Showmen's Rest - Real Haunted Place
- 7750 Cermak Rd.
- Forest Park, IL
- (708) 442-8500
Details
- Average Review
- (2 reviews)
- Listing Categories
- Real Haunted Cemeteries
- Open To Public
- Yes - Open To Public
- Share Your Experiences
Showmen's Rest is a section of Woodlawn Cemetery that contains the remains from a 1918 circus-train wreck in a mass grave. Between 60 and 110 employees were killed when another train conductor fell asleep, causing the train to hit the circus-train. Since many of the victims' names were not known, a lot of the markers say things like "unidentified male," or "Baldy," or "4 Horse Driver." The section is still used today for burials of circus showmen and locals have reported hearing the sounds of phantom elephants at night.
Source: Colleen McMahon, via Flickr
Source: Sean Birmingham, via Flickr
Source: Rex Brown, via Flickr
Mouse over photos to see photo credits.
Nearby Real Haunts
- Flapper Ghost of Waldheim Cemetery0.7 miles away
- Cigars and Stripes2.2 miles away
- Morton College3.6 miles away
- Mount Carmel Cemetery4.3 miles away
- Resurrection Mary - Resurrection Cemetery6.4 miles away
- St. Turibius Church6.5 miles away
Get Directions
View Larger Map
Recently Shared Experiences & Comments
Share Your ExperiencesShowman’s Rest
People used to report hearing lions roar. Brookfield Zoo is 2 miles away. I grew up in Brookfield 1.5 miles west of the zoo & when conditions were right we could hear the lions. The Zoo no longer has elephants but my guess is people heard ones from there.
Posted 11/18/24Scary
I heard weird sounds.
Posted 1/8/213 out of 5 found this review helpful
Share Your Experience or Comments - Showmen's Rest
Get More Info
Contact Phone #: (708) 442-8500
Real Haunt Listing Info
Visitors to this page: 5,757
Clicks to Website: 275
Last edit to this listing: 3/30/2016 (3185 days ago)
Disclaimer: Illinois Haunted Houses does not endorse or support trespassing to visit real haunts. Before you visit ANY local real haunt, make sure to acquire the appropriate permits and/or permissions, and be respectful of privately owned properties. Countless Haunt Hunters have been arrested, ticketed, and reprimanded by the authorities for trespassing. To avoid this, be sure to get in touch with the property owners before visiting a haunt, and respect their hours of operation, local regulations, and rules for visiting at all times. Happy haunting!
All information on this page was submitted to Illinois Haunted Houses and was believed to be accurate at the time it was posted. Please report any inaccuracies here.