What unknown spirits lurk among the living in the Gateway to Wisconsin? oin Candice Shatkins, a founding member of the Paranormal Investigators of Kenosha, as she uncovers the spooky secrets and unlikely legends of Kenosha County. From a secret burial chamber under a library to Wisconsin's very own Wolfman, a shipwreck on Black Tuesday to the haunted observatory tower of a former seminary and boarding school, Kenosha's ghosts are sure to delight visitors and residents alike in this stirring account of the area's historic haunts. Candice Shatkins is a founding member of the first paranormal group in the area--The Paranormal Investigators of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Since 2005 this group has been dedicated to the study, observation, and documentation of ghosts, haunted locations, and urban legends in Kenosha County and other areas of Southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois. Shatkins maintains www.kenoshaparanormal.com, where there is much information on the paranormal and haunted locations. She has also been interviewed on Milwaukee's WISN News Talk Radio regarding the team's research activity. She has much experience researching and studying microfilm and interviewing witnesses. She is also a frequent visitor to the haunted places described in the book. Haunted Kenosha Ghosts, Legends and Bizarre Tales By Candice Shatkins The History Press Copyright © 2009 Candice Shatkins All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-59629-717-3 Contents Acknowledgements, Introduction, Part I. Ghosts, Early History, The Library Ghost, The Lady of Hale-Farr House, Bridget McCaffary's Ghost, The Legends of Kemper Hall, The Cemetery Phantom, The Ghosts of the Rhode Opera House, The Gentleman Wears Blue, Vaj's Garage, The Edgewater, Part II. Legends, Ghost in the Graveyard, The Simmons Library Secret Tomb, The Cries of the Unknown Souls, The Mysterious Ball of Oakwood Cemetery, Wisconsin's Wolfman, Part III. Bizarre True Tales, The First Fortuneteller, The Tragedy of the SS Wisconsin, Lewis Knapp, Town Blasphemer, Powder Plant Explosions Rock Entire County, A Mother's Love, Local Man Invented Suicide Device, The Magical Waters of the Bristol Soda Springs, Bibliography, CHAPTER 1 Part I Ghosts Early History Kenosha County is located approximately thirty miles south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and fifty miles north of Chicago, Illinois. The city of Kenosha is the county seat of Kenosha County, which is located in the southeastern part of the state of Wisconsin. Considered "the Gateway to Wisconsin," Kenosha has always been known for its extraordinary scenery. Throughout history, the Kenosha area has been primarily an agricultural and manufacturing town. Its good citizens have produced an inordinate number of worldwide recognizable products. Of them, Jeffery Motors, Simmons Company (maker of coil spring mattresses), Nash, American Motors, Chrysler and Jockey International are but a few of the many businesses that have thrived in this community. Many of these factories that became household names have come and gone, leaving this community to reinvent itself time and time again. Today, the city has a population of approximately ninety-six thousand and is considered to be a bedroom community, which means that it is used primarily for residential use, with most of the population commuting to jobs in other areas. In short, people like to make their homes here. It would seem as if some past Kenoshans felt the same way. Although they have long since passed on, they somehow still refuse to leave. But now I seem to be getting ahead of myself already; perhaps we should just start in the beginning … After the Black Hawk War ended in 1832, the Native Americans, defeated in their homeland, moved westward. Before this time, there were scattered tribal villages in Kenosha County. Two such archaeological sites were discovered in the immediate vicinity of the area known today as Library Park. In 1835, emigration companies formed in the eastern states, particularly the Western Emigrating Company, from Hannibal, New York. Back east, people longed to head westward, as they had been told tales of lush, green vegetation, sparkling streams and lakes, open prairies filled with wildflowers and, most importantly, vast areas of premium, fertile farmland. Because these early settlers didn't arrive until the summer of 1835, they hadn't ample time to clear the land or plant full crops for themselves. This fact would become a problem later, in the wintertime. Although Pike Creek formed a natural harbor, the mouth would become, at times, almost blocked entirely by drifts of sand. Large improvements would be necessary for the harbor to be able to receive ships. So supplies were in constant great demand. Though most of the Native Americans had moved out of the area, there were occasional wanderers who would pass through from time to time to fish, hunt or camp in the surrounding wilderness. The Indians had strange ways, a f