HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A post office now stands where serial killer H.H. Holmes operated his 1890s building in Englewood—employees report screaming sounds in the basement
611 W. 63rd St, Chicago, IL 60621
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewable from the sidewalk; post office interior open during business hours for postal business only
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat sidewalk on a commercial street
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1887 · H.H. Holmes Serial Murder Site · 1893 World's Fair Era · Englewood Chicago History
Herman Webster Mudgett arrived in Chicago in the late 1880s under the name H.H. Holmes and established himself in the Englewood neighborhood, purchasing a lot at the northwest corner of 63rd and Wallace Streets. He began construction of a building there around 1887, completing a two-story structure that housed a pharmacy on the ground floor. By 1892 he had added a third story, which he promoted to investors as a hotel intended to house visitors to the upcoming 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Holmes's confirmed victim count is eight, with one additional case considered probable. He confessed in 1896 to 27 murders, but historians and investigators at the time and since have found little corroboration for most of the claimed victims. The newspaper accounts from 1895 onward—which described elaborate trapdoors, gas pipes, and a building-wide murder apparatus—were largely sensationalized and do not match the structural evidence recovered when investigators examined the building after Holmes's arrest. The confirmed victims included members of the Pitezel family, who Holmes killed in connection with an insurance fraud scheme.
Holmes was hanged in Philadelphia on May 7, 1896, following conviction for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel. The Englewood building continued to be used for various purposes after his arrest and was eventually torn down in 1938. The United States Postal Service built its Englewood branch on the site. A portion of the original basement is believed to remain beneath the current structure and adjacent property.
Sources
The paranormal reputation of the Englewood Post Office is tied directly to its physical relationship with the original building. Investigators and tour operators have noted that a portion of the basement appears structurally older than the 1938 post office construction, consistent with the foundation materials of Holmes's building. Tony Szabelski of Chicago Hauntings Ghost Tours has described reports from visitors and workers in that space citing unexplained sounds and shadowy figures.
The specific claim of screaming sounds in the basement circulates primarily through Chicago ghost tour narratives and local press coverage. The reports are attributed to unnamed post office employees rather than documented witnesses. The CBS Chicago coverage of the site in 2023 references these accounts without direct named testimony from current postal workers.
The Holmes site sits in the Englewood neighborhood, well removed from the downtown tourist corridor, which has kept the location off the mainstream haunted Chicago circuit. Roadside America and Atlas Obscura both list the address as a drive-by curiosity, with visitor accounts noting the absence of any historical marker at the site.
The popular conflation of the Holmes story with the 1893 World's Fair—drawn largely from Erik Larson's 2003 book—has amplified the location's notoriety significantly beyond what the documented historical record supports. The confirmed murders occurred elsewhere (Philadelphia), and the presence of Fair visitors as victims at the Englewood building has not been established.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The current Englewood branch post office at 611 W. 63rd St. was built on land that included part of Holmes's three-story building footprint. The grassy lot adjacent to the post office is believed to correspond to Holmes's original structure. No signage marks the site. The original basement is said to partially extend beneath the current building.
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