Story: Hey guys, I just got into going down to Cuba Road and Rainbow Road recently, because I wasn't old enough to drive out there until now. So, I've been going every weekend now for the past two months, and it's really creepy. The first night, we had some weird guy in a red Taurus following us everywhere, even into desserted roads nobody would ever go into, but after about 20 minutes we lost him. Then, we kept going back for the pure feeling it gave us knowing we were in such a haunted part of Illinois. Finally, one of our other friends and I did more research about found out that on Ela Road, right off of Cuba going south there is a haunted swing set that is dedicated to the girl that died there. Also, we heard about the asylum and we heard about the flesh eating monks. Last night we went down Lake Zurich Road off of Cuba and we stopped in the woods and ran through them. When we got deeper in, we could hear something, like a beast that was hungry and growling, so we all ran back into the car. Also, by White Cemetery, we saw these two hurses come out of the cemetery, yet the gates were never opened, and they still had the locks on them. They went past us, and all of us saw them, so we don't know if it was real, or just our imagination.

Another really weird thing that has happened is we keep seeing this barn with a white horse, which has only been there the last two times, and to us, white horses symbolize death, right? So both nights there were either a 3 car pile up or a 5 car pile up, and people had died right in front of us. I have never been so creeped out in my life. I even keep a knife under my pillow at night to feel safe. So, with all of you people who see these things too, and others think we are crazy, they should all go out and see how it really is. ~Jenny

Response from Slim Pictures:  Jenny, please see the video response posted on 10/28/05 for your response.

Response from Aggie [a reader]: I was just recently introduced to your page, and started reading about people's experiencess on Cuba Rd, but one thing that striked me was, how real those stories are. On 06/16/2005 jenny has posted something saying that there were 3 or 5 car pile up accidents and people died in them... I still can't find any proof that there was accident of this nature during summer of 2005. Can you please explain or back up her story with facts? Thank you --Aggie

Story/Question: Hi! I am very curious about this picture that was taken in the kitchen of our house by a friend of my daughters that was spending the night. The picture is of my daughter taken with a digital camera. I was just wondering if you could give me your opinion of the picture.
I can, if you would like, e-mail you the details off this location in our home and give you more details about sightings there.

I would also like to include a story about White Cemetery on Cuba Rd. which happened at least 15 yrs ago. Having nothing better to do, a group of us planed a trip to the cemetery (which was our favorite pasttime). The gates to the cemetery were open almost like it was waiting for us to come. We were all dressed in dark colors to act as camouflage from passing cars. We had all for the most part split up throughout the cemetery. Me and this other person were in the back left corner of the cemetery. A car had just passed, so we resumed our activities of exploring. I got a very weird foreboding feeling that I should watch this other person. All I could really see was their white gym shoes so I was watching their feet move through the cemetery which then passed behind a head stone only they never came out on the other side. I called everyone over and we immediately began to look for this person. We checked the fence line which gave no indication of having an opening for a person to get through. We searched everywhere. After about half an hour we decided that we needed to go back to where all of our cars where parked.

He was waiting there with a story that we left him there and he walked straight down Cuba Road to 59 to the nearest gas station and called someone for a ride and here he was almost out of nowhere. I'd like to say that this was an elaborate hoax and he had someone waiting there to drive him to the other location, but I really still cannot explain how the white gym shoes disappeared out of my sight. Any direction that he could have gone in I would have seen the shoes. Thank You For Your Time -- Jodie

Response from Slim Pictures:  To state the obvious, that's a really unusual picture! I certainly can't say for sure why it turned out the way it did. I'm inclined to wonder if there were a couple real-world conditions that lead to this. For example if there was a bright and reflective object in the frame combined with a harsh lens flare. Your guess is as good as mind though. Please do send more info on the house itself.

