79: The Congress Hotel
Gina (01:02)
I was thinking about how to start this episode's intro and the first thing that popped into my head was like, is this thing on?
Kathryn (01:11)
Wow.
Gina (01:12)
Hello? Anyone hear me? Okay, no,
Welcome to I Scream, You Scream, your weekly scoop of the most chilling histories, mysteries, and paranormal perplexities. My name's Gina.
Kathryn (01:25)
And I'm Kathryn
Gina (01:26)
And we're talking about haunted hotels while we have some chocolate surprise ice cream. What's the surprise? What's the chocolate? Who knows? We'll talk about it later. This episode is brought to you by Clo-Bear Money Coach. If you really would like to start investing, but you're not really sure how to get started, visit GetLazyNow.com. In the meantime, grab a spoon and let's dig in. So what's the chocolate? What's the surprise, Kathryn?
Kathryn (01:35)
you
was gonna
say, I was gonna ask you the same question. So my surprise is there's no chocolate in my ice cream this week. What's your surprise?
Gina (02:00)
My gosh.
mine is that there's no chocolate in my ice cream this week. Who could have foreseen that two people who don't like chocolate ice cream would go against the theming of this month? Honey, sorry, hold on. Couldn't do it.
Kathryn (02:07)
Who could've thunk it?
it's so funny. What is yours again? What flavor are you doing?
I'll say mine, sorry,
I have whiskey ice cream. Same as last week, minus the chocolate. But I don't think I had chocolate in mine last week either.
Gina (02:24)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm, I don't think you did. Mine's honeycomb. I have a question about your ice cream. know that there is like alcohol in it, like it has, it has, it's boozy. Can you feel it after you've been eating it for a while? Like do you get a little buzz?
Kathryn (02:29)
Yum.
Mm.
You know, that's a great question because it's been a very stressful month for me. So no, but in the way that like I've been feeling okay after our episode, so like probably I've been feeling real good. I'm certainly not like intoxicated after a dish of this, but I would believe
Gina (02:46)
Mmm.
Okay, good. Nice.
Kathryn (03:07)
that that's the reason I've been feeling like I need a little nap after we record, you know?
Gina (03:12)
You know what? You have been saying that more often and I didn't question it.
Kathryn (03:14)
I have been needing, To
be fair, I do love a little 10 minute power lay in bed. My little horizontal moments, I do enjoy that when I am at home. Days I work from home, I take a quick siesta, but the last few weeks after we record, I have fully fallen asleep.
Which is not, I don't usually do that. I just need to like rest for a second and then carry on. But I have been falling asleep the last few weeks.
Gina (03:42)
Ha ha.
Yeah, I'm not a napper, I'm a sleeper.
Kathryn (03:51)
I just I just need significantly more time to fall I don't and I sleep I'm a very light sleeper so it's like I Can't really fall if I'm falling asleep in the middle of the day. I'm gone for like three hours And like I'll catch you at dinner. Yeah
Gina (03:57)
Mm.
That's same. Yeah,
yeah, if I fall asleep and it's not time to go to sleep, I'm gone for at least three hours. Happened the other day. I woke up just in time for dinner. It was pretty nice.
Kathryn (04:15)
Mm-hmm. ⁓ nice.
I do like days where that happens because it means that I have nothing going on. I just I don't ever not have anything going on. So I just do a quick power snooze. Like I'll lay down with cinnamon for 20 minutes and then get up and carry on with the rest of my afternoon.
Gina (04:24)
Mm-hmm.
This is related to nothing. This is a complete tangent, but I saw this thing I want to tell you about. Yeah. well, yeah. Ice ice cream icebreaker. So the other day I was scrolling through Instagram and, ⁓ you know how podcasts put short form video content on the internet sometimes? I'm sure we're both familiar with this concept. ⁓
Kathryn (04:41)
It does have the word ice in it.
You
What?
Gina (05:01)
Someone a podcast popped up on my feed and I haven't listened to this podcast yet I'd like to now after seeing this clip but it's called breaking the iceberg podcast and I think if I'm understanding it right their whole thing is they like do these really funny crazy ice like actually fun icebreaker questions and then they just talk about it like what their answers would be on the podcast and I like it a lot as ⁓ Like a theme for a show, but what caught my attention was
Kathryn (05:19)
cool.
Yeah, that's so random.
Gina (05:28)
the question they asked in this clip that I saw, which is, I'll read it to you now. You are being hunted by 10 people for a 24 hour period. Your only ally is a six foot version of a cereal mascot. Who do you pick?
Kathryn (05:35)
⁓ no.
That everything you just said is literally my nightmare. Everything in that is everything I'm scared of. I don't like giant versions of things. I don't like being chased. I certainly don't like being hunted. ⁓ With all of that said, I will play along.
Gina (05:48)
Ha ha!
Kathryn (06:05)
is a great question. I've never thought of this before. Do you have one? I'm gonna need time. I need to like weigh, I need to map this out. Yeah, this might be a follow up in the next episode situation.
Gina (06:08)
it right?
I understand. Yes.
That's completely fine because the only reason I have an answer is because I had time and knew that I was going to talk to you about it. So my answer would be count Chocula and I'll tell you why.
Kathryn (06:23)
You, yeah.
⁓
that's a good one. I didn't even think of him.
Gina (06:32)
first I thought like Tony the Tiger because a tiger could mess up 10 people. Right.
Kathryn (06:35)
was the first thing that I thought and then I was like, that's not
it though, that's a panic response because it's obvious. Like tigers are, yeah.
Gina (06:41)
Yeah.
And I do think like 10 people together could probably take one tiger, you know? And then I thought Captain Crunch, because he could sail me away on a boat away from these 10 people. But then it's like, I don't know what his defensive capabilities are. If they boarded the boat, would he be able to protect me? Whereas Count Chocula, a vampire could absolutely get 10 people if he needed to. In my scenario, the 10 people die no matter what.
