The Paranormal Ridge: Part 4 – Why the Ridge has Paranormal Activity
By Carol Flynn
The Blue Island Ridge seems to have a fair amount of paranormal activity going on; so far, over seventy ghost stories have been reported here. It appears that at least four factors come together to support and even encourage this paranormal activity. The four factors are limestone, water, railroad tracks and Native American heritage.
First, the bedrock that Chicago sits on is 400-million-year-old limestone. This limestone base formed from deposits left on coral reefs in the shallow inland seas that covered most of the area. Limestone is considered to have the strong capability to absorb and release electromagnetic and psychic energies.
The second factor encouraging paranormal activity is flowing water. Water is considered a great conductor of paranormal energy and there is water all around and under the Ridge. The Ridge has underground streams and wells that were dammed up and built over. The land to the east of the Ridge was originally seasonal wetlands. When it rains, the water drains to the east, flooding lawns and streets and sometimes basements.
Thanks to an article with an interview with Jason and Grant of the original Ghost Hunters TV series, the third factor was identified. Jason and Grant were the Roto-Rooter employees in New Jersey who had the first and the best show on the Sci-Fi channel for exploring the paranormal. They investigated hundreds of sites, and they found over and over three things came together – limestone, water, and railroad tracks.
Railroad tracks are all around the Ridge. The railroads have been of major importance to development here. The stations along the Metra line are a Chicago landmark district, and Blue Island was a major railroad hub – it still has that enormous railroad yard. Again, it seems railroad tracks hold and conduct energy.
The last factor is the strong historical presence of Native Americans. These were lands for the Pottawatomie tribe, and before that the Illinois tribe. An old Indian trail, the Vincennes Trail, runs through the Ridge. A marker for the original route that ran across the top of the Ridge can be found in North Beverly.
One psychic shared, completely unsolicited, that she can really feel the Native American presence here and at times the veil is so thin that she can sense the phantoms of Indians along the Cal-Sag Channel at night. That waterway was originally the Stony Creek back in the day of the Indians. They lived along the Calumet River and the creek until being removed as a group from the Chicago area in the 1830s. Spirits figure prominently in Native American folklore and beliefs.
A little on the history of ghost stories and Halloween, the signs of possible hauntings, and the factors influencing paranormal events on the Ridge have been covered as background material. The next post will get into the ghost stories surrounding the Givins Beverly Castle.