The White Cemetery story is a puzzler as well. My only guess is that there was some brush that concealed the white tennis shoes, which is what made it seem like he vanished. I would

Story/Question: I live in Lake Zurich, is close to this location, but I've just learned about its hauntings recently, so I decided to drive by there a few times, just me by myself. I told no one else, but like 3 minutes after passing it I'd get a call on my cell phone from a private number, and I only know one person with caller id block, and he was on vacation at the time and turned his cell phone off, could the ghosts be trying to communicate with me? -- Dan

Response from Slim Pictures:  Most likely not, though anything is possible. The best rule of thumb is to rule everything out as being coincidense or insignificant unless it simply too big to be ignored.

Story: I am not sure where this house was, but when I was 16 years old, and now I am 47, we found this deserted mansion, in the Cuba road area.

It was the strangest thing, and it haunts me to this day. This beautiful home was deserted. Being teenagers, naturally we were drinking beer and exploring the house. It was so huge to us, and we could not believe that someone could just close the door and leave a place like this.

I don't remember much in the main house, but I do remember a smaller house, or guest house, that was on the property across from the main house, and we found all sorts of pictures of the of the house when it was in it's glory, I think I remember being in an attic or upper floor. People were standing in front of the mansion, like a family, and we also found receipts from funerals and very personal stuff. There were lots of law books like the person was a lawyer or something.

It had been ransacked previously, but I vividly remember the pictures of the famlily in front of the mansion.

I have often wondered what caused this abandonment and where did the family end up. Can you shed any light on this? -- Lisa

Response from Slim Pictures:  That's a pretty tall order considering we don't know for sure the exact property. I would have thought that around 1958 the place we all know as "The House on Rainbow Road" would still be occupied, however the descriptions do match. I had a similar incident when looking around an old barn. I ended up finding property deeds, wills and even a death certificate. As crazy as it seems, apparently people didn't take care of personal information of the deceased back then like they do now.

Story: Around Halloween, a lot of people in my school were mentioning Cuba Road and the strange experiences they had there. Two of my friends and I are very interested in this type of stuff so we decided to check it out ourselves.We live less than 20 minutes away from Cuba Road, so we made a few trips. The first time we went, we wanted to check out White Cemetery. We parked next to it on a dirt road. While we were getting out of the car, we heard strange noises that seemed to be coming from the direction of the cemetery. We walked toward the entrance and one of my friends started videotaping. After videotaping outside of the cemetery for a few minutes we decided to leave because I was getting really scared. When we were back in the car, my friend that was driving said he didn't have his keys. My other friend and I thought he must be kidding just to scare us because he knew we were already petrified. After the three of us searched the car and couldn't find the keys, the driver decided he would go out and see if he dropped them around the gates. As he was getting out of the car, a black SUV type car turned into the dirt road we were on and slowly drove past. We thought maybe it was a person who lived down the road. As my friend was looking for his keys near the cemetery (about five minutes after we had first seen the black car) the car slowly drove past us once again. The two of us that were in the car were really scared so I took my cellphone out to call someone. As it was ringing, my phone started beeping and saying low battery. Then it turned off. I thought this was strange because my phone said full battery on the way there when I was calling my mom. When the driver got back to the car saying he couldn't find the keys, we had to call someone to pick us up. We had just enough time to call someone and tell them to come get us before my friend's phone died as well. While waiting for my friend's dads to get us, we waited in the car. Out of nowhere, the same black car drove down the dirt road again. This is when we knew something wasn't right because within 15 minutes this car had driven past three times. Before our ride came, the car drove past us another two times. I don't know if it was just a neighbor concerned that we were there, or the black car that is known to drive on Cuba Road.

After this experience, we were determined to go back and find out more. That next weekend, we went back with more people this time to see if anything unusual would happen. We pulled into the same road and got out. We started videotaping and one of my friends went into the cemetery (even though we aren't supposed to) and walked around. We stayed there for a little while and decided to leave because it seemed like nothing was happening.

