Even if you’ve never been to Chicago before, you’ve probably heard lots of tales about its vibrant culture and fascinating history. Between its exquisite architecture, world-famous restaurants, and luxury shopping on every street, it’s no mystery why so many people flock to this midwestern cultural hub every year.
But beneath Chicago’s glitzy veneer is the haunted underbelly.
Arguably no place best represents Chicago’s storied past better than the Biograph Theater. Discover what happens after the curtains fall on a ghost tour of Chicago with US Ghost Adventures. We pull back the curtain on the Windy City’s dark and storied past while exploring its rich history.
Ill-Famed Fortunes
Built in 1914 in the historic Lincoln Park neighborhood, this cinema has attracted dark events since day one.
Most infamously, the notorious bank robber John Dillinger met an untimely end in the alley behind the theater in July of 1934.
Dillinger had gone to the theater with a couple of friends to see the film, Manhattan Melodrama. He got his fair share of melodrama that night, but it wasn’t on the silver screen.
Instead of a show, he found himself swarmed by the FBI before the curtains went up. The attack caused him to flee into the alley, where he was swiftly shot (although there are several equally intriguing conspiracy theories disputing this ending).
Now, Dillinger haunts the aisles of The Biograph Theater, often giving movie-goers a show they did not necessarily buy a ticket to see. Many theatergoers have claimed to have encountered Dillinger’s ghost in the building while renovating the building’s historic interior.