THE HAUNTED POLICE STATIONS OF CHICAGO: OLD SOLDIER … · Chicago Daily Tribune - 1907, May 5 - The Haunted Police Stations of Chicago Chicago Daily Tribune

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE HAUNTED POLICE STATIONS OF CHICAGO: OLD SOLDIER DIES IN BASEMENT. ... Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922); May 5, 1907; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune pg. F3 G'.RAlf.l> CkOJSJNG POLICE S7J1T£0.JI ZYTOCK'OJ./?DJPOL/CE J'7:4T!ON. fY/f£PE' S-i:PGEANT PPJJYDIVJLLE .f££.f G.JJOJrJ' 'l1j-/£J?£ A CltJJT mo;. 'l ff/:: .r.!Ak'JVL'J.J. f .k'UJ1 TYIE liO.P.J'EY fl :x Chlcngo are h!lunted. SpoOl{S llan' l1ccn $E'_•."'H.°nruund. some nf the other stations at Yanous tJtn(S, but the six are hnunrrd regularly. tn on4' or stations a pai·. n1l wai;on drivl'r resignt:-tl hh. 1 position ratl1er than continue in the ghost besieged headquartl•rs ,..,.h(i"e- he as· tn flUtY. In ancthN' Rtatlon one of the patrolmen, attacked b:r a ghost \Vtllle ne was ::;1ct::p1.11.s In 'the '"dog watch'' quarters flrecl al his me-nt 01 • an<l six gaping ho!Ps remain in the plastermg yet as n silent tribute to his po.or rnarl(smanshi[l. In still another stat·:on a· shndO"WY intruder .so worlrnd on the mind of a policeman that he was driven temporarily insane, and had to he taken tel a sanitarium. The Park. Grand Cros5ling. wood. an<l New Cfty ar(" haunte(l, Of these the Stockyards station is tho faxorlte retreat for ghosts, and tt is namittecl by lht: Captain ant! the snl!- orctinaleo officer..; n.ssigneci there that the ag;tation f1)r p. new building was kept up t>rincipaily by the ltrl'pe- th:it the blation ghosts would dioa11pcnr with the old headquarters. Desk Sergeant \Villiam Prmde\"lllc, who has been at the ·Stoc;kya.rds stutlon for more than ten years, has seen so man.r ghosts in bjs time that he hri.s b'-•come used to them. and r0ither enjoys thelr company. * * n1t1 .i;;n/dier Dieo. in i3asemen1. (fhe first ghost tn'Ule its appenr!lnCC at the ::ltoC!<yarrrn station one winter five aFtd was first seen on the night fnllowing the <lrath. in lhP lrn<cment, of an old soldier. The old fellow, worn out by a tong tramp through the snow, entcn:d the station shortly after midnight. and asked to be allowe<l to remain all night. Sergeant Prmac- vllle, who was -;;j, duty al the time, to1<1 him to go down in.to thP . basement, whPre the ' 1 Uojn.cks/' as they are known to the police, were sent when they asked for a night's lodging. Thr veteran of a h:ml fought bat- tle dragged hig wean· body Into the warm basement. 'md In a few mlnutes was curled up in what proved to he h1s last bivouac. F:mly the nexl morn•ing n. number of ••regulars," who llacl seen him enter the ha.sement tho night before, found him dead and reJJorted his death to the omc.f\n; upstairs. The next night, when Sergeant Prim1e\'lllc s>Lt dozing tn his chair, waiting for the da"'t\.•n to break the night watch, and send him home to brcak[ast, ltc was to hear a s11ght ra11 on the. door. The 11rgnt was and the sergeant Uwught at nrst that the wind luul caused the noise. f"'istenlng cm:rfully, he again heard the rnp- ping on ·the door antl went at lo- open it. As he turned the knob a flurry of snow was whipped into hl• face and through this, in the lutlf light, he saw the out- lines of the fame oltl soldier that had asked h-im rrn· a night's lo<lging on the preduus nigl1t. Knowing, as dicl. that tho luul died the night before, Prinde,..ille realized al once that he was facing a ghost. At that Ume he never had met wtth a visltoT from the- shac1owY world and was frightl'ned out of bis wits when the. aid soldier's spirit stood him. * * Ghost Comco in a Snow :Storm. IJ'he next morning, when the sergeant tole! tne ower of his experience, they refuSl':cl to bclie,•e him. say:hrg that he must have mistal;:cn the whirling snow flurries for the figure of the ol<l soldier. Arter tlrnt, ho.,,·- ever, Prindeville watched for the ghost, and be declar ... )•et that every winter, when there is a sn.ow stonn. samP. ohl soldier comes to the door, raps, and then walks away. 'rhe sergeant sn)'s that he o[len speaks to the ghost whc-n tt nppear.s. but tllnt he no\"Cr has been able to get an answ£l'r. Detectlre John Sl1ea. one of the most reliable and trustworthy oflicers at the Hytlc Park station, ne:irlY shot lhe rear end out of the police station one night wherc a ghost in \'aded the sleeping ('(uarters on the thh·J floor. Shea had gon" to !Jf'd shortlv after mldnlght and was soundly along 2 when he aroused by something tugging nt the bed covers. The room was pbtch dark and Shen, who was onh· half' awake, :Id nothing more than to with one- nnd after the di:::iappc-:i.ring bed clothes. A few minutes lat€r the quilts :igaln ,.,·ere pulled from the bed u.nd the 1)olic0 oflkf-r, thornughlr awul;.e. lhought that someboUy was t 1Ti11g- to pluy u joke on him. This time- the policaman Jay \'\ .. Ith his Pl"P.S open, watching f"H' th0 inlruc,lc'"r, nnd clcte:rmi11'£'d. if any one appPan:d, to shoot his rei,.·oh·cr knto ceiling to show tiw.t ht'. too. enjnyl'tl tlir• fun. As he Iar lllu:s, with his fingers tightly gripping :he hanclle- of hlR rPYolvcr, he was horr[- fi:t<cl to n genuine gJ1ost step from bc,hind a clothes locker and approach his I.Jed. * Fires Six Shols at the Shea sn·s the l\'as a woman. except that it had unl!to· one eye, which shone with a blue t;;ort of light. Stl'a1thily approaching his hed, until it stood wilhin a foul O'f him, the· ghos.t S"J:ow1y put. 011l n. hantl \o\rnrd him. l3y that time Shea, . who would rather chase an armc·(] highwayman into a dark lhan e;1 t, wn.s as colcl ns an Icicle, and was clutching· his rp\·oh··. r handle so thnt his flngers arc bl;'nt yet from th• nre.ssure. tht" ext(•nded hand uf the ghost gaU1- up ihc corr1erH of his bed quilts untl us slow!:• pul1\•.I Lhem f:rim him on to the tloor. 'l'hen the to pn;;ic ion behind the. locker, where it could hira w;th O!le blue c:re until he haO gath£'red up thi• ShEa deelareR with all the vh::ror he can snmm1m that he lay th(·rc· rye:i11g that ghost for an hour. By that time. he snys, hls counlgc returned to him, nnd with his gatl1- C'r1ng strel16"th 11e le\'{'lcd his re\rolver at the hideous tiYC! hcCorc him and then jerked the tri;;;;cr. "\V'lth the slrnot- Ing was a commotion downstairs, wh<'re some of tho otQ.cr night mc-n were 11Iaying cards, and ncross thP stro.et in thL· llullan<l hotel. where hundl'c<ls of guests were sleeping. ---..__ \'.:-ith strides that.clearr:cl n steps ut a. time. Shea's fellow otfkers rnn up to whrre he was and turned on the lights. Then, wlth the perspiration dript>ing from him, Shea pointed to tile plnsterlng on tlrn south wall of the room, where six Tnrge holes had been hnred hy th<.' lHtllcts ·from his rcvoh•cr, and uttered the onn ·word ·• * * Ghost Takes Harness from Horses. Patrol wa,1!011 driver Thomas l\lurna.ne threw up hi!'! job at the Grand Crossing station rather than put up with the ghosts tllat make «heir headquarters t11ere. Until n. year ago, when l\lurnnnc resigned, a ghost ap- peared regularl:r at the stn.tion evenr night and found its chief delight in taking the harness off the patrol wagon horses. A< required by the rules of the department, one team ot horses Is kept harnessed nil n.fght, and .l\!urnann dcolnre<l befor<> he left th" Acrvlce that the black figure of a man •:!'nterc-d the harn night and calmly re• moved the h:1.rnesg from 'earn. Murnane and the two otht\"r men who worked on the wagon with him always wenl ID sleep between the night runs or: the wagon,. and on one of these occa!<iOns whrn was new in the work the driver said he was on his cot thiri<ing about what a man ought to dn lo become a good policeman, when he noticed n man walk 1nto the stri.ll occupfecl his team and remove the hnr- ness from the backs of the horses. In the darkness 1'.Iur- nane thought the man was one of the police offlcer" ar.d t·hat porlrnp8 he had heen wrongly told to keep the horses harni?s:=:ed all night. ·The nfxl mornlng he told the other men what he ha'l seen and thP)' only laughed at him, ·explaining that the ,,.isitor was "Johnny Reeves." ne\'l"'r hn.d h£>ard ,o-f .. Johnny Reeves," but not caring to dlsplil\" hi• ignorance, he said nothing fu'rther about It al tM time. Later that drty, though, he asked ·one of t\1e police otflriers about the statiQn about Reeves and was toltl that he had brPn a tramp who dled one night while sleeplng in the barn. ;,111rnane was then wnv-inced that he had seen a real ghost. * * Driver af W agcn Resigns Place. Everr night fl Johnny R£e..,·cs .. into the stall occupied by Murnanc's horses an<l removed tMlr harness. The i1atr<>l wagon driver. frightened out of l1!s wits bi· the intrusions of the ghost, tried in vain to sleep ns tho other men dlrl. Every n!ghl,. he told them nftcrwai-d, he lay in a cold sweat, watching the 1ntruder and !lnallJ', after he had worried himself slrlt. Murnane wrol<' out h'.s and with its' aN•1•pianr0 for· E=ook his long cherished nmhition to IJccome. a police .. man. At the Grand Cro.ssing sta'tion ft is sald Hu.'YCS" appears in 1he stntion where he l!ll{es the hnrnPss rrom the DL'nny Lang, one of the plain doth(•$ men at the En- glewood stnt1on. was out of be<l and th1:n ( h1sl'd severnl blocks down \Yentworth in hiR night clothes by a gtwHt on('l night last .smnmcr. f_,nng hn<1 hren told that the ghPst of ["]. tnlrnrPr, who had ht•c-n ki1led b;\' a engin£' on the Roek baek o[ thP stat.ion, had tnlu'n up lts residence in dormitory on the sc-concl tloo.10, nnd thnl it carrlc·d a bag with hrlck hats. with which lo attack those "·hn cnmc n0n.r. L:i.ng• dicl not believe the story. He would skep in the station tn slrnn· some of the cowards that no such things as ghost;; existed. . _Englewood Spook Throws Bricq1 About un hour after he had climbed Into one of iron cots for · the men on r·N;;;en·e Lang- was stnrtlcCI by n heavy thumping on the floor his bed. Peering cul from under conr• to learn thC' nature or the lli:-3lt1rh11.nce. he was startled out of hi3 ·wits to hC:!hr1Id, O\'P.r in the corner of the room • .n life Hizrd ghost. with fire hall" for and with tht• hat\ of hrlcl< bale, Just as the other men had described him. DVG.Lfl1TQOD POLICE C577!T!OIY, WHERE GJIOST THROWS BRIC:,K BAT J' I • ... • 1 :· ·: ; J • ·:, ':.. > CELL /VOJ /N PESP1AIJV£S J'TRfLl c5mT/ON Jc5 HAUNTED Dc-nny lh:lt hf' f<-lt his courrrgo away nnr:I that irn madt: up mind 11t mice th;i.t llc hnO bC"tter gi!l out fn a hurry. \Yith oM leap lie r"acl1ell the hPnrl nf the wln'ding rincl In l\"'-'O morP wa!". in llw and raring- w\?cl nrc, down.\\'.°( ntworth a.ve:rnf'. Afl"'r him, hur1!ni::;- t1: ir-'k. hats, that hnur:ced uncomfort:ihly clm·w t,, his hPP1io:, followed t n nirry gh0st. Lang: Urn I Im wrmlrl h•t\T· het•n y{·l ha•l h0 not tc·n<'hf·{1 lil:-; own !1QffiC :Lflr·r !WHing- the g-IF1Sl a pac<· that (qr) Jiri1 tQ b1· fnlln\\"f•<l. :-inti then he no: s!Ptit in tlrn H.ecr•ntly 1hP J•:ng1Pw•·rnl Ftalion \t..'aS rr rno·'.dP'l and thC> mC'n :!=my tltat w'.th lh:· rl;anf:' tlw gl11 ':t 11 .. t J!.f\ar as frt••iu("rtly :ts hr, f1Jl'nwrly rliil. I·:Y,·n y'-'l tho 0-fllr.pn; at that sta1tnn r.harr nb<HJL tl11·n• 1rn- JP!;;S S• \"c•ra] of thrm al''" TramfJ's Gl10<t in Cell Na. 3. Eai-;l :l.\'C'lltJI' ar11l UH! :-.;-r·w lHJth are haunted l1y ,\t t:tr+'•·t y1·a1f:I ;ign c1nC' tr:-tmp rhokr·d anoti:."r or:1· :o r1· ath 1-vliil•· th<·Y \\.'{ffC t•onfi.nMl ln 1,11e (]f th• sim·{ Uwn th''. Sf)irrt o.f mur<lf•reci mnn hn.-..; r 1:app• :irrll to rlls- t11rli the of rirlsonvn; <·onfl1wd in lhr> t\mong th(· ch·rr•licts wlio mak•: r1 l1:1ha 11f sit 1·11·w:- ;1t lli+• in th.r· limP, 1l11·re Is a prrJI1011ti1·<·tl avr·r- to C{'ll thr tr;1g-1'1ly took place-, ant] ni.t a one llf' the old limrrs will !')•·r p tlH•r{•. Thf·y all \\.'ould rath1·r 11 in th(• tha11 i11 thr" 1·o·ll. are l1Y th-<' rJf 1i:1o: mntd•·rr:·l ttamp. At. the a prls'ln1•r- fp:J •1(·;1d on1· night whiln he \Va:-l: try!ri.; tn filr• m:• .r,f thP c..!l lJ;H.s ln hv1i nrirl :.;[nee limn thi:: al lhe s;1y thr·:: r1f!1·n aro .---irrnn;:i·l1 th1,. niFrht hy tliri of ;1 on Iron. TJwy h"'lirn lhr- g-hcst n-f thP. (lr·par:(·rl i!J rcs.p11r.:.:ihli; for llw ;o..;1·nl'l:t :ill p<Jl!C<' !-1.tn.tions a dv·st b11t not idl of th«m a rNtl 1n F•>m0 i1f Ow !'!lit- 1!flnl-' ghof:lS h:H'(' hr-r·n marlr- to nrr10r. as the at East Ch!cngo a\.'PlllJ1•, \VlH1 rro a npr·rator !lx•,.J UJt :tn elrCtric.1.-l arrnr:gr·mNli that !-'Cared ft d1Jzrin or lliC!- poJlt:.f'; QfilP.-.rH nut nf tli,·!r "'"ill" bl·fnr"·it w:rn Tn n#J:arly cv<>ry 8tatlnn cir ml)re h:'-"'<-! (]'.eel nr commHte,1 snl<"frle an<l these t'J th".) numcrou8 ac<"Mmh-l of ;,.;hr1sts with wlll(·h 1hr· offic•.:-rs Ut(!m1'3ch·es \':hllc \Valtlng nt the :sta,tions on re .. serve duly,

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THE HAUNTED POLICE STATIONS OF CHICAGO: OLD SOLDIER … · Chicago Daily Tribune - 1907, May 5 - The Haunted Police Stations of Chicago Chicago Daily Tribune