Famed Ghost Hunter Richard T. Crowe Joins Ghost Lore

Like thousands of Chicagoans, I first met Richard T. Crowe on one of his luxury bus tours of Chicago’s haunted cold spots in 1983. My mom and I took his tour and after three fascinating hours of driving to the sites of infamous murders, train wrecks and haunted cemeteries, we left feeling like we made a new friend. Richard had that way about him.

Subscribe to the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts.

I later had the privilege of interviewing him—several times—as a journalist. Richard always made time for idiots like me who bugged him every Halloween for local ghost stories and he could rattle off 20 in five minutes between Hard Copy appearances. When I moved down to the South Side two years ago, I was thrilled to learn that Richard lived in Oak Lawn.

One of my favorite memories is taking information Richard had given me of bodies being taken from 1915 Eastland disaster to where a temporary morgue had been set up on what is now the site of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. According to Richard, the ghostly apparition of a woman clad in 1915 garb had been seen floating across Harpo’s video surveillance system.

I called Oprah’s production company the next day to follow up and got yelled at by a Harpo publicist. When you’re a lowly beat reporter for a neighborhood newspaper and one of Oprah’s peeps screams at you, you know you’ve arrived.

So I was deeply saddened to hear that Richard passed away on June 6 of pancreatic cancer at age 64.

Chicago’s preeminent ghost hunter, he parlayed his love of literature and history into Chicago Supernatural Tours. He always bragged that his were the first paranormal tours to use luxury coach buses.

In addition to creating Chicago Supernatural Tours, he was an "Army veteran, noted author, lecturer, world traveler and entrepreneur in the field of Supernatural Occurrences and Historical Lore."

He was a lifelong resident of Chicago’s South Side, attending Visitation grammar school, three years at Quigley South Preparatory Seminary and his senior year at Gage Park High School, his friend, Haunt Detective Ray Johnson wrote on his Chicago Now blog.

Richard also held degrees in English literature from DePaul University. He was a planner for the City of Chicago when he hosted his first supernatural tour in 1973, which sold out. By the late 1970s his tours had become so popular that he left his day job and hunted ghosts full time.

A Richard T. Crowe supernatural tour was not complete without a stop at the gates of Resurrection Cemetery to hear the story of Resurrection Mary, the ghostly hitchhiking damsel that picked up rides from unsuspecting (mostly male) drivers along Archer Avenue, the Showman’s Rest or Chief Chee Chee Pin Quay’s haunted grave in Robinson Woods.

The last time I spoke to Richard was in the fall. I asked if anyone had seen Resurrection Mary lately, he said that a UPS driver saw her two years ago.

Later that day I drove over to his house on Laramie Avenue where I saw two of his four cats watching birds through the window. According to Richard, the house was haunted.

He autographed a copy of his book, Chicago’s Street Guide To The Supernatural, but made me pay $20 for it, which I was happy to do.

In his family’s obituary, he was the cherished son of the late Richard and Evelyn (Zarack); loving brother of Barbara (Patrick) Hickey and Joann Crowe; and caring daddy of his cats Carmilla, Jesse, Frank and Nate. He also leaves a host of friends.

Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday (June 11) at Modell Funeral Home, 5725 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago. The funeral is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday (June 12) from Modell to St. Patricia Church, 9050 S. 86th Ave. in Hickory Hills. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made in his name to TLC Animal Shelter, 13016 W. 151st St., Homer Glen, 60491.

Ironically, Richard will be buried at Resurrection, the cemetery he made into a household name.

I shall miss his stories and look for his ghostly form hitchhiking on Archer Avenue.

Like Oak Lawn Patch on Facebook.