The founder of Haunted Ghost Tours of Naperville is Diane A. Ladley. She is also author to Haunted Naperville. In this book, Diane tells the stories and history of Naperville’s haunting stories.
Diane was born in Westerville, OH and at a very young age her family move to Naperville. She has spent most of her time growing up here in Naperville. Her childhood friend told her about one haunted story in Naperville and it sparked such an interest in her that she spent a lot of time researching and talking to people that knew about other stories and finding out the history of them and what happened. Over the years she ended up with her book Haunted Naperville. The book is filled with haunted stories that have been passed down over the years.
A few stories Diane talks about are the 1946 Great Naperville Train Wreck. Two trains were on the same track, the Northern Pacific No. 11 headed to Chicago from Omaha and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) No. 39, heading towards San Francisco. The impact was inevitable when the engineer of the CB&Q didn’t notice the red lights up ahead. He continued with out stopping and collided with the Northern Pacific, which left forty-seven people dead and 125 people injured.
The story that goes with this is that some people have been said to feel things around the site of the train wreck. Residents of the 5th Avenue Station Condos have said that they have experienced paranormal activity. Stating that they have seen, heard or felt a presence in their condo. Also, people have said that on Forth Avenue there is a high level of activity. People have said they have heard whispers in that area.
Haunted Naperville has some great stories that Diane Ladley has shared. It is a great read if you are into the paranormal and want to find some haunted local spots, you should check out her book. Also, check out Diane’s Haunted tours that start again this spring, you can find out more information on the website http://www.historic-ghost-tours-naperville.com/.
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