ForestParkMyths

Statement:
Life magazine listed Forest Park Cemetery as a top ten haunted place

Research:
We have looked at the content description of each LIFE magazine starting from 1944 and up and have not found any reference to an article about the “top ten haunted places”. Actually, Life magazine printed very little about Halloween and or the paranormal. We also searched People and Time magazines and found nothing.

Things to ponder:
Life magazine is a well-documented and maintained information source. If the story cannot be confirmed, then it should be considered inaccurate. However, human eyes do get tired and we may have missed something. Therefore, if someone would like to double-check us on this, we would not be offended.

Conclusion:
Statement is undocumented. In this case, it should be documented so therefore it should be considered inaccurate.

Statement:
Forest Park is located on an Indian Burial Ground.

Research:
No documented history of an Indian Burial ground within the grounds of Forest Park Cemetery can be located.

Update: Documentation has been located that may explain this statement:
Imoves has found a small town out side Chicago, Il. named Forest Park. This town has a cemetery called “Forest Home Cemetery” located at 863 S. Des Plaines Avenue Forest Park, Illinois, 60130. This cemetery was originally the final resting place of the Pottawattamie Indians. Please visit The Franzosenbusch Heritage and GRAVEYARDS OF CHICAGO for more information.

Things to ponder:
Indians have been in this country longer than American documented history. However, it is documented that in the 1600’s most Indian Villages were relocated every 20 years or so. They depended on Mother Nature for their very survival and had to relocate to find food, etc. There would be no way to locate all the burial sites.
There have also been many fires in record buildings through out our history. Some of these fires have destroyed many important documents related to the history of our country.
All over New York State, old burial sites are being discovered and excavated. Not only Native Americans but also slave cemeteries and old family plots are being located, ones that have been lost to history or never recorded.

Conclusion:
Statement is undocumented. In this case, it cannot be proved or disproved so therefore it should be considered urban legend.

Statement:
Haunted areas do not attract partygoers for long.

Research:
Young adults do party there as evidenced by the beer cans and other party remains found.

Things to ponder:
People love the thrill of being scared. They love roller coasters, scary movies, fast cars and anything else that will give them a thrill.

Conclusion:
Statement is inaccurate.

Statement:
Did you hear about the dead body they found there?

Research:
We have checked this story out through the online Troy Record and the Albany Times Union. Dating back to 1992 no article appears in these newspapers about an extra body found at Forest Park.

Things to ponder:
The Troy Record and the Albany Times Union are a well-documented and maintained information source. If the story cannot be confirmed, then it should be considered inaccurate. However, human eyes do tire and we may have missed something. Therefore, if someone would like to double-check us on this, we would not be offended.

Conclusion:
Statement is undocumented. In this case, it should be documented so therefore it should be considered inaccurate.

Statement:
Forest Park is one of the seven gateways to hell.

Research:
This is well noted throughout the Internet. However, no documented proof can be located. No one has a picture or video and there are no personal accounts.

Things to ponder:
Anything is possible.

Conclusion:
Statement is undocumented. At this time it can not be proved or disproved so therefore it should be considered not provable.

Statement:
I saw this tiny, dark shadow.

Research:
This is well noted throughout the Internet. However, no documented proof can be located. No one has a picture or video. There are many sightings. We at IMOVES have even seen it ourselves over by the Roth headstone (to the right of the mausoleum).

Things to ponder:
Anything is possible.

Conclusion:
Statement is documented by many first hand accounts. At this time it cannot be proved or disproved so therefore it should be considered urban legend.

Statement from the authors:
Paranormal investigators are people who are trying to find proof of the existence of the paranormal. We know that a true believer does not need proof. Skeptics need proof. Skeptics are the people we have to convince. We need documentation and proof.

It is good that we all share our experiences with each other. That is the only way we will know what to look for and why. However, these experiences should not be clouded with rumors and falsehoods. We should only communicate firsthand experiences, and not give in to the spreading of unproven information. Paranormal investigation is mostly boring research. However, this research is a necessary part of the documentation and proof. We would like to present ourselves to the world as down to earth everyday people and leave the sensationalism for the filmmakers.

IMOVES

For more about Forest Park Cemetery check out the following IMOVES pages:

          2001 IMOVES report.

          2001 Forest Park photos taken by IMOVES.

          Forest Park Video

          2002 IMOVES report.

          2002 Forest Park photos taken by IMOVES.