Kathryn (06:47)
I think so too. Yeah, I think so too.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Gina (07:08)
Like, they perish for hunting me. Them surviving is not an option. It's just about who can do the most damage.
Kathryn (07:13)
Yeah.
All of the ones I'm thinking of, ⁓ I wouldn't actually want, they're just the mascots that I feel bad for. Like the rabbit from the tricks. I feel so bad for him. It's literally his cereal and they won't let him have any. That's so sad. But I don't think he could protect me though. I just want to pick him like, cause I feel bad that he probably couldn't do it.
Gina (07:23)
Yeah.
for no real reason.
Literally the last
serial mascot to get picked for the dodgeball team.
Kathryn (07:42)
That's my thing, I'm like, I was
that kid that got picked last, so I'm like, buddy, I know how it feels. I'm like the pity choice, where I'm like hoping my best friend will pick me. And it's like, yeah, they'll get me in like the second or third round.
Gina (07:49)
Hehehehehe ⁓
always pick you and then we would ditch class and go hang out under the bleachers.
Kathryn (07:58)
Well, I know you would pick me, yeah. I'm talking about those fake friends from
elementary school, middle school. Yeah, I'm gonna follow up with you. I'm gonna go do some research ⁓ on the cereal mascots and...
Gina (08:04)
Hell yeah.
Cool.
Kathryn (08:11)
But honestly, this this icebreaker reminds me, I don't remember. Did I talk to you about the Ready or Not sequel? Did we talk about this on the podcast? Stop me if we did. a movie called Ready or Not just got a sequel called.
Gina (08:21)
You're gonna have to remind me
Kathryn (08:26)
Ready or Not To, Here I Come. And basically about a woman being hunted and she has to make it to sunrise. first one's like, first one's good, indisputably, but the second one got really mixed reviews because a lot of people are just like, oh, it's an overcomplicated story for a straightforward, you know, first movie and blah, blah, blah, blah.
Gina (08:29)
Clever.
Kathryn (08:52)
And I am just, I love to the second one so much more. It was so much fun. It was, I'm about to sound like an infomercial. It was a laugh out loud funny. was just an uproariously great time. I loved this movie. But it's got that Samara weaving in it and Kathryn.
Gina (09:05)
Ha ha.
Kathryn (09:18)
think Newton, let me look it up to make sure. She's my favorite, so I always feel bad. I always forget her last name. She was in Lisa Frankenstein.
Gina (09:21)
Okay.
this the one where it's like ⁓ the first movie with some kind of family tradition, they would play some game? Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, we've talked about this. Yes, yes, yes. I haven't seen it, but yeah, I've heard about it.
Kathryn (09:30)
Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. OK. I
don't remember if I talked about I thought I'd talk to you about it. I don't remember if I talked about it on the podcast. If we did, we can edit this out. But I do recommend it to people. It was so much fun. But the movie stresses me out so bad. The first one did. The second one was a little bit more like. It was a little more outrageous, not that the first storyline isn't, but it was like I was less focused on the being hunted part of it. The first one.
Like I didn't even like be playing tag when I was little it I would like sit down and cry like I hate the feeling of being chased Just come and get me. I'm not even I'm not gonna die running away from something like I won't make it Let's just cut to the chase. Yeah So the first movie stresses me out so much. But anyway, that's like I'm imagining that movie but just with serial characters Right now Which is just like a weird weird weird stuff going on in my head right now
Gina (10:13)
Respect.
⁓ God.
Kathryn (10:27)
But yeah, I do recommend that movie.
Gina (10:28)
That gives,
that gives like Five Nights at Freddy's vibes.
Kathryn (10:32)
Yeah,
that's kind of what's happening in my brain for that icebreaker. Yeah, that's okay. There are worse things up here. It's okay. god.
Gina (10:35)
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for putting that there.
⁓ speaking of terrifying things like your beautiful
brain, ⁓ you are the one that recommended to me the movie Let the Right One In. Turns out we have that movie on Blu-ray and we are going to watch it. And the only reason we haven't watched it is because I was too sleepy yesterday and so we didn't. But it's on the list, like the high priority list.
Kathryn (10:55)
Do you?
it's so good. That's such a good movie.
Very different vibes. Very different vibes from a Five Nights at Freddy's. Yeah, please do.
Gina (11:04)
I will text you. But once I've seen it, I'll let you know. I'll let you know how I'm doing.
Speaking of stories, ⁓ little birdie told me that you have a story for me.
Kathryn (11:16)
Yes.
this week we are talking about the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago, more commonly known simply as the Congress. It has a lengthy history that I thought I knew intimately, you know more than anyone that I talk about this hotel all the freaking time, but upon researching it for this episode,
I realize I don't know the half of it. There is so much more to this story and like the reasons why this hotel is so haunted more so than just what I thought. So we're going to start with the history of the hotel and then kind of move into what I already knew. And then I'll top it off with the stuff that I just learned when I fell down a rabbit hole late last night.
Gina (11:44)
damn.
Kathryn (12:07)
⁓ while researching and putting what I thought were the final touches on this episode. ⁓ Just one of the reasons I have bags under my eyes today. Okay, let's move on. So.
first and foremost, the location of the Congress is pivotal.
to the original reason why it got so popular. It was in a prime location in the city and in my opinion still is. I highly recommend staying there. I've stayed there a few times and have had paranormal encounters every time I've stayed there. More on that later. But it is located on Michigan Avenue in the loop across the street from Grant Park, which bumps right up to the lake. So it's just in a really pretty location.
And it's very close to the bean. So for anyone who's been to Chicago, you've probably been to the bean. Congress is just a few blocks away, just to paint a little picture as to what we're talking about. It's also close to the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium, where they are hiding all the mermaids, as we have previously discussed. Yes.
