Places Mortuarism Wants to Go

The lynching and burial site of America's first train robbers.

A lesser-known part of the Kinsey Institute is this impressive collection of art, artifacts, and material culture related to human sexuality.

Lions and tigers and leopards, servals, pumas, bobcats, lynxes, and ocelots... oh my!

The longest navigable underground river in the United States is home to countless blind and albino animals.

The oldest purpose built museum in Illinois, home to original Victorian taxidermy.

The largest interactive exhibition in the U.S. exploring human history through the lens of power, punishment, and psychology.

An actor's tribute to a former mentor.

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

A taxidermy “mermaid,” vampire-killing kits, and hundreds of other bizarre objects are housed at this quirky museum.

This titanic Catholic church in Chicago is also a refuge of the fictional cult-favorite wizard detective Harry Dresden.

A hidden grotto on the grounds of the Kane County Government Center.

This lush 12-acre site was once named the finest Japanese garden in North America.

A small abandoned and abused cemetery that has become a magnet for ghost hunters.

A small Chicago museum filled with thousands of preserved butterflies, beetles, and more.

The final resting place of up to 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

When you visit his grave, be sure to rub the Great Emancipator's nose for good luck.

This surprising gem is a world-class archeological museum hidden at the University of Chicago.

Chicago's largest cemetery is full of beautiful Victorian monuments and more than a few ghost stories.

An enormous park-like oasis, full of famous Chicagoans’ graves.

A monument to the art of slicing people open.

A lush green oasis in the middle of Chicago.

This morbid, delightful curiosity shop offers everything from animal bones to human teeth.

Three generations of intrepid collectors display their curious artifacts in a homemade museum right next to the caves they discovered.

It was once used as a classroom to teach mining skills to local high school students.