Paranormal Activity; Real or Not?

Tania Teliz and Elizabeth Cuevas

This Halloween, paranormal activity has found its way to Morton East. Many students feel that this month they have experienced more paranormal activity around places they have been through. 

In a recent survey of 57 Morton East students, at least 43% of the students have experienced paranormal activity, while 56% have not. 

Morton East alumnus Jennifer Teliz claims to have experienced paranormal activity in generic areas like home. 

“I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up because I thought the closet door opened. I thought my father was going to work. As I turned around, I realized it wasn’t my father, it was a black figure next to me. He was a tall man wearing boots, a long coat, and I couldn’t see the face because I was so scared to look up. At that moment my mother woke up, and as she got up to use the restroom. As she got up, I looked one last time and the black figure was gone. Afterwards, I realized that the closet door never opened, even after I was sure that I heard it open. Then I got up as my mother went to the bathroom, and I looked towards the kitchen and saw nothing. Afterwards, I turned around towards the living room and saw a ghostly figure that appeared to be a 3-legged dog getting off the couch and going through the tv,” junior at Columbia College Jennifer Teliz said. 

If you want to actually look for ghosts, try heading to these places.  According to source Choose Chicago “11 of Chicago’s most haunted places” people have experience different types of paranormal activity in different places around the city.  

  1. James M Nederlander Theatre, located at 24 West Randolph Street, is said to be haunted. People have reported the feelings of being touched or pushed by something invisible and hearing cries. 
  2. H.H. Holmes’ Murder Castle is located on the corner of South Wallace and 63rd street. The Englewood neighborhood was home to the country’s first serial killer. He confessed to 27 murders, who most of the victims were women, but it was believed that the total amount of victims was about 200. Although the murders took place more 120 years ago, staff that work there have experienced some type of paranormal activity like odd sightings and feeling extremely anxious when they are in the basement which is the place where most of the murders took place. 
  3. Congress Plaza Hotel is located at 520 South Michigan Ave; it is probably one of the most haunted places in Illinois. Staff have reported seeing a little who was thrown from the north tower with his sibling by their mother, who later jumped to her death. Also, many guests have reported many paranormal activities happening in room 441 where lights turn on and off randomly, objects move around, and they have also reported seeing a silhouette of a woman.  
  4. The Drake Hotel, located at 140 East Walton, is another famous haunted hotel that has had many famous people go there like Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, and even Frank Sinatra. There have been sightings of a woman in a red dress; rumor has it she jumped to her death because of jealousy and rage of seeing her husband. She is said to be seen around the 10th floor, Gold Coast Room, and even the Palm Court. 
  5. Chicago River Walk is also said to be haunted. Many people who have visited this place have reported some type of paranormal activity. In July 1915, 844 passengers of a steamship died because the ship rolled over in the water. People that visit the River Walk have reported feeling uneasy and experiencing ghostly sightings.  

Now, do you believe in the horrors of paranormal activity?