The Terrifying True Story Behind The Madonna Of Bachelor's Grove Cemetery

March 2024 · 2 minute read

While Kathryn and Luella are the two most popular identifications of the Madonna of the Grove, they are not the only ones. The Chicago Tribune says that another possibility is Amelia Patrick Humphrey, who was the wife of John Humphrey, an Illinois state representative, and senator. The two had a daughter who, like Marcia May and Emma, tragically died in infancy. The baby's name was Libby May Humphrey. Bachelor's Grove Forever adds that, in a situation similar to that of Kathryn Vogt Fulton, Libby May was buried at Bachelor's Grove, but Amelia was buried elsewhere. As a result, perhaps Amelia's ghost is seeking out her poor lonely child at another cemetery?

One final candidate -– or rather, pair of candidates -– comes in the form of two different women named Mary Rick. The two Marys are both from the same family, and they're both buried in the Rick family plot at Bachelor's Grove. Very little else is known about either of the Marys, so what is it that makes them ghosts of interest in the case of identifying the Madonna of the Grove? Well, the famous photo by Judy Huff-Felz shows the White Lady sitting in the moonlight on the now-famous "quilted stone." That stone is the base stone for the marker for the Rick family. Some people then reason that if you're going to star in one of the most famous ghost photos of all time, you should at least be sitting on your own tombstone, right?

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