I was talking to someone recently about the BBC miniseries of ‘Neverwhere’, and we got on the topic of what such a story would be like set in Chicago. I was at a bit of a loss.
The general idea we were working with was, what if various urban legends really were true, and their origins were hidden away ‘under the city’.
The pause point was, sadly, neither of us could really think of any urban legends / stories that are unique to the Chicago area. Anyone out there able to give us a hand?
Well, in truth there really is another city of sorts under the city. A whole lot of what you see downtown has another layer of streets underneath. Most of the deliveries and waste removal to all those skyscrapers are done by men and women that don’t see the light of day. Lower Wacker Drive is probably the best known, and the one that’s open to regular cars, but this underground system extends much further than that. My ex used to be a delivery driver and when he had the Loop run, he really wouldn’t see daylight all day - he’d go down there in the morning, drive his truck all around under the city, and not come back up again until his route was done.
Of course, there are stories of homeless folks running their own little kingdoms down there, but I don’t think they’re true. But I could see using the “underground Chicago” as a setting for some kick-ass intrigue.
There are all sorts of ghost stories set in and around Chicago. Ghost tours operate year round, but of course are more profitable near Halloween. Up on the north side of the city are some fantastic old graveyards dating back to the Civil War and earlier, with the expected drama and hauntings there.
*
The Devil in the White City* was a very popular book about many of the Chicago urban legends which turned out not to be - they were actually true stories. (I couldn’t get past the first chapter, myself, but it was a very popular book a few years ago.)
That sort of surprises me. I know you can get a lot of places off of Lower Wacker and Water, but I really thought most downtown buildings had street-level entries to their loading docks. Gonna have to do a bit of research.
Of course there are the coal tunnels that were responsible for the great flood, and the fact that the whole city was raised up back in (I think) the late 1800s.
Kinda turning a blank on any particular urban legends unique to Chicago, tho. My first thought was of various ghost stories, but I assumed most locations had their versions of those. Maybe something about Dillinger’s killing - the identity of the woman in Red, or something involving his enormous schlong.
Here’s one I had heard before, concerning a supposed cholera epidemic. Only other things I turned up on Google were something I never heard of before about people supposedly stealing pemnguins from the Shedd, and some people supposedly bitten by a spider.
It seems that perhaps some of what is attributed to machine politics might approach urban legend status.
Or how about the origin of Streeterville? Or Mrs. O’Leary’s cow?
Found this map.
In my opinion, many of what are presented as multi-level streets are more like “bridges” instead of lower levels in “tunnels”. There’s the “Pedway” as well.
I think the best-known Chicago urban legend is the story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow.
The best-known ghost story is Resurrection Mary, the ghost of a young woman who died in a car crash on the night of a formal dance. She’s supposed to be seen near Resurrection Cemetary, wearing a long white gown and trying to get a ride from passing cars.
Actually it’s about the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Daniel Burnham its lead architect, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who was loose in the city at the time. I believe there may be some urban legends around what became known as his Murder Castle but it no longer stands.
Hmmm…it’s possible I myself have been had by this Urban Legend, then! Happens to the best of us. (Unfortunately, I’m no longer in contact with my ex to call him to task!)
More prosaically, there are lots of places that claim to have been a Dillinger hideout, though aways on the basis of tradition and hearsay.
On the subject of Chicago as a fictional urban legend setting, there’s the film of Clive Barker’s Candyman, which has Virginia Madsen as a UIC student investigating one particular story …
Hull House is probably worth mentioning for Chicago urban legends. Not in the city, and not an urban legend, but the Cook County Cemetery for the Indigent is creepy just from the front gate.
Happens to the best of us. (Unfortunately, I’m no longer in contact with my ex to call him to task!)