1970s serial killer John Wayne Gacy hid the remains of at least 29 different people in and around his home at 8213 W. Summerdale Avenue. The house was demolished in 1979, but locals were mystified by the fact that the lot remained mostly barren for years thereafter – not even grass or weeds would seem to grow on the property. Stories started to emerge about the property being haunted by the ghosts of Gacy’s victims.
A new home was built on the property in 1988, and the new owner petitioned the city to change the number of the street address.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 8213 W. Summerdale Avenue
Chicago, IL
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 41.9764051, -87.83233009999998
- County:
- Cook County, Illinois
- Nearest Towns:
- Norridge, IL (0.9 mi.)
Harwood Heights, IL (1.4 mi.)
Park Ridge, IL (2.4 mi.)
Schiller Park, IL (2.4 mi.)
Rosemont, IL (3.0 mi.)
Niles, IL (3.3 mi.)
Franklin Park, IL (3.3 mi.)
River Grove, IL (3.5 mi.)
Elmwood Park, IL (4.0 mi.)
Des Plaines, IL (4.7 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
I really believe its haunted, so many lost their lives violently. They all had unfinished business! ! !
My old school teacher in 1998 said she worked at the local hardware store as a teen and he’d come in all the time to buy lyme out of the gardening section which of course didn’t raise any eyebrows until much later of course.
I wonder how many people still drive by to check out this house. I bet a lot. I bet the owner could tell their own stories of people checking out their house.
The real house has long been torn down. A new one was built on the site
In the 80s, my dad worked in real estate. When the house was torn down the lot was turned over to my dads company. His co workers were trying to make a decision what to do with the lot. My dad suggested that it should be a memorial for the victims. But the others put money over sentiments and decided a new house should get built there instead. Up to his dying day ,dad often said a house should have never been built there .
I knew a guy who worked on demolition and removal of the JWG house. He told me the following…One afternoon, at dusk, he was the last guy on the property, loading a flatbed with debris that was once a house. The “heavy lifting” had been finished and he told the others he’d finish up the last of the small loads. He told me he was alone with a wheelbarrow, walking the property doing the last of the days cleanup, and the sun had nearly set, revealing only the light of sporadic street lights and the headlights of his truck. As he was on his last walk around of the days cleanup, is when he heard an omnipresent sort of moaning that surrounded him. He first thought it was a distant siren or civil defense horn, until he stopped in his tracks to listen intently. He tld me it was a sound he could almost “feel”. As he approached his truck he said he found 2×4’s, sheetrock and other remnants scattered behind the bed of the truck that were SAFELY secured moments before. As he bent over to pick up all of it to throw back on the trucks bed, he said he felt the sensation of a person shoving him on his left shoulder toward the ground. He stood up and turned around and nobody was there, and – again – he “felt” of “growling kind of moaning” in the air. He told me he’s convinced it was a case of paranormal activity. When I showed skepticism, he told me, “dude, I’m right with ya – I never believed in this kind of sh*t before….but it happened & I wasn’t f*c&ing alone”.