Haunted John Hancock Building in Chicago
Posted: 09.08.2024 | Updated: 09.08.2024
Although its official name is currently 875 North Michigan Avenue, there’s no mistaking the iconic John Hancock building in downtown Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. With its distinctive trapezoidal shape and X-brace design, the John Hancock building is an architectural landmark and a must-see attraction for any visitor to the windy city. But it’s not just design that makes the John Hancock building famous. It’s also known as the most haunted skyscraper in the world. The building has been the site of numerous tragic events, the filming location of Poltergeist III, and is rumored to have ties to the occult. Some even believe the land it sits on is cursed.Who Haunts the John Hancock Building?
On August 12, 1971, 29-year-old Lorraine Kowalski burst through the double-pane window of her boyfriend’s apartment on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building and fell to her death. The circumstances surrounding Kowalski’s death were considered incredibly bizarre, even leaving the building’s original engineer perplexed by her death. Follow along as we delve into this disturbing tale that is one of many tied to this doomed landmark, and discover who is cursed to forever roam the halls. For a first-hand look at some of Chicago’s most haunted locations, book a ghost tour with Windy City Ghosts!Dark Origins of The John Hancock Building
The site of the John Hancock building was originally a parking lot owned by Pennsylvania real estate developer Jerry Wolman. Wolman hired the architect firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to design two towers on the site of the parking lot. However, that vision changed to a single skyscraper thanks to architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Khan. In fact, it was Khan who came up with the John Hancock building’s distinctive pattern of X braces, which eliminated the need for large internal columns. When the John Hancock Building was completed in 1968, it was the second-tallest building in the world after New York’s Empire State Building. The skyscraper boasts 100 floors, with businesses on the lower half and apartments on the upper. The illustrious building forever changed Chiacgo’s skyline, earning it the nickname “Big John.” But it’s the spirits and petrifying unexplained activity that now makes the building the talk of the town.A Series of Tragedies
The death of Lorraine Kowalski is far from the only tragedy that’s befallen the John Hancock building. In 1975, a radio station employee fell from the top of the building, and a student fell from the 91st floor only a few months later. In 1978, an attorney was shot dead by a woman inside his 65th-floor apartment. On December 18, 1997, actor and Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley died from a drug overdose in his apartment on the 60th floor of the John Hancock building. He was only 33 years old and at the height of his career. In 2002, scaffolding fell from the 45th floor of the building and hit 11 pedestrians. Eight were injured, and three died as a result of the falling debris. Although not the site of her actual death, child star Heather O’Rourke died shortly after filming Poltergeist III at the John Hancock building in 1988. O’Rourke played the franchise’s protagonist, Carol Anne Freeling, and was only 12 years old when she passed.Chicago’s Most Cursed
With its tragedies and hauntings, some believe the land the John Hancock building sits on is cursed. The legend responsible for this curse dates back to the late 1800s when Captain George Wellington Streeter crashed his ship into a sandbar near what is now Superior Street and Chicago Avenue. Streeter claimed the land was outside the City of Chicago and began selling it off and opening sketchy businesses and bars. When the city tried to evict Streeter, he threatened violence and was convicted of murder more than once. However, Streeter always seemed to win out, even after agents from the Chicago Title and Trust Company burned down his home. Today, the land Captain Streeter claimed to own is known as Streeterville. In addition to his legacy, some believe that the tragedies at the John Hancock building stem from a 1921 deathbed curse that Streeter is said to have made on the land and all those who inhabited it.Satanic Connection
In the early 90s, the John Hancock building caught the attention of Anton LaVey, leader of the Church of Satan. In the 1992 edition of The Devil’s Notebook, LaVey wrote about the Law of the Trapezoid and how the shape could cause “emotional imbalance and ensuing acts of violence.” LaVey used the John Hancock building as an example and referred to the two broadcast towers as “twin devil horns.” He concluded, “That its history is already grim is, to me, quite understandable.” LaVey also claimed to have been born on the site of the John Hancock building. However, while LaVey did grow up in Chicago, no hospital ever existed on that site.Hauntings at The John Hancock Building
The hauntings and dark past of the John Hancock building live on in the local lore of Chicago and beyond. In fact, some of the stories provided inspiration for the film Ghostbusters. Actor John Belushi lived in the John Hancock building and told fellow actor Dan Ackroyd about the hauntings. Ackroyd and screenwriter Harold Ramis worked some of the accounts into the film’s screenplay, cementing the building’s legacy as the world’s most haunted skyscraper. Uncover more of Chicago’s most haunted locations on a spine-chilling ghost tour with Windy City Ghosts. Keep reading our blog for more terrifying tales of America’s most cursed hotspots, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-hauntings-john-hancock-center/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141029/streeterville/is-hancock-haunted-ghost-tour-guide-says-yes-satanists-say-kind-of/https://875northmichiganavenue.com/https://www.timeout.com/chicago/things-to-do/the-most-haunted-spots-in-chicagohttps://mysteriouschicago.com/anton-lavey-the-hancock-building-and-casa-bonita/Book A Windy City Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
For over 200 years, Chicago has endured the Great Fire, Al Capone, Prohibition, Violent Riots, and Shipwrecks. These events led to Chicago’s mysterious hauntings, often experienced by locals – and even our guests. The third most populous city in the nation has become a hotbed for ghostly encounters.
Join us for a ghost tour with stories and visits to sites of old asylums, cults, and haunted bars next to dark alleys that harbor the spirits of gangsters and bootleggers. Whatever the weather, join Windy City Ghosts to walk in the footsteps of Chi Town’s Ghosts. We’ll give you a chill that cuts to the bone.