Gina (13:13)
Yes.
Kathryn (13:14)
But to put it in 1890s terms, the prime location was due to the fact that it was right across the street from all the action of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Yes. I saw that gleam. Yes. Yeah. It's right, right where all that was set up.
Gina (13:27)
Hell yeah. that's awesome. I didn't know that.
love the vibe of a World's Fair. I got so excited you said that.
Kathryn (13:37)
Me too.
Also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, the Chicago World's Fair was planned as basically a giant 400 year celebration of Christopher Columbus accidentally stumbling upon America and acting like he discovered it. And there've been
tons of World's Fairs across the globe, like over the centuries. many sources say there have been approximately 100 of them, give or take. But at the time, Chicago winning out the rights to throw this one particular Columbus Day bash version of the World's Fair was a really big deal because people kind of came from far and wide and all over the globe to...
see the latest and greatest of all this technology and science and all of that. And especially like the fact that Chicago beat out cities like Philadelphia and New York City and things that were a little bit more established and a little more quote unquote American just really set the tone for what would become like a huge piece of Chicago history essentially. So it was a big deal. Everyone's really excited about this.
The exposition ran from May 1st to October 31st in that year. the six months that it was in operation, estimated 27 million people passed through Chicago specifically for the fair. Yeah. Just for modern context, some reference, that's a little bit more.
Gina (15:02)
Man.
Kathryn (15:11)
than the number of tourists Chicago sees in the same time frame today. Yeah. And back then, Chicago is like three or four-ish times larger than it was at the time that the World's Fair happened. So that's a fricking lot of people, basically. So many people showed up to experience this. was everyone from tourists to scientists, inventors, world leaders from across the globe. It was a huge deal.
Gina (15:18)
And back then, imagine that.
Kathryn (15:39)
Of course, if you have this many people in and out and all over the place, you need somewhere to put them. So numerous hotels were constructed for that specific purpose in the late 1800s, especially since this was just 20 years after the Great Chicago Fire. So we're fresh off what was known as the Great Rebuild that happened in the 1870s. Chicago basically has this whole new foundation at this point, and they're just
building all these new buildings to A, replenish what was taken in the fire, but also to prepare for the World's Fair.
One of these buildings was, of course, the Congress Hotel, which at the time was originally named the Auditorium Annex because its intended purpose was housing people that were attending shows or presentations in the auditorium theater just across the street, which fun fact, that's where I had my graduation ceremony from grad school. Yes, it's a beautiful building. Highly recommend attending a show there if...
Gina (16:39)
Aha! That's very cool.
Kathryn (16:44)
anyone gets the chance. But in 1893, it also had the tunnel that allegedly no longer exists, but...
Ever since researching this, I'm choosing to believe that it's still there. It connected the two buildings. you know, if you were there in like the height of summer and wanted to avoid all the humidity, or if it was like a rainy day, you could just like, bloop, bloop, go straight from the hotel into the auditorium theater. So it was a really desirable place for people to stay.
Gina (17:17)
So far this has so many of my favorite things.
Kathryn (17:21)
I know, me too. It's just one of those things where it kind of seems like you're just your average big city haunted hotel. It's been there for a while, but the layers to the reason this hotel has so much activity is like wild. I love stories about the World's Fair. It's so, I don't know, it's just really, it's so vibey.
there were people funneling all over the place. Because it was such a prime location for people to say, it was also a prime location for predators to take advantage of the small town tourists who didn't really know how to navigate the terrors of the big old city. And of course,
No discussion about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair would be complete without bringing up the unfortunately infamous H. H. Holmes. So we're not going to go super in depth about H. H. Holmes because it's just way too messy of a story to funnel into this discussion. That's not what today's topic is about. I will give a quick overview for the uninitiated.
because that is relevant to today's story. So in an extremely condensed nutshell, H.H. Holmes was technically a pharmacist, but mostly made his living as a con artist. He is most famous, of course, for what would later be known as his Murder Castle, which once stood on the South Side of Chicago. Forgot to do a trigger warning. So sorry.
quick trigger warning for H.H. Holmes related information. it was just a gruesome situation where he not only murdered people, but he was known to torture them and experiment on them. And his story is extremely convoluted.
he would eventually confess to a total of 27 murders, but some of those confessions proved to not be true, which added to his lore. it's like he wanted this notoriety, but was also a huge mystery.
What we do know is he did use the World's Fair to his advantage, and that is where he found a lot of his victims.
And where would he post up to scope out his potential victim pool? Allegedly in the lobby of the auditorium annex present day Congress Hotel. I could not personally find any official documentation to corroborate. I'm sorry.
Gina (19:54)
Calabreblad?
Kathryn (19:54)
Collab with it.
to corroborate this as actual fact, but it is one of those situations where once his story came out and his photos started circulating and everyone was talking about like the monster that was H.H. Holmes and everything he did and you know, it's becoming legend in and of itself, people would see this and read about it and be like, my God.
I was there, I saw this guy, I was staying at the annex, like he was hanging around being so creepy, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know? So it was very much a hindsight is 2020, like did you really see the infamous H.H. Holmes or was it the 1890s and every old buddy had that weird ass mustache? Do you know what I mean? Like, it's not impossible. It's absolutely not impossible that he was
Gina (20:43)
Yeah.
Kathryn (20:47)
not only was the hotel super close to the hustle and bustle of the World's Fair, it's also just a block or two from the Red Line train, which is also the line that his house was off of. I don't know if it was called the Red Line back then, but the L system did exist.
and it is the train that he would have taken to get downtown. It would have been very easy for him to just hop off the train right across from the World's Fair, hang out at the hotel, scope someone out, be like, hey,
I have a better, cheaper, safer place that you can stay in lieu of this annex, come with me, before you know it, they're trapped in H.H. Holmes' Like that is not an impossible thing that could have happened. We just don't know. We just don't have any concrete proof. But it.
