Explore the snow-covered grounds of Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois, where Gothic towers stand sentinel over 350 acres of American ambition, tragedy, and memory. Host Kristin guides listeners through Chicago's first private cemetery, founded in 1859 on the city's highest natural elevation, uncovering the lost Victorian tradition of Christmas festivities among the graves and the spirits that linger in the winter twilight.

Featured Historical Figures:

Richard Warren Sears & Aaron Montgomery Ward – The mail-order moguls who revolutionized American commerce now rest as eternal rivals in the Rosehill Mausoleum, where Sears allegedly haunts the marble halls in a top hat, still bitter about his competitor's proximity even in death.

John G. Shedd – The Marshall Field's chairman whose mausoleum chapel features a Tiffany window designed to bathe his crypt in underwater blue light at sunset, complete with seahorse-adorned chairs—a cathedral beneath an imaginary sea.

Bobby Franks – The fourteen-year-old victim of Leopold and Loeb's 1924 "crime of the century," whose quiet grave holds the weight of innocence stolen and a city forever scarred by calculated cruelty.

Charles G. Dawes – The 30th Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate rests among Chicago's political dynasty, including "Long John" Wentworth, whose towering obelisk ensures he rises above his fellow mayors even in death.

Civil War Generals – Sixteen Union generals, including Thomas Ransom, Julius White, and John McArthur, lie beneath Leonard Volk's "Our Heroes" monument—making Rosehill the largest private burial ground of Union veterans in Illinois.

Also Featured:

William W. Boyington's Gothic Revival entrance (mirroring Chicago's Water Tower), the 1899 Horatio N. May Chapel with its winter vault for frozen-ground burials, victims of the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire and 1915 SS Eastland disaster, three unidentified men from the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, and the glass-encased statues of Frances Pearce Stone and Lulu Fellows—where ghostly mists and phantom cries reportedly linger.

Perfect for: Chicago history enthusiasts, architecture lovers, true crime fans, cemetery tourists, and anyone fascinated by Gothic grandeur, Victorian mourning traditions, and the haunted intersections of capitalism, tragedy, and memory in America's heartland.

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Explore the snow-covered grounds of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, where America's greatest literary minds rest among the pines. Host Kristin guides listeners through the historic 119-acre rural cemetery, uncovering the winter connections between graveyards, ghosts, and the holiday season.

Featured Historical Figures:

Henry David Thoreau – Discover the Walden author's winter experiments, his work with the Underground Railroad, and the rainstorm that ultimately led to his death from tuberculosis in 1862. Learn why visitors leave pencils on his grave at Author's Ridge.

Louisa May Alcott – The Little Women author's life was shaped by brutal New England winters and mercury poisoning from Civil War nursing. Born on her father's birthday, she died just two days after him in 1888, fulfilling her wish to "support them in death and life."

Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter author carried the weight of his Salem witch trial ancestry throughout his haunted, guilt-laden works before dying mysteriously in his sleep in 1864.

Ralph Waldo Emerson – The Transcendentalist philosopher who designed Sleepy Hollow Cemetery as "a garden of the living," where nature and mortality intertwine beneath his massive rose quartz gravestone.

Also Featured:

Daniel Chester French's Melvin Memorial sculpture, Katherine Kennicott Davis (composer of "The Little Drummer Boy"), Victorian Christmas cemetery traditions, and over 600 notable burials, including Civil War heroes, suffragists, and cultural pioneers.

Perfect for: History enthusiasts, literature lovers, cemetery tourists, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of death, memory, and American cultural heritage.

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In this episode of The Grim, Kristin guides you through the historic shadows of Trinity Churchyard in New York City—the final resting place of Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton, Angelica Schuyler, Robert Fulton, Albert Gallatin, John Peter Zenger, and the mysterious James Leeson.

Step beyond Wall Street’s noise and into a world where America’s early history and lingering hauntings intertwine. Discover the stories etched into these stones, from Revolutionary heroes to whispered legends said to wander the grounds after dark.

A haunting, heartfelt walk through one of America’s most iconic cemeteries.

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Support The Grim by buying a cup of our next Grave Grind!
https://buymeacoffee.com/kristinlopes

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