Evergreen Cemetery

: "Evergreen Cemetery, 87th St.& Kedzie Ave., A young girl, 12 to 14 years of age, is said to haunt one of the CTA bus stops along 87th St. It is said that she will board a bus, at night, and go immediately go to the back of the bus, without paying the fare. When the driver turns around to tell her to pay, the bus is empty. Some drivers of cars on 87th St. have reported seeing "heads" floating above gravestones,( or late night "visitors" peeking from behind?) and people sitting on some of the stone benches in cemetery at night. As this cemetery has no fence a more mundane explanation could fit. The Writer has seen vehicles drive right off of Kedzie, over the curb, and into the cemetery at night. This was before this section of the cemetery along Kedzie was sold to the village of Evergreen Park, which built a firehouse, and a skating rink on the site. The Boundaries of the cemetery are 87th St. to the north, 91st St. to the south, Kedzie Ave to the east(actually behind the above mentioned firehouse, but visible from the street), and the B & O Railroad tracks to the west. On the other side of the tracks, is a separate cemetery, St. Mary''s, more on that cemetery to follow."

St. Mary's Cemetery

: "St. Mary''s Cemetery, The boundaries of this cemetery are, The B & O railroad tracks which cross 87th St. on the east side, Pulaski Rd. on the west, 87th St. on the north, and 91st St. on the south. Unlike Evergreen Cemetery to the east, St. Mary''s has a fence going completely around it, with the main gate on 87th St. and a smaller gate on 91st St. located between Homan and Trumbull Avenues. Late night drivers on 91st St. have reported seeing someone leaning against a fence post along the fence bordering the railroad tracks, with his arms folding across his chest. One driver reported that the figure seemed to react to his driving by, by placing his hands on his knees and crouching down, as if to look at him from under the branches of the tree between them, after which the figure disappeared. That St. Mary''s has not had more reports is somewhat surprising, as several deaths, all violent, have happened in and around the cemetery over the years. The first death was in 1927 at a restaurant/speakeasy located along the tracks, at that time many funerals came to the cemetery by train, where the party would have the funeral, then have the after funeral lunch at the restaurant while waiting for the return train. During Prohibition, this restaurant( known as "Vinegar Hill") was used as a speakeasy after dark, in 1927 one of the Westside O''Bannion Brothers was murdered there, by the Capone Mob. The next death happened in 1933, on the tracks, about 30 yards south of 91st. At this spot occurred the last daylight Train Robbery in the U.S. Two men stopped the train at this point and stole $50,000. from the mail car. One of the robbers was killed during the robbery and never identified, the other robber was never caught, and the money never recovered. Finally, in the 1990''s two men where shot once each in the heart, around 2:00a.m. While "visiting" the grave of a rival street gang member, on the anniversary of his death, this murder is unsolved. Trespassing is not only not allowed, but unnecessary, as the only reports of ghostly activity have all been observed from outside the cemeteries, (Evergreen Cemetery, and St. Mary''s)."