Gina (21:37)
I totally
believe that though.
Kathryn (21:39)
I do too. I mean, if you look at it on the map, it makes sense where he would have gone. I will say there are, I mean, there's plenty of hotels around there, but because that was such a prestigious place to stay and it was so convenient, like it was literally attached to one of the buildings for the World's Fair, it really just makes so much sense. Regardless of whether or not there is proof, it is part of the legend of the hotel.
a lot of people have claimed to see a man who looks a lot like H.H. Holmes hanging around the lobby to this day. So he is allegedly one of the apparitions that people do claim to see.
Gina (22:14)
Cool.
I I knew that and now I'm second guessing it because maybe you did tell me and I just forgot.
Kathryn (22:21)
Mm-hmm.
Probably didn't. He's not the biggest one. I don't know if I've...
Gina (22:29)
Okay, damn, not
the biggest as in like not the most seen ghost or not the biggest as in not the most well known.
Kathryn (22:36)
Not the most,
yeah, not well, the next one I'll mention I think is probably more well known in regards to the Congress. There's so much activity and there are so many other stories. This is just kind of a little, it almost feels, and I'm not trying to like debunk it or anything, but it almost feels a little like,
this hotel already had a lot of legend and haunted stories around it. It's like, well, H.H. Holmes is probably there too. Like he haunts every corner of Chicago. You know what I mean? So it feels a little bit like that. Like it's definitely not the biggest Congress hotel story for sure.
Gina (23:04)
Yeah.
It's like the Jack the Ripper stuff in London.
Kathryn (23:15)
Yes, yes
By 1908, the hotel was in the process of expanding to what would eventually be a 1000 room hotel. And it didn't really have any association with the auditorium building anymore. And now that the World's Fair had officially ended.
So that's around the time that it officially changed its name to the Congress Hotel as a nod to the street that it is on, which was called, you guessed it, Congress Avenue. And just in case anyone wants to fact check me with a map, please note the street was changed to Ida B. Wells Street back in 2018, but it used to be the Congress.
At the same time, the hotel decided to change its name. It also, like I said, was getting a new addition that would expand the number of rooms. And they added this giant tower, which is now called the South Tower. And that is where they built the hotel's first ballroom, known as the Gold Room, Love.
and they would later have a second ballroom built. I think it's called the Florentine? Florentine? I don't know how it's pronounced. Big news. We have more thermostat information in this episode. The Gold Room, the first ballroom at the Congress, was apparently the first ballroom in America to have air conditioning.
Gina (24:30)
Hooray!
⁓ dude. Imagine. Right! I was just thinking that. Imagine like living your entire life as a young person about town, going all these sweaty, gross, humid balls, and then all of a sudden you get to go somewhere where you just stay all crisp. That sounds so nice.
Kathryn (24:41)
So good, right? Imagine how much more attractive everyone was when they didn't smell like garbage. Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Nice and crisp, yes. Yes.
Unfortunately, I could not find whether or not the hotel was fully electric upon its initial construction. I hope it was just because if you're literally built for housing the greatest minds in science, you should like have electricity. But I don't know. I don't know for sure. So anyway, we have a ballroom. We have AC. We're moving on from the World's Fair. We're moving on from the HH Homes rumors.
Gina (25:07)
⁓
Kathryn (25:28)
new name, plan, like the past is in the past, who is she, whole new hotel. This is all happening in the early years of the 20th century, which is the same time period that the infamous Chicago outfit was born. The outfit, as it is called, is the famous Italian-American mob family that grabbed the public's attention during Prohibition when it was led by
Johnny Torrio and Al Capone.
Gina (25:59)
Hell yeah.
Kathryn (26:00)
I like have to do an aside here. I was gonna bite my tongue, but if you ever wanna fall down a rabbit hole, look into these guys like deeply because they're still around and like I'm kinda scared to talk about them. Not Al Capone and Johnny Torrio, but like the Chicago, yeah, like they're still around, they're still working. Their latest leader was whatever.
Gina (26:14)
Really?
I like that out.
Kathryn (26:27)
inaugurated in 2018, whatever it's called. Yeah, I'm literally scared to talk about them. I don't have any power whatsoever, but these guys, I mean, they're real bad dudes. And like, I'm kind of obsessed with them, though. So when you're done with this episode, go have a look-see and then just keep your mouth shut about it.
Anyway. So this Torrio guy at one point, don't know when, he almost gets killed by a different gang. So he hands full leadership over to Al Capone and that's when shit really hits the fan. Basically that's when they start, I think it must have been just before Prohibition because that's when they start gaining all the infamy because
They kind of went from this kind of sneaky, quiet mob situation to straight up murder and violence. Capone had no shame whatsoever. He was just like, I don't like you. I'm going to kill you. No one was safe. But weirdly enough, the community, I don't want to speak for all of Chicago, but they kind of loved him a little bit. Like he almost it was similar to like the Bonnie Parker episode where it was kind of like Robin Hood vibes. Like he would
steal all this money and get all this shit from gambling and all these horrible means, but then he would donate significant amount of money helpful causes and just essentially give it back to the community. very intentionally curated his public persona.
This is all very mob coded. I'm just living in the mob rabbit hole right now. This is nothing new. They all do this kind of stuff. It's just always really weird to me to think of Al Capone presenting himself as a man of the community, because that's not the story around him whatsoever. But anyway, Capone's violence is extremely notable. For decades, a lot of Chicago's violent reputation was
Gina (28:15)
For sure.
Kathryn (28:23)
and still kind of is a direct result of his St. Valentine's Day massacre that he orchestrated. But what does any of this have to do with Congress? Great question, I promise. I'm bringing it back right now. It is said, if you just give me one second, I will climb out of this rabbit hole to tell you that it was confirmed.
