Chicago Ghosts, Gangsters and Graves Tour

Chicago’s leafy Lincoln Park holds a darker past, from notorious gangland violence to stories of restless spirits. This self-guided Chicago Ghosts, Gangsters and Graves Tour lets you explore at your own pace, with GPS-triggered narration on your phone and no fixed start time or in-person guide.

Begin outside The Red Lion Pub, long rumored to be one of the city’s most haunted bars. Continue to the Biograph Theater, where FBI agents killed John Dillinger in 1934, and visit the North Clark Street site of the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. As you walk through Lincoln Park, discover how the grounds were once the city’s cemetery before reaching the Lake Michigan shore at North Avenue Beach. The tour includes a map of every stop, and you can pause or replay stories whenever you choose. Stop for a drink along the way or linger where a story catches your attention. Bring a smartphone with a data connection, allow location access, and let Chicago’s past unfold one stop at a time on this Chicago Ghosts, Gangsters and Graves Tour.