In October, 1968 an African-American family by the name of Buell moved into the mostly-white suburb of Cicero, IL. The house they moved into had been built in 1901, and had a bloody history which resulted in it standing empty for many years. On the first night in their new home, the Buells were awakened numerous times by loud banging noises coming from the front door that sounded almost as if rocks were being thrown at the house. The next night, while watching television in the living room, their children, Maurice (6) and Sally-Ann (9), were terrified when two large objects shattered the front windows. When Mrs. Buell came to investigate the noise she could not see anyone in their front yard.
The terror continued for three weeks, with windows breaking, red liquid reading “Get out!” and “Go home!” appearing splashed across their front porch, their phone ringing at all hours of the day and night but no one ever on the line, and when Mrs. Buell would hang their laundry out to dry she often found it smeared with foul substances. Things culminated on the night of November 4th when a fiery cross materialized on their front lawn. Mr. Buell went to his neighbors and confronted them about the disturbances in his house. They explained that the Buell’s home was haunted by the ghost of its first owner. He had been driven insane by his obsession with his childhood sweetheart who had married another man, and eventually murdered his entire family before killing himself. Mr. Buell was shocked to discover that actually it was not racists but that his home was haunted!
The haunting continued and six weeks later the Buells moved out. The house remains empty to this day.