Gina (28:39)
If you give me two seconds, I'll bring it back.
Kathryn (28:50)
or at least strongly hinted at by several relatively reputable sources that the Congress was a hub for Capone and like his boys that they used while they were running their drugs, alcohol, gambling ring, and all the crap that they were stealing and selling. Similar to H.H. Holmes, I personally could not find any official documentation of this.
But I will say this one is a little more believable to me despite the lack of documentation, because if Capone didn't want a record of something, there wasn't going to be a record of something. He was connected enough to law enforcement and political people and important guys in charge that he could easily have anything he wanted scrubbed. And he definitely never used his real name when checking in.
anywhere so there wouldn't have been record of him staying here. And he was infamous enough at the time that if a hotel clerk saw Alphonse Capone checking into their hotel they would be smart enough to keep their mouth shut, you know what I mean? But probably not smart enough not to like tell their family and friends like guess who I saw guess who's at work today blah blah blah blah you know so
Gina (30:01)
Hehehehehe
Yeah.
Kathryn (30:15)
I think that this is a story that kind of spread that way. And I think that's kind of why it holds a little more credibility to me. This is not a hindsight thing. Like he was staying there while he was working and while he was the infamous mobster Al Capone,
not only was he there often under a pseudonym, but it is said that he also never left. I will say caveat, pretty much everywhere in the Midwest claims to be haunted by Al Capone. like grain of salt. But I love the idea of Al Capone being at the Congress. Many guests.
claim that his presence still lingers on the eighth floor specifically because that is apparently where his preferred suite was. visitors staying there have claimed to see shadowy figures lurking in the hallways and in the corners of the suite specifically. It's also common to hear heavy footsteps and they describe the feeling of being walked.
when they're in their room. There is a video that circulated the internet a few years ago of a security guard either chasing or being chased. I don't remember. He was looking into claims of a shadowy figure in the hotel that they claim was Capone, but I think that that video has since been proven as a hoax. So if you see it, just know that I do think that it was just fabricated.
Gina (31:30)
god.
Kathryn (31:45)
But anyway, these hauntings are specifically associated with Al Capone because they are on the eighth floor. but because they're not super specific, like there's nothing about them that scream this is Capone himself. They just kind of seem like general paranormal encounters.
I was curious if there could be other stories that contributed to the energy here and oh boy, are there.
is the part where like I was wrapping up my story about the Congress and H.H. Holmes and Al Capone and all of a sudden I was like, maybe there's a little more. And then I stayed up all night finishing this last part because I learned all of this like 12 hours ago.
Gina (33:28)
I'm
so excited.
Kathryn (33:33)
I am going to remember to do a content warning midway through because it is gonna get a little bit darker. this is me, I was gonna say, I know I already mentioned forgetting, still didn't give one earlier in the episode, but I am gonna do one now. Second half of this, is a little darker. We're gonna be talking about suicide, child death, specifically murder.
Gina (33:43)
You could do it now if you want.
Kathryn (34:02)
and unfortunately Nazis. So like, I don't want to say 180 because it's not like H.H. Holmes Capone aren't dark, but like, I don't know. But it's just kind of like a different vibe.
Gina (34:03)
Hmm.
Wow.
Kathryn (34:15)
moving back in time a little bit, one of the earliest reported deaths at the hotel actually happened in 1900. A man named Captain, I don't know exactly how to pronounce this, I'm sorry, I did try to find it. I think it's Ostime, or Ostime, Ostime? He was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, and he checked into the hotel the night before his wedding. And I think...
I think I remember reading that it was kind of like a second ceremony. So he and his wife were already married. They had two different religions. So they had done one ceremony for one of theirs. And then it was the night before like the second ceremony. they were like in the eyes of whatever the second God was, they were not married. So they were like treating it like a night before the wedding situation. And
Gina (34:56)
Mm, mm-hmm.
Okay.
Kathryn (35:10)
He had been visiting with a friend who was interviewed for his death announcement later. And this friend's name was Walter Pfister, ironically, unaffiliated to Charles and Guido. But I thought that was weird. Yeah. No, it's spelled P-H-I-S-T-E-R. The others are P-F. Yeah. But I was like, I kind of double take like, what the F? So as the story goes, this is straight from his friend.
Gina (35:24)
Is it spelled the same way?
⁓ okay.
Kathryn (35:38)
Walter for his death announcement. Walter said that Lewis had complained of having trouble sleeping for quite a while, basically ever since he came home from the war. And it was said that he suffered from terrible nightmares. And the newspaper announcement said that what likely happened is he quote, probably was having one of the nightmares when he accidentally picked up his gun thinking he was dreaming.
and quote, accidentally shot himself in his sleep.
Now that we understand PTSD and like understand combat can have on veterans, it is actually likely that he died by suicide.
that wasn't the story. the hotel covered it up real fast. They were like,
Don't tell anyone what hotel this happened at, basically. We know that this happened in the North Tower because the South Tower had not been built yet. But I'm not sure if the story is specifically attached to any room. Like I said, the Congress, I think it was still the Annex at that time. I don't remember the exact timeline that I mentioned, but I believe it was still under the name Annex. They kind of, like I said, it was.
hush hush, so no one really knew what room it was in or anything like that. But it is thought that at least some of the shadow figures people see could be Lewis just because he died under such dark circumstances. There is also a woman in white that wanders the halls. I know, and I'm about to take you on an emotional roller coaster, because I know we love a woman in white, but this is this is so dark, I'm so sorry.
Gina (37:07)
home.
⁓
Okay.
Kathryn (37:17)
First and foremost, it is said that she wanders the halls, but it also is said that she just like hovers in the corners of people's rooms, which I absolutely fucking hate. That sounds so, like that sounds real dark to me. don't, yeah, I don't like that. This woman in white like does not have good energy.
