Lincoln Park Zoo

Located on the site of the former Chicago City Cemetery, which was open from 1843 to 1859 and held the remains of more than 35,000 people. When the cemetery was moved to make way for Lincoln Park, an estimated 12,000 bodies were never relocated and remain beneath the zoo grounds.

Lincoln Park Zoo occupies land that served as Chicago's City Cemetery from 1843 to 1866. Tens of thousands of burials took place here, many due to devastating cholera outbreaks—during a six-day period in July 1854 alone, more than 200 cholera victims were interred in Potter's Field. The cemetery also contained family-owned lots, Jewish and Catholic sections, and the graves of Confederate prisoners of war.

After the cemetery closed, bodies were supposedly moved between 1868 and the 1880s, but sources indicate only ten men worked on the removal. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed many grave markers, and countless graves were missed or lost. Construction in 1998 alone unearthed 81 bodies, and experts believe many corpses were never moved—they remain beneath the park, the zoo, and the surrounding neighborhood.

The Couch Tomb, a 50-ton limestone mausoleum built in 1858, is the sole remaining marked grave from the Chicago Cemetery. Ira Couch's body was returned from Cuba for burial, and his brother James commissioned the elaborate structure at a cost of $7,000. Why the tomb was left behind remains unclear, though the Chicago Park District suggests it was too expensive to move.

Whether anyone remains inside is a mystery. The door hasn't been opened in over a century. Ira Couch's grandson claimed seven people should be interred within, but most names he mentioned have headstones at Rosehill Cemetery—yet Rosehill's records show no one named Couch.

Ghost stories centered on the mausoleum date to the 1880s, with reports of a big white ghostly figure appearing nearby. Lincoln Zoo staff have seen apparitions of people in Victorian dress and a woman in white who frequents the Lion House before vanishing. In 1962, when constructing the barn for farm animals, workers found a body. Seeking guidance, the director received no response and built directly over the grave. Paranormal activity—doors slamming and phantom footsteps—has been reported in that area ever since.

The zoo holds annual events acknowledging its haunted reputation, drawing visitors hoping to glimpse spirits of those still resting beneath the grounds.