In the car we decided to look for Rainbow Road and see what we could find there. One of my friends knew how to get there because the year before she went. We pulled into this hilly road and went up it. My friend said she knew we were going the right way because to the right of the road was a little pond she remembered seeing the year before. However, when we got to the spot where the asylum was supposed to be, there was no building there. All there was left was a silo and a dog barn next to it. We walked down a little path and found a swing set, see-saw, and slide. We didn't find much more so we decided to leave. As we were driving back down the road, in the trees we found red balloons. There were at least five all together. We didn't know what they were. So from this, I want to find out more information about this place. Can you help me? And did we experience anything the first time going to White Cemetery?

Response from Slim Pictures:  I have to say the phone thing is weird, especially since two phones were affected. More likely than not the car driving past was probably just a local check up on you. The house on Rainbow Road is now gone, but you were in the right place. The red balloons were just red balloons. Just because something may seem weird, doesn't mean it is.

Question: Hey do you know anything behind the story of Rainbow Road house or the Stone House on Shoe Factory Road? I'm really Interested in the true story of who lived there and what happened to all the people that used to live in those houses. Anything you have would be a big help. because I'm doing a school report on the haunted places in the Barrington area and chicagoland. -- Monica

Response from Slim Pictures:  Check out these pages further to find about the Krilich estate (the House on Rainbow Road). I, personally need to learn more about Shoe Factory Road - if anyone has some info, write in and I'll post it - pictures are always welcome as well!

Question: This is regards to White Cemetery.  Have you ever herd of not being able to see the cemetery 'till midnite?

Response from Slim Pictures:  No, but that is an interesting tale.  Places as notoriously haunted as White Cemetery and really the entire Cuba Road area tend to spawn countless urban legends.  If you have anymore details about this legend, or have heard other interesting stories, please do let us know!

Response from Marshmello831 (a fellow reader):  Me and some friends where driving down Cuba Road looking for the cemetery, and we where driving up and down Cuba Road for about an hour. We could not find it. Then we took one pass down Cuba Road and it was approximately 12:05 and out of nowhere everybody in the car saw the cemetery at the same time. It just happened to be after 12 when everyone saw it.

Story/Question:  Can you tell me if these photos look like anything unsual. A few friends and I were up at Cuba road one night. It was in early Jan. 2005. We were parked directly on a side street which is directly in front of the cemetary across Cuba Rd. My friend has digital camera and she took a few pictures. In one picture particulary, there is a dense area of what seems to be fog all around us. Also in that same picture, you can kind of make out like a leg type object in the left hand corner. What is this? Another picture, after development, started turning colors it was the weirdest thing. However, I think the oddest thing about this experience at Cuba Rd. was when we first arrived, my friend's digital camera just came off the charger and had a full battery. But after the first initial foggy picture, the camera died. Then all of a sudden, about 10 minutes later, it came back on. Then she tried to take another picture but nothing came up on the camera, she took about 5 pictures like this. Her camera was brand new too. Kind of odd. Have you ever heard of cameras not working after an initial photograph? I attached the pictures to see what you make of them. Thank you so much.  Kate

P.S. We also hear a lot of rumors about Rainbow Rd., what is the truth behind Rainbow Rd. Also last time we went to Rainbow Rd. the house or whatever it is was for sale and they were demolishing what was on that piece of property.

Response from Slim Pictures:  Kate, First off, thanks for your submission and you made a lot of very good observations. In your eMail it sounded like you meant to send several pictures, however I only got one (it shows a white minivan to the right of the image). In the one I got, there's definately a lot of fog, there also appears to be two small orbs toward the right of the picture. There may be a few more smaller ones further off in the distance, but it's hard to tell if they are orbs or reflections of distant objects. Some questions I would ask are: What were the weather conditions that night? Was it foggy? In addition to explaining the fog, it would also explain the orbs, which tends to be how larger droplets of moisture appear on a digital image. Was that van engine still running? Was anyone in the area smoking and was it cold enough that people could see their breath? Pictures like this can be tough because one that can be explained often looks exactly like one that can't be explained.

Please do feel free to send the additional images and I'll take a look at those as well.