Gina (37:27)
Eugh.
Kathryn (37:35)
We don't know exactly who she is, but one story that could explain who she might be. This one is absolutely devastating. I didn't want to include this, but I do think that it is an important story to tell, which is why I am going to share it now. So just buckle up for this one. It is believed that she could be a woman named Adele Langner, who died in 1939. Adele
was a Czech Jewish refugee who was staying in Chicago on a visitor's visa with her husband, Carl, and their two sons, aged four and six. And they came here after the Nazis had confiscated the textile mill that her husband owned. And they had been living in an apartment. They were ⁓ residents of Chicago under this visa. And they had been there for six months.
their visas were expiring and they hadn't gotten word about whether or not they were going to be able to extend their visas. So she was very afraid that they were going to get deported back to Nazi occupied country. she was horribly depressed. And one day she took the boys to the zoo and instead of going home after being at the zoo,
She checked the three of them into a room at the Congress and content warning one by one pushed them out of the window and she followed after them herself.
Gina (39:09)
⁓ my god.
Kathryn (39:11)
I know, I know, it's just absolutely devastating. When the authorities notified Carl, he also attempted suicide himself. And it actually gets worse, I can't believe it, but it actually does, I'm so sorry. But what Adele didn't know is that very day after she left with the boys to go to the zoo, the family received a letter in the mail.
from the Canadian government granting them permanent refugee status in Canada. Literally that day, yeah. And this is real, there's, I mean, there's like articles to confirm that this actually happened. This isn't, this is not a legend. This is like a real thing that was reported on. Yeah, I know, just absolutely heartbreaking.
Gina (39:50)
Okay.
I was gonna ask you if it was like a verified story or not. I was really hoping you were gonna say it's just a rumor.
Kathryn (40:03)
No. I know.
I know I found it on a blog that I stumbled upon and I was like, oh my God, that's such a dark legend. And then I Googled her name and there's like death announcement obituary. Like it was reported on. I found like an archived article from 1900 or not 1900. I'm sorry. That was Lewis, 1939. Yeah. Awful.
Gina (40:11)
Ugh.
Kathryn (40:25)
It is unclear what room that happened in, it is suspected that she was on the 12th or 13th floor of the North Tower because that's where people see the woman in white. It's also where people hear the sounds of children laughing when no children are present. And people say that they can hear like little footsteps running up and down the halls when no one is actually there.
It's also suspected that the kids like pushing the elevator buttons elevator will open on its own. I know, like it's so heartbreaking, but there's this part of me that I'm like, it sounds like they're having fun. Like it doesn't sound like they're, like it doesn't, if she's the woman in white, that sounds dark. Like I do think that she has a lot, I mean, she did have a lot of sadness, obviously, if she did what she did, you know what I mean? So like.
Gina (40:59)
Aww.
Yeah.
Kathryn (41:19)
That is heartbreaking. It does sound like she's living with that, but it doesn't sound like the kids are, which like, it's heartbreaking and sad, but at least that they're not stuck in that sad place. I don't know. They sound like they're having a good time, at the hotel, you know? And I just love the idea of the elevator button pushing. We've all been kids. We all fought over which sibling was gonna press the upper down. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh.
Gina (41:24)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
It's such a kid thing to do and
like I remember being a kid and how much joy that brought me and how much I loved it. So it is kind of nice to, yeah.
Kathryn (41:51)
Yes. And it was like if, yeah, like you get
to go up and next time they get to push down and you'd like wait for your turn. Yeah, exactly. hmm. And I will say, like, I'm just going to make this about me real quick. I'm real happy that we didn't know this story last time we stayed there, because this is enough to like not.
Gina (41:57)
Right. huh. Yeah.
Kathryn (42:13)
I would not have wanted to stay there if I knew about this story, because I feel like, even though the kids seem like they're having a good time, I feel like the energy around this particular story is just too dark for me. I would have been like too nervous about that. And we were staying on the 13th floor in the North Tower the last time I was there when I like had that weird not great experience. So remember I was like real fucked up by it.
Gina (42:16)
Hmm.
I remember, yeah, you sang, because that was not a good energy thing.
That was like, you got bad vibes from that.
Kathryn (42:43)
It was it was weird energy. Did I talk about that on the podcast? I know I told you.
Gina (42:48)
can't remember if you talked about, I don't know actually.
Kathryn (42:51)
I Let me tell it real quick just in case I didn't. If you don't want to hear the story again, fast forward 30 seconds. So basically, Phil and I were there for my birthday in October and we were staying in a room on the 13th floor, which I thought was kind of funny because I thought hotels didn't do 13th floors, but I don't know, we were on the 13th floor. And it was the middle of the night, I'm laying in bed on my back and all of sudden,
Gina (43:08)
Mm.
Kathryn (43:15)
I felt something pressed down on the bed, like in between my feet at the edge of the bed. I genuinely, I thought that there was like a rat or something on the bed. I could feel the weight on the bed, but it felt like someone just put their hand in between my feet and it was like they were like leaning on the bed.
And it freaked me the fuck out. I flew up in bed and was kicking my feet. I felt like someone was in the room. I initially blamed Phil for it. I thought he was messing with me. That's how real it felt. And I look over at him and this poor guy is like half under his covers just like looking at me like, what the hell? Like, are you okay? What is going on? But yeah, I just, I don't know what it was. I definitely felt something or someone there.
And it just the whole rest of the night, the vibes were just, I don't know, they were just off. Like it was not, it was not casual. It felt like, I just felt very uncomfortable the whole rest of this day. So that's one of my Congress experiences. back to the story. Beyond the stories that people have shared about specific people.
The most infamous room of the hotel is room four for one. I don't know which tower it's in. And I'm also not totally sure why it's thought to be the most haunted.
