Grave Robbing 101 tour in Lincoln Park

45 West North Boulevard,Chicago IL 60610

03 October, 2021

Description

Once upon a time, what is now Lincoln Park was the old City Cemetery - and it was a rich hunting ground for grave robbers. Only a few relics Once upon a time, what is now Lincoln Park was the old City Cemetery - and it was a rich hunting ground for grave robbers. Only a few relics of the old cemetery survive, but a lot of the stories do! In his "Grave Robbing 101" tours, author Adam Selzer shows what remains of City Cemetery (including a tomb snooping demo) and unearths documented tales of all the grave robbing that went on there, with all the tips, tricks, vocabulary words and lessons you need to start YOUR career as a 19th century body snatcher - TODAY!    The tour lasts roughly 75 minutes and covers about a mile of walking, beginning at the big flower bed where the Morgue used to be (Dearborn and North at the south end of the park) and ending in the parking lot a couple of blocks north. Rain or shine! Stories cover all sorts of grave robbing, odd bits of Chicago history, 19th century vampire scares, antique serial killers, and more.  Selzer is the host of the Cemetery Mixtape and Mysterious Chicago podcasts, and is the author of several Chicago History books, such as MYSTERIOUS CHICAGO, HH HOLMES: THE TRUE HISTORY and an upcoming "Who's Who" book for Graceland Cemetery (where many City Cemetery burials were moved). He's a regular on TV, as well, talking strange history on such shows as American Ripper, Mysteries at the Museum, Haunted History, Monumental Mysteries, and more. His grave Robbing tours run regularly in Chicago, and a few times per year in Manhattan.  (Note: though the tour meets up right outside the Chicago History Museum, it is not sponsored by or affiliated with the museum). What to know:   - Meetup address is across the street from 45 W. North Blvd - Nearest L station is the Clark/Division red line, four block south. The 22 bus goes very near it, as well. - There is usually some bathroom access partyway through, but it's a park bathroom and we can't always guarantee it'll be open! - Some of the walk is on paved areas, some is not. There are some brief steep portions and a couple of stairs. - 45 W North is actually the address of a parking garage, but street parking is usually obtainable. - Tour runs rain or shine - We're not sure to what extent they'll be done with construction around the park by Oct 3! As of Aug 31, the tour quite seems doable, if not completely ideal. The main issue is that we may not be able to get RIGHT up to the Couch Tomb, and we're starting in a different spot than usual. - We're allowing a larger than usual group because it's Mystericon! - The tour is in the safe outdoors, but we -strongly- request that patrons be fully vaxxed against Covid 19 (really, we hope you have all your shots!). If you have questions about the vaccines, the Mayo Clinic has an excellent page to answer them. The vaccines are the reason we can do in-person events at all.