In terms of having a paranormal experience, I believe you definately did have one. The reason I say this is your story with the malfunctioning camera. Equipment failure of every kind is common at haunted locations, from cell phones to cars to everything in between. You mention the camera hadn't had these problems before? Has it since?

As for the House on Rainbow Road, yes, it's well known as a haunted location.  From what I've heard, I believe it.  However, I have not explerienced anything there myself.  From what I've heard the entire property is being leveled and sold off as, I believe, five different lots for new homes.  Time will tell if the new homes become haunted as well. Thanks for writing & I look forward to hearing more.

Response from Katie: I just got your first email about the picture and camera. There was no fog whatsoever that night. The cars were turned off and it was not cold enough to see breath. Also no one in our group smokes. As for the camera, it works fine right now, there is nothing wrong with the camera, it is in perfect condition. My friend has taken many pictures since then and the camera worked on all of them. Also thank you for the email about Rainbow Rd. I do have another question for you. Have you ever heard of Flint Creek Road? It is located in Barrington too. Supposedly there was a car with 3 people and they were playing chicken and ran off road because the car that they were playing chicken with didn't stop. Out of the 3 people, 2 died. The third person said that the other car didn't stop and he blacked out. I was just wondering if you had heard anything about this. Also a group of us went down to Flint Creek Road and my one friends had his voice recorder on from his cell and he caught all of this weird almost talking noise on this recording. We were all quiet so we don't know what it was. Do you have any idea what it could have been? Can cell voice recorders pick up supernatural noises? Thank you so very much for your input and help.

Info: Do what you wish with the attached information. It is all from publicly available sources. Download the PDF file that this eMail is in regards to here.

Attached are some files and information you may find interesting. I have provided several arial views (1 from 1978 and a few from 2002), and have outlined the property on one of the 2002 maps and the 1978 map.

To me this looks like a very upscale property with tennis courts, a 1 or 2 hole golf course, stable, etc. prior to whatever occured post-1978 that led to the abandonment.

I have also provided the parcel map that shows the properties borders from a tax perspective. The property was sold in 1997 for around $540,000 which is a steal (it is almost 18 acres). Since 1997 it has been listed as "land" on the tax records. Tax bills are sent to a private address in North Barrington. I haven't traced the actual ownership, but may do so some day to amuse myself.

The property has recently begun to be developed. The gates have been torn down and construction crews are preparing a road bed, drainage, etc. From the road I could still see old buildings standing so they have not torn them down yet.

The "insane asylum" has been a popular legend since the mid-1970's (and maybe before). My friends and I would cruise Cuba / Rainbow road back in the mid-70's (seems like this is still popular today). We once went looking for the "insane asylum" and found the gates which was a lot harder to do back then without the Internet, GPS, etc. In my day the "asylum" was referred to as "Krilich" or "Krillich" but I don't really know why. When we found the gates there was a large, stylized "K" on the locked gates so maybe there was some truth to the name. The property was inhabited back then so we never went on it but it was still really spooky just stumbling across this gated property in what was the middle of nowhere back then.

Download a Chicago Tribune article from 6/9/1971 about former Rainbow Road house owner, Robert Krillich here.

Here is the text of an article from the Tribune. The address of the property I sent you photos of is 210 S Rainbow and is 18 acres. However, the properties have all been renumbered since 1968 and there is no longer any 92 Rainbow road (mentioned in the article below). Also, when looking at the tax plat maps, the are two parcels immediately north of the 18 acre property that total about 11.5 acres in size, potentially accounting for the "30 acre" estate. There is also a private road that still exits that neatly bisects the 11.5 acres to the north and the 18 acre estate to the south.

1968-02-20 Chicago Tribune (IL)
TOPPLES PART OF BIRD BATH, BOY, 7, KILLED
William Cokenower III, 7, was killed yesterday when the concrete tray of a birdbath fel on his head on an estate at 92 Rainbow rd., near Barrington in Lake county.
The boy apparently was climbing on the birdbath when the accident occurred.
William's family lives in