dragging poltergeists, and an overgrown yard that will keep people from getting in ... or getting out.
#3. Spooky Apartment Building on Hyde Park Boulevardat Harold Washington Park
One day this building upped and went empty. For awhile its yard was completely overgrown, but the vegetation was recently cut back, diminishing the spookiness. It has more of a serial killer as opposed to tormented ghost vibe. Spooky, for sure.
And of course ...
#4. St. Stephens Church
And of course ...
#4. St. Stephens ChurchDown in the basement, with all the rats ... very, very spooky. And for sale.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
6 comments:
I've always thought the house on the NW corner of 52nd and S. Harper that's covered with strange vertical siding painted black (not sure how to describe it) looks mysterious and spooky.
I vote for the house on the west side of Ellis just north of 55th street with carpet covering up the windows.
Without the carpet, it's just a run down brokety house. With the carpet ...
The former (?) home of the Swami Vivekananda Society at 5423 S. Hyde Park Blvd is pretty spooky (and curiosity-provoking!)
It's unclear whether it's inhabited still or not (by lingering members of the Swami's cult?) I see lights on sometimes. The whole complex has an eerie air about it.
The ghost of Swami Vivekananda is protecting E. Hyde Park's precious viewsheds.
Franks Family Mansion: I remember this house, well! In the 80's, I used to walk by there almost everyday. I had forgotten that property used to be a school!
Thanks for the memories and the spooky collection of photos!
I've always thought the house on the NW corner of 52nd and S. Harper that's covered with strange vertical siding painted black (not sure how to describe it) looks mysterious and spooky.
I was walking past this place one time and caught something from the corner of my eye that seemed to be moving oddly. When I turned to look directly, I froze with uncomprehending dread. It took my brain several seconds to grasp that what I was seeing was actually just a live chicken in the yard.
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