But as the story goes, it is thought to be the quote, energetic epicenter of the hotel. Apparently there are so many claims of haunted activity in that one room specifically that one Reddit user who was an alleged former employee
claims that they have officially sealed off room 441 and they no longer rent it out to people. I do not know if this is true. I couldn't find anything like official, that is like multiple people claimed that to be the case,
Reports from this room include flickering lights, objects moving on their own. It is said that an aberration of a woman appears, unclear if it's the woman in white or someone different. And then many guests have claimed an intense unease and just general feeling of dread when they stay in this room. All of that is well and good, but that's also exactly what I described feeling in the totally different room that I was in.
Gina (45:30)
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (45:33)
So it just kind of feels like that is the vibe of the entire hotel. People claim that doors will open and then slam shut all on their own. People will hear footsteps both in their rooms and in the hallways when no one is there.
Not only will the elevator doors open on their own, but elevators will also skip floors when you're on them, which I think is even more terrifying because I that's like a where are you taking me? Like, especially if you're going down, don't love that connotation. Cold spots, feelings of being watched, know, lights flickering, just all the things, just classic haunted hotel situations.
I am comfortable saying that the Congress is indisputably haunted just because I have seen it with my own eyes. ⁓ But then again, it's also old. Like I'm going to go ahead and try my hardest to be a skeptic. It is possible that the electric is just shoddy. I do sometimes wonder if maybe they have a mold problem. It's an old ass hotel. And like compared to other.
Gina (46:37)
you
Kathryn (46:40)
hotels in the area. It's not that expensive. I mean, all hotels are expensive nowadays, but compared to like staying downtown, it's comparatively cheaper than other places. So I'm kind of like, do they just not have the money for repairs? Like floors are super slanted, bathrooms are extremely small. The way it's set up, sound does carry in a strange way. So it's just kind of a disorienting hotel.
in and of itself. So it's just one of those things where are you seeing and hearing something or is it like a trick of your eye or ear? I do not know. I don't think so. I do believe it's haunted, but
it's old. It's not 100 percent up to date. It's not I don't want to say it's not well kept, but I think that it's a good it's going to sound like I'm talking shit about Chicago right now. But I do think it's a good representation of Chicago's history. It's like a little rundown and a little gritty. But like I say that in the way that it's also one of my favorite hotels. So like I just think it's a good landmark to represent the city of Chicago.
Gina (47:47)
went to the Congress for drinks one time. I've never stayed there, but what it reminded me of is I feel like a lot of places that feel very historical in America, or at least in the Midwest, are very cordoned off and you're not really allowed to do much in them because there's not that many old places in comparison to the rest of the world. know, like we have super old castles over here and shit. But, ⁓
Kathryn (47:49)
We did. Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Gina (48:11)
I remember going to the Congress and it didn't feel like that. Like it felt like the history was welcoming you into it, which is what I really like. So yeah, it is a little bit rundown, but that's because it's been there for a really long time and it has a majesty to it that was really nice.
Kathryn (48:14)
Mm-mm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it really does feel like, okay, I'm gonna compare. So we talked about the opulence of the Pfister. And like when you walk into the Pfister, it's like stepping back in time. The Congress is kind of the same way, but in like a less opulent way. It's like, you can tell that this is the type of hotel that cater to like the passers through and not the elite, you know?
Gina (48:43)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (48:53)
Like these are like the working class elite. Like we're talking about scientists that are well respected and smart, but like don't get a lot of funding. You know what I mean? It was like that type of thing. Yeah. Yeah, that's the vibe.
Gina (49:05)
Yeah.
I wanna go back there.
And I definitely wanna stay there at some point. Much more afraid to now than I was before, but I do want to.
Kathryn (49:14)
I I know. We've talked about
this so many times. I kind of don't want to stay there again. Like I'm kind of scared. I'm just imagining seeing a woman in the corner of my room. I don't know if I could handle that. And I also, I'm just like, I feel like I've had my experiences there. I did have one other experience that I know I didn't share on the podcast. This one's short, I'll just say it real quick. The first time Phil and I stayed there.
which I mentioned one of our experiences, go check out Haunted Bar Stories from last July to hear that story. I won't tell that one again. But we were, it was the middle of the night and I had the bathroom light on with the door like mostly closed because I don't know if you guys have heard, but I am a little afraid of the dark. So I had that on as a nightlight. And when I woke up in like the middle of the night,
the light was off and the door was all the way opened. And so in my head I was like, okay, Phil needed to use the bathroom, forgot to leave the bathroom light on, just like went back to bed. So I asked him in the morning, like I was kind of giving him shit. I was like, oh man, why'd you turn the light off? Are you trying to scare me? Blah, blah, blah. And he was adamant. He was like, I 100 % did not. He swore up and down that he didn't get up in the middle of the night at all.
which I totally believe because I am a very light sleeper and Phil is a very loud wake or upper. So if he got up in the middle of night, I would have gotten up in the middle of the night. So I fully believe that it wasn't him. So then I was thinking, okay, maybe it was, I don't know, maybe the light was on a timer or something, you know, like those updated switches, but it didn't have that. was an old, old school, like.
Gina (50:57)
Hmm.
Kathryn (51:02)
just your regular light switch. But it was flipped down, like it had been turned off and he swears up and down that it was not him. Yeah.
Gina (51:05)
You
Yeah, I don't like that.
Kathryn (51:11)
Yeah, I need time now. I need time to like forget about the woman in white and all of the depressing things.
Gina (51:18)
That's how I know shit's real. If Kathryn won't do it, I'm like, mm, it's probably not a good decision for anyone to do it. Which I mean as a compliment because you're very brave. That's where that comes from.
Kathryn (51:21)
Yeah.
you
You use brave so often when my brain goes straight to just unintelligent. What was that one episode you kept calling the guy brave? I was like, sounds like a dumb man to me. What was it? It was cryptid month. Oh, the Enfield horror. It was not mermaids. It was the Enfield. The one that got-
Gina (51:48)
Remember.
