At the time I made my reservation, I didn’t know the hotel I selected had a reputation for being haunted. I had pretty much picked it at random, based on price, location and flight plan. It wasn’t until later when I was fooling around on the Internet that I saw the Congress Plaza Hotel is rumored to be one of the most haunted sites in Chicago . Had I picked the hotel or had it picked me? I debated on whether or not to tell my friend Cindy, who would be taking this trip with me. It was our last vacation week of the year and we had intended it to be more of a sightseeing jaunt. We had also planned to party on Rush Street , that is, until we learned it’s been christened the “Viagra Triangle!” Plus, the weather was going to be ideal-sunny and seventy degrees. As it turned out, Cindy automatically assumed the Congress was haunted. I guess she read my mind. She was cool with it and thought it would be exciting.
We arrived at the Congress on a Wednesday morning in late September. Our flight from Cleveland , Ohio had been smooth and uneventful, except for an airline employee asking us if Chicago was our “Final Destination.” Memories of that disturbing movie came to mind. The concierge and the front desk clerks were quite familiar with the hotel’s reputation. The hotel was built in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition and has accommodated very influential people throughout the years, including U.S. presidents, foreign leaders and many celebrities. It seems some guests, however, have not checked out, especially on the 9th and 12th floors of the North Tower . It is not unusual for the front desk to receive phone calls from guests staying on these floors, complaining that there is too much noise and commotion coming from the rooms next to them. The guests were not aware those rooms were vacant. There have also been reports of a little boy running down the hallway of the 12th floor and simply vanishing. Those are just SOME of the stories.
Feeling brave and free of any “reservations,” Cindy and I decided to explore the hotel for ourselves. It was very large and very empty. We would see guests at valet and in the lobby, but we never saw anyone in the elevators or in the hallways, living or dead! There were rooms that had been permanently sealed off in drywall and there were doors with no handles or knobs. All that remained of what was probably once Room 1252 was the door frame. It was directly across from the fire escape. Some doors were padlocked. We took photos with Cindy’s digital camera. We had learned earlier on a Chicago hauntings ghost tour that digital cameras can capture orbs, which are believed by some to be masses of energy being transferred to the spirit from another energy source. These manifestations look like big bright spheres or transparent moons. To my understanding, digital cameras detect orbs easier because they capture light and ultraviolet rays differently than other cameras. They have more of an electronic eye, not a shutter that exposes film.
It was on the Third Floor where we both felt something. An orb appeared in a photo we took outside the Florentine Room. A second photo of the exact same spot showed it had moved. It was very eerie. This room is next door to what we believed was the Gold Room, which was chained and padlocked. We couldn’t know for certain because it was missing its sign. I’m sure that was no coincidence. The Gold Room is still available for catered events and many people reserve it for wedding receptions. The problem is it’s rumored that some of the bridesmaids in wedding parties who gather around the piano for photographs do not actually show up in the pictures. And from what I heard that’s hardly the icing on the cake, so to speak.
I reached for the padlock and yanked on the chain. Maybe people were just trying to yank our chain with all these ghost tales. Some of the stories had come from friends in high places, or perhaps they were just high in friends’ places! To my amazement, the padlock was not snapped shut all the way and the assembly came loose. We were in! As soon as we entered the room we were consumed with dread. We saw what appeared to be a hazy black translucent shape rise up through the floor. This was more than just an orb. We looked at each other in terror and got the hell out of there. At that moment, we became instant believers in Haunted Chicago. Our patience had been worth the wait. In an effort to clear our heads, we exited the hotel and darted outside into the cool clear night. A sudden stream of self-doubt of what we may or may not have just seen in the Gold Room trailed after us. I felt icy fingernails stroking my spine. However, I was more horrified at the thought we did not get the apparition on camera. We took a few deep breaths, gathered our composure, got camera-ready and began snapping pictures. Big bright orbs showed up in our pictures of the area over the hotel’s front sign and above the South Tower , where we had been staying on the 14th floor. When we enlarged the photos, we could see faces inside the orbs. It was absolutely incredible. How could modern science debunk what we had witnessed? You can stand still and take ten pictures of the exact same spot with nothing changing around you and sometimes the orbs are there, sometimes not. Of course, some skeptics may argue the orbs are actually just caused by particles of dust or moisture caught in the very short focal length of digital cameras. But if this is the case, wouldn’t they be in each picture?
We had also photographed orbs at various points along the previous day’s ghost tour. Ironically, they were not always where you would expect them to be. There were no orbs in the alley outside the old Iroquois Theater, where a fire broke out and killed 602 people in December 1903. Similarly, there were no orbs at 2122 North Clark Street , the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. We did, however, find a lot of orbs in the water where a ship, the Eastland, capsized during a breakfast cruise for the Western Electric Co. in July 1915, killing over 800 people. We also found orbs at 800 South Halsted Street , which is the location of the Jane Addams’ Hull House and Dining Hall. This was a settlement active from 1889-1963 and may still be thriving today as far as spiritual activity goes. We learned a story connected to this location was the inspiration behind Rosemary’s Baby. Cindy photographed the courtyard and captured an orb so huge it made the tour guide gasp. I did not get the feeling that the guide was acting or exaggerating. She was overcome with awe and dare I say it, disbelief. She said there is a vortex by the fountain in the courtyard. I’m glad I didn’t pass through it! Spirits supposedly gravitate towards water “witch” acts as a conduit!
The whole experience pretty much messed up my thoughts and behavior. The first thing I did when I got home from Chicago was put away my picture of New York skyscrapers that has mysteriously fallen and struck me twice in the last couple months. The photo had been taken from someone at ground level looking up at an angle. I had remembered hearing angles create negative energy. I don’t know anything about the photographer, I only know I bought the picture at Bed, Bath and Beyond and it was made in China . After my recent experience, the old-time street light enshrouded in a shadow at East 34th Street and Madison Avenue now looks like an upside-down sickle and the One Way sign seems scary. The street signs seem positioned in the form of a ship’s anchor.
I have found myself thinking quite heavily about the apparition and the orbs. Are they good or bad? Is it positive or negative energy or both? Are they trapped souls? I shudder as I write this, feeling cold air suddenly surrounding me. Maybe it’s from some residual draft that followed me out of the Windy City … but I certainly hope not. Maybe my next investigation should be something a little less spooky but just as intriguing, like crop circles. I should be ok if I can find some that aren’t in the shape of big round balls.
