Oakland Cemetery in Woodstock a place to connect with spirits of children, pets and a gangster

Editor’s note: Whether or not you believe in ghosts and hauntings, this is one of several spooky tales of local lore that Shaw Local News Network will be sharing with readers in the spirit of Halloween.

Last fall, Ericka Shay of Crystal Lake toured Oakland Cemetery in Woodstock with crystals and an electromagnetic field detector and said she believes she connected with some supernatural activities.

“We were in the older part of the cemetery, and we had a lot of spikes on the EMF detector,” she said of the commonly used tool in detecting spirit activity.

Shay was part of a tour of the cemetery led by Loren Purcell of Cary, known as the “Mystic Chick.”

Purcell, who leads tours in locations in and around McHenry County where there is believed to be spirit activity, said the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest the closer we get to Halloween.

There is so much life there.”

—  Loren Purcell, "Mystic Chick," said of Oakland Cemetery in Woodstock

She said the belief comes from nature and the pagan religion in honoring the harvest.

“The veil is a permeable membrane, or gateway, that separates the material world and the spirit realm,” Purcell said. “It is thinnest around Samhain, or Halloween, because as the days get shorter, the natural world begins to temporarily withdraw from the realm of life and growth. This in turn makes it easier to connect and communicate with ghosts and spirits.”

At Oakland Cemetery, established in 1859, she said there is “lots of spirit activity.”

Although not scary, people have reported interesting and positive experiences there, especially near the older plots, near a pet cemetery and near a location where dozens of children from the Chicago Industrial Home for Children are buried. The children died between 1894 and 1926.

Among those children’s gravesites are 10 orphans who mysteriously died while in the care of the Chicago Industrial Home for Children within two weeks of each other in 1917. The area also is the resting place for another 28 orphans from the home, most of whom are unidentified.

The orphanage was founded in Chicago and later moved to Woodstock. It became the Woodstock Children’s Home and was located where Hearthstone Communities sits today at Routes 47 and 120.

People have reported hearing children’s laughter near this site marked by small white crosses and a memorial stone placed there in 2018.

Purcell also reports a “mischievous” spirit belonging to the notorious Johnny Stompanato Jr., a bodyguard and enforcer for crime boss Mickey Cohen and the Cohen crime family.

She said people near his gravesite have reported suddenly feeling abrasive energy and becoming angry or irritable.

Purcell said she has encountered this dark energy, as well, with Stompanato and other spirits.

To protect herself and people on her tours from dark spirits – which she said can travel and attach themselves to people, unlike ghosts who are stuck to one location – she does a protective energy activity “so everyone leaves on a high note.”

People can keep spirits from attaching by consciously thinking or saying out loud to the spirit, “You are not welcome here, go back to where you came from.”

People also have said they’ve seen orbs and shadow figures, have smelled a woman’s perfume, and have heard children laughing at dusk at the cemetery, Purcell said.

Others like Shay have experienced lots of EMF activity near were the orphans are buried and in the older section where headstones date back to the early 1800s. Some of the graves in this area were relocated there before 1859, when the land officially was established as a cemetery, Purcell said.

Toni Gagliano of Melrose Park, a psychic medium herself, toured the cemetery last year and said ”it is definitely a high-energy place. … These entities are very powerful.”

Near the children and pet plots she felt gentle, loving energies, she said. Near Stompanato, however, she said she felt more darkness and suspense.

Because Gagliano typically is receptive to spirit energies, she said she does not normally use a crystal or an EMF. However, she did while touring Oakland Cemetery so she could show her friend when she was feeling energies around her.

When she felt energies, the EMF meter reacted accordingly, she said.

When Gagliano felt the energy of one young child, her meter was going off “like crazy.” She said she felt the child wanted her to pray for her to help her move on. So she did.

“I asked her, ‘Do you want us to pray for you?’ ” Gagliano said, “and the pendulum moved.”

So she prayed for the child and anyone who wanted to join her. She prayed that anything holding the girl from crossing over be released and let her go freely.

After the prayer, Gagliano said she felt peace, indicating the prayer helped the girl.

Like Purcell, Gagliano cautioned anyone going into the cemetery, or into any other paranormal experience, to protect themselves first by visually surrounding themselves with light and mirrors. When leaving, she said, visitors should use sage to detach any entities that may have attached.

“Every exploration is different and attracts different energies based on the people attending,” Purcell said.

Purcell said the energy connection will depend on where the person is on their tour.

“Some will be invigorated, some will get freaked out, some are just curious,” Purcell said. “It really depends on the person. Even when spooky overall, it is a very positive place. I feel safe taking people through there and creating some wonder watching people have awesome experiences. There is so much life there.”