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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The Pumpkin Patch Burying Ground | King's Chapel, Boston MA

Step through the wrought-iron gates with The Grim as host Kristin explores King's Chapel Burying Ground—Boston's oldest cemetery and one of the most actively haunted sites on the Freedom Trail.

Once a humble pumpkin patch, this colonial burial ground has held nearly four centuries of grief, history, and restless spirits. From John Winthrop and Mary Chilton Winslow to William Dawes, the "other" midnight rider, extraordinary figures rest here—but not all rest quietly.

Discover the Headless Madam, the man buried alive, Captain Kidd's hidden grave myth, and the spectral children who wander after Victorian grave rearrangements moved headstones—but not bodies.

A chilling journey through one of Boston's most storied, spectral sites—where the dead never rest quietly.

📍 King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston MA (Freedom Trail)
👻 Actively haunted

Perfect for: Ghost hunters, history lovers, Freedom Trail tourists

🎧 Step through the veil with The Grim.

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Step into Old Gray Cemetery with The Grim as host Kristin explores Knoxville's most atmospheric Victorian burial ground—where feuds, tragedy, and restless spirits linger beneath ancient trees.

Founded in 1850 and named for poet Thomas Gray, this 13-acre garden cemetery holds the stories of Tennessee's most influential figures: Governor William "Parson" Brownlow, diplomat Horace Maynard, suffragist Lizzie Crozier French, and General Lawrence D. Tyson. But tragedy also marks these grounds—from the 1854 cholera epidemic to the devastating 1904 New Market train collision.

Discover the haunting legends: the Lady in White, the ominous Black Aggie, dueling gunmen whose spirits never made peace, and the restless dead of Knoxville's most notorious feuds.

A journey through Appalachian ghost lore, Civil War conflict, and Victorian mourning art—where history and haunting walk hand in hand.

📍 Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville TN
⚰️ Founded: 1850
👻 Haunted by: The Lady in White, Black Aggie, feuding spirits

Perfect for: Southern Gothic enthusiasts, Tennessee history lovers, Civil War buffs, Victorian cemetery tourists

🎧 Enter the gates with The Grim.

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Step beyond the veil with The Grim as host Kristin explores the haunting ossuaries of San Martino and Solferino in Lombardy, Italy—where thousands of bones rest in solemn tribute beneath cypress groves.

The Battle of Solferino and San Martino (1859) was a brutal clash that forged modern Italy and inspired the creation of the Red Cross. Here, in sacred charnel houses, skulls and bones are arranged in silent testimony to war's cost and Italy's fight for unity.

Discover how Jean-Henri Dunant's compassion amid the carnage gave rise to humanitarian law, and how the Tower of San Martino now watches over fields once soaked in blood.

No ghost stories echo here—only bones that remember the Risorgimento's price.

📍 Ossuaries of San Martino della Battaglia & Solferino, Lombardy, Italy
⚰️ Battle: June 24, 1859
🕊️ Silent testimony to war and unity

Perfect for: Italian history enthusiasts, ossuary visitors, Red Cross history buffs, bone chapel tourists

🎧 Descend with The Grim into Italy's most solemn monuments.

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Step through the haunted gates of Tolomato Cemetery with The Grim as host Kristin explores one of St. Augustine's most historic and ghost-filled burial grounds.

Beneath ancient oaks and Spanish moss rest displaced Guale Indians, Spanish settlers, Menorcan refugees, Cuban priests, and restless souls who never found peace. Once a Franciscan mission site, this cemetery holds over a thousand souls—victims of yellow fever, premature burials, and dark colonial history.

Discover the hauntings:

• The Rebel Bishop Augustin Verot—whose explosive funeral left the dead refusing to rest
• Venerable Félix Varela—Cuban priest and freedom fighter whose spirit lingers
• The Lady in White—saved from premature burial, still wandering the grounds
• Little James Morgan—a child ghost in the branches of his favorite oak

Open to the living only hours each month—but the spirits appear far more often.

📍 Tolomato Cemetery, St. Augustine FL
⚰️ Founded: 1777
👻 Open once a month—haunted every day

Perfect for: St. Augustine tourists, paranormal seekers, Spanish colonial history enthusiasts, ghost hunters

🎧 Descend with The Grim into America's oldest city's most haunted cemetery.

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Step into Panteón de Belén with The Grim as host Kristin explores one of Mexico's most haunted cemeteries on this special Halloween and Día de los Muertos episode.

Beneath gothic arches and jasmine-scented air lies a world where faith, folklore, and the restless dead intertwine. Built to preserve life as part of the Hospital of Belén, this sacred ground became a city of the dead after the 1833 cholera epidemic.

Discover the legends:

• The Vampire of Guadalajara and his cursed tree
• Victoriana Hurtado's tragic tale
• The spectral boy Nachito
• The Lovers of Belén—united only in death
• Ghostly carriages, buried treasure, and pirate spirits

As the veil thins on All Hallows' Eve, candlelit altars blaze and marigold offerings guide souls home for one more night. Where Día de los Muertos transforms sorrow into celebration.

📍 Panteón de Belén, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
⚰️ Founded: 1848
🕯️ Where fear and celebration meet

Perfect for: Día de los Muertos enthusiasts, Mexico travel planners, vampire folklore lovers, Halloween listeners

🎧 Venture through the veil with The Grim.

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