Rumor and speculation abound in the world of favorite haunts. Are there haunted houses in Lake Zurich? You be the judge.

There was a man named Franklin McCormick who lived in Forest Lake. He ran an all-night Symphonic music program on the radio. After work, he would come home in the early hours of the morning and wake up his wife by tapping on the ceiling in the kitchen. He was both signaling her that he was home and inviting her to join him downstairs for coffee and conversation.

According to her old friends, after he died his widow would be sleeping soundly and familiar "tap, tap, tap' room floor from the kitchen below. Although she never saw his image, she felt his presence. Guests would describe feeling a rush of cool air when they entered the house, and a creepy feeling that gave them goosebumps. And there was more....

Two young musicians, who were family friends, came to stay with the widow. After an evening of playing music, they left their instruments on the kitchen table and went to bed. They were awakened by the sound of guitar music coming from below. Thinking that the widow was playing, they crept downstairs. No one was to be found. Shortly after, they heard what sounded like coins dropping. They crept slowly downstairs to find pennies scattered on the floor, but again .... no one. It did not take them long to pack and leave the house.

Another story involved a home on Cuba and Rainbow Road, apparently a favorite spot for teenagers to go on 'dares' during the 1970s. The site was an old farmhouse long abandoned-- containing stories ranging from a grisly murder scene to a family tragedy haunting the grounds. Other tales revolved around the rumor that down the street had been the location of a sanitarium. Allegedly, from that hospital wandered a maniac who had descended upon the innocent family in the farmhouse…

Another house rumored to be haunted, and which still exists, is the Keuchmann home in Keuchmann Park. Built by a man named Coffin in the early 1900s (no relation to Robert Parker Coffin), it ended up being cared for by some young caretakers who, as well, did not stay long. Between the creaks and groans, and doors closing by themselves, and the fact that a man named Coffin had built the home, they found the home too spooky.

Other ghostly rumors........

One story involved a young girl who had died tragically and was buried in Fairfield Cemetery. Her ghostly apparition has allegedly appeared along Fairfield Road.

There was a woman who was staying in a hotel. She awoke in the middle of the night in her darkened room and saw several people walking through the door. She reached for her glasses and looked again in bewilderment. Sure enough, 13-20 people dressed in roaring twenties style clothing had passed through the door and walked past her bed. They glanced at her, and continued walking through the opposite wall.