Barek Halfhand's Blog (12)

Road Trip 2012

by Barek Halfhand

I learned of “The Murder Homestead” by way of referral and it struck me as both pretentious while at the same time provocative but regardless I couldn’t resist going there once an emailed photo landed in my inbox…

I’m not entirely sure of precisely what contributory factors may be responsible actuating the maniacal spirit that dwells within the walls of that small, abandoned ranch style home on the hill…perhaps it has something to do with…

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The Congress Hotel, Fort Dearborn and the old Chicago Main Library.

by Barek Halfhand

The old gothic architecture of the building with the neon red “CONGRESS HOTEL” sign glowing at it’s anterior has been a prominent fixture of the Chicago nighted skyline for over a century...it is…

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Ghosts of the Haymarket Riot

by Barek Halfhand

The Carter Harrison (Sr.) administration saw it’s share of turmoil during his stint as Chicago mayor...The nation’s first prolific serial killer; H.H. Holmes prowled the periphery of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (White City) to prey upon tourists, urban transplants and…

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Haunted Archer Avenue: Fairmount Hills



by Barek Halfhand







*From 5-09:



The Archer Avenue gates to Fairmont Hills lie between St James Church and… Continue

The Old Joliet Prison

by Barek Halfhand





It’s been over a decade since I worked at the Joliet Correctional Center and just returning to the empty main lot reminded me of the dread, insecurity and very real sense of… Continue

Road Trip 2011 Part 2

by Barek Halfhand



The gargantuan propellers seem surprisingly graceful spinning in the distance as the wind farms of pastoral north central Indiana suddenly dominate the landscape and have come to serve as my symbolic gateway to The… Continue

The 65th Anniversary Of The Naperville Train Crash

By Barek Halfhand



April 25th 2011 at 1:03 pm marked the 65th anniversary of one of the worst railroad accidents in American history leaving 43 dead and 125 injured ...I… Continue

An Old VA Hospital





My recent expedition to the old Manteno State Hospital complex has piqued an interest I have had in facilities like this that began with the encounter working in the basement of a Joliet Illinois penitentiary annex building a few years back that housed sex offenders and culminated in my coverage of a west suburban retirement home demolition (Plymouth Pace)

in early 08...I have heard rumors over the years and have even been privy to first hand accounts… Continue

The Manteno State Asylum

by Barek Halfhand





It has been close to a decade since I have been to Manteno Illinois, and while growth and development has since peppered the predominately rural landscape with prefab-ish subdivisions along the straights of Rt 57 just north of the Manteno exit, the small town, Main Street charm beside the railway looks unchanged. The community of approximately 7,000 is still largely a farming/agricultural community but also hosts a balance of… Continue

Mount Carmel Update: Al Capone-The Italian Bride









Mt. Carmel’s primary point of interest has generally been the grave of Chicago’s seminal Mobster: Al Capone, but that is just a 3rd of a triumvirate of accompanying legends... a distinction shared by “The Italian Bride” and “The Revolving Tombstone” aside from an assortment of other less notable esoteric oddities and various reports that have surfaced over the years of discarnate entities rumored to linger… Continue

I have always considered Queen Of Heaven one of my personal favorite sites out of the circuit of famous haunted locations that remain supernaturally active within my immediate proximity ...and while repeat visits to these sites may seem redundant or at times even moribund to some,

I feel that making one visit to a location for a couple of hours is less likely to yield any data or enable even the most astute of “paranormal investigators” to make any sort of an assessment as to the voracity… Continue

A sun drenched, mild mid February afternoon brought me back to the Mayslake/Peabody Estate to complete the Friary edition of the site update...on a day with highs in the upper 30's it seemed like a comparably temperate climate as I flashed back to the frost bitten, sunrise sojourn through the fields and sparsely wooded east side of the property to bypass the locked front gates of Mayslake Hall...one wonders if the frigid cold winter and excessive snow fall of 2010 will be attributed to… Continue