I did... ⁓ the guy who kept going outside to...
So brave.
Kathryn (51:56)
outside, you're like, he was so brave. I was like, he was an idiot
with a gun, okay? Like, what the hell? But anyway, yes, thank you for thinking I'm brave.
Gina (52:06)
I don't think you're an idiot with a gun, that's for sure.
Kathryn (52:08)
Yeah, I'm definitely not. Anyway,
do you perhaps have a little scary on top for me?
Gina (52:18)
You know, I actually do.
we got a listener story.
Kathryn (52:23)
Yay!
Gina (52:25)
Yes, it is from my friend Dan who was recently in Edinburgh and while he was there he went to Greyfriar's Kirkyard and he took a bunch of cool pictures and he wrote about his experience there. So I'm going to read what he said to you.
Hey guys, I thought I'd share this experience with the two of you. My wife and I had the chance to go and visit Edinburgh last week and after the episode on Bloody Mackenzie, I couldn't help but go and visit Greyfriars' Kirkyard myself. I've attached a few pictures for the two of you that I took out of the far too many.
First things first, thanks to the frankly freak weather we were having, parenthesis it was sunny and rather warm. It has actually been, it's been very nice in the UK recently.
Kathryn (53:04)
You
way out.
love that that's freak weather for Edinburgh That's so great. I love that. That's hilarious.
Gina (53:17)
It was actually nice outside, imagine that. ⁓ But yes,
thanks to the freak weather we were having, the Kirkyard was busy and bathed in the afternoon sunlight. It felt really peaceful wandering amongst the graves and monuments. The grave architecture is just incredible, as the photos I've included can attest. I've included a few of my absolute favorites.
I walked up towards what I assumed was the top of the kirk yard, I found the plaque for the Covenanter's prison.
You can't walk around the actual area of the prison as it was repurposed for more burial space in 1705 or is now under surrounding buildings. So from the two pictures I could take through the gate, it looks rather pleasant nowadays.
Kathryn (53:58)
you
Gina (54:02)
To the left of the Covenanters' prison was the tomb we all want to know about, the Black Tomb, where the man responsible for the Covenanters' suffering is buried. Draped in the shadows of the surrounding buildings and the afternoon sun, George Mackenzie's monument to himself stood locked and dilapidated, weeds growing out of the walls. But I kid you not, it felt wrong. Maybe it's the prior knowledge influencing me, or maybe that tomb really is cursed.
But out of all the mausoleums, this gave me creepy feelings.
Kathryn (54:36)
Ooh.
Gina (54:37)
I didn't have as much time as I would have wanted to spend at Grave Friars, but on a lighter note, I did get to see the gravestone and statue of the Grave Friars Bobby. As the photo showed, so many people had brought sticks to lay at the gravestone for the best boy to chase. He was the little dog. Yeah. I'm gonna send you the picture of this real quick, because it is actually really fucking, it's a huge pile of sticks.
Kathryn (54:52)
Oh my heart, yeah. Oh my God.
Wait, that's so sweet.
⁓
That kind of thing makes me really happy.
Gina (55:05)
Me too.
Kathryn (55:05)
⁓ that's sweet.
Gina (55:08)
Yeah. There's also a ton of cool bars nearby, including the pub attached to the graveyard itself and a really cool occult shop that I snagged a photo of but didn't have time to queue to get into it as it only allowed eight people in at a time. And by this point I needed to get out of Edinburgh and start the drive home. Sidebar, that shop is called Black Moon Botanica and it is so freaking cool. I'll drop a link to their Instagram in the show notes because it's a very, very cool shop. ⁓ Edinburgh is well, and also to say
Kathryn (55:22)
Hmm.
That's awesome.
Gina (55:38)
I didn't know about this before Dan told me, so I'm not like, yeah, it's my favorite shop. Like it is just very cool. No, I've never been there. I just like was researching it after Dan sent this email and I was like, ⁓ shit, this looks really cool.
Kathryn (55:43)
was literally just gonna ask, when the hell did you go there? What? Okay. Okay.
was trying to maintain my composure, but I was like, why have you never told me about this? Okay, just casual. Yeah. Yeah, okay, that makes me feel better. I like, where's my souvenir?
Gina (55:57)
realized as soon as I was moving on, I was like, you know what, I need to go back, because I've never been here. But it does look really, really cool. Because
you know how you and I talk sometimes about the difference between a gimmicky esoteric shop and an actual esoteric or occult shop? It's an actual place. It's very, very vibey, yes.
Kathryn (56:15)
Yes. Yes. I love that.
Mm-hmm.
Gina (56:22)
But yes, ends the email by saying, ⁓
Kathryn (56:33)
yeah, I love that. Man, I want to go to Edinburgh so bad.
Gina (56:37)
Well, thank you, Dan.
I know, I know. Yeah, yeah, me too. We'll add it to the list, the ever expanding list of places we need to go to together.
Kathryn (56:43)
I know. I know.
Wow, that was cool. I love that we got an Edinburgh experience.
Gina (56:53)
Me too. Cemetery Month was long ago enough that this, was kind of like a trip down memory lane a little bit to go back and like think about Greyfriar's Kirkyard and Bloody Mackenzie.
Kathryn (56:57)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah,
I was trying to remember what month that was in. I guess that makes sense. was in cemetery month.
Gina (57:08)
I
But thank you very much, Dan. And if you have a story you would like read out at the end of the episode, you could send it to iscreamyouscreampod@gmail.com We also, as a side note, have a really cool Patreon page link to that is in the show notes. But if you're not feeling Patreon right now, you can also leave us a rating or review.
really be doing us a solid. But yeah, until next time little spoons, keep it cool.
Kathryn (57:36)
and keep it creepy.
