The Haunting of Lincoln Park Zoo from Six Feet Under

Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago offers one of the more haunted places in the city as this is the place where thousands of people were buried in the old cemetery. The park and the zoo were built on top of it and it is said ghosts from the remaining bodies are haunting at night.

Lincoln Park Zoo, one of Chicago’s most beloved attractions, has a darker side that many visitors may not know about. According to legend, the place is haunted because of the many thousands of people who are buried underneath the ground.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from the USA

The Lincoln Park Zoo was founded in 1868 inside of Lincoln Park and is one of the small zoos that have free admission where you can see penguins, gorillas, lions and tigers. And if we are to believe the rumors, ghosts as well.

The Old Chicago Cemetery

Lincoln Park is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Chicago, watching it rise through the settling times, gang violence to the big city of today. From 1843 to 1859, the land where the zoo now stands was once the city’s main cemetery on the southern end of the Lincoln Park, home to around 35,000 bodies. This number is what is mostly put out, but some historians claim that it is more likely between ten and twelve thousand.

Most of the remains were eventually moved due to concerns about water contamination of cholera. Caskets were buried close to the water and marsh land and would wash to shore every time the water rose. It was also contaminating the drinking water.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Haunted Cemeteries

The cemetery itself was also almost completely burnt the ground during The Great Chicago Fire on the night of October 8 in 1871. After this, they decided to build a lakefront park above it and didn’t move the remaining people from the underground.

Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago offers one of the more haunted places in the city as this is the place where thousands of people were buried in the old cemetery. The park and the zoo were built on top of it and it is said ghosts from the remaining bodies are haunting at night. — **Chicago Old Cemetery:** Rush of fugitives through the Potter’s Field toward Lincoln Park; Based on a Sketch by Theo R. Davis, from Harper’s Weekly, November 4, 1871.

Bones from the graves did reemerge from the ground though and workers would collect the bones to a shaman who would rebury them to keep the spirits from haunting the place. But did this even help at all?

Haunting at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Disturbing burial grounds has long been a trope in horror stories, and Lincoln Park is no exception. Since the cemetery’s relocation, countless reports of paranormal activity have arisen from the Lincoln Park Zoo grounds. Famed parapsychologist Ursula Bielski, who has conducted investigations at the site, called it “without a doubt the most active site” she’s ever explored.

This reputation is reinforced by numerous sightings of apparitions, shadowy figures, and inexplicable events over the zoo’s 150-year history. From 2013 there have also been a ghost tour in the zoo that have reinforced the belief that this place is indeed haunted.

People have experienced cold spots, feelings of being watched, and strange disembodied whispers. Some claim to see ghostly figures wandering the grounds, especially at night. Phantom shapes, believed to be the restless souls of those whose bodies were never moved, are said to occasionally be spotted near the zoo’s edge, gazing forlornly into the distance.

The Haunting in the Lion House

One of the more prominent stories that comes from the Lincoln Park Zoo is the ghost that is apparently lingering by the women’s restroom in the Lion House. The lion house was built in 1912 at the heart of the zoo close to the entrance.

Women using the bathroom keep reporting about seeing the ghosts of people in Victorian clothing when looking in the mirrors. When they turn back, there is no one there. There are also stories coming from the staff members hearing voices, someone even hearing the words: “Get out”.

Some ghost hunters claim this is because of the mirrors themselves, lined up on two lines facing each other. They claim that this traps the ghosts inside of the mirrors.

The Haunting of the Barn

In 1962 the Lincoln Park Zoo was building a barn and was digging in the ground. They then found a body, most likely from the cemetery. They discussed at length what to do with it, and the zoo director, Dr. Lester Fisher decided to return the body. The building didn’t stop though and they simply built the barn on top of it.

According to people visiting, there is supposedly paranormal activity going on there as well and paranormal hunters frequently investigate these parts.

The Suicide Bridge

Lincoln Park covers more than just the zoo, and there are more places around it that are said to be haunted. In the late 1800s there were also rumors about the park being haunted, but not from the cemetery. Most reports told about the High Bridge that was nearby from 1894 to 1919 just passed the zoo’s parking lot today. It was initially built for sightseeing in the park, but got a much more ominous reputation.

They called this the Suicide Bridge and it is said around 50 to 100 people ended their life from this bridge.

The sightings of the ghosts were so common that newspapers started to publish stories about it and cops that were working in the Park in the night kept asking for transfers because of all the scary paranormal experiences they had.

The Couch Tomb

There was also the case of the Couch Mausoleum. A strange mausoleum left untouched by the fire near the Chicago History Museum. This is the tomb of businessman Ira Couch who died in 1857. But is he really inside? According to official records, the tomb has never been opened. There was once a man who claimed he went inside it when he did some work. He claimed that it was empty. Couch’s grandson saw the news articles about it and claimed that it should be around seven people inside of the grave. Who is right? We simply don’t know.

In the 1880s there would be reports in the newspaper about a local legend that people told about the tomb. It said that at the stroke of midnight you had to face the tomb as you looked up at the name Couch. Three times you had to say: “The graves belong to the dead, not the living,”

If you did this, the door would open and a big white ghost would come out of the tomb and greet you.

The Haunting of The Lincoln Park and the Chicago Zoo

Whether you’re watching the playful antics of the animals or strolling through the park, be aware that you may not be alone. The spirits of those buried long ago still seem to have a presence in Lincoln Park Zoo, making it not just a center for animal life but also for paranormal activity. So, next time you visit, keep an eye out for more than just the zoo’s famous lions and tigers—there might be more eyes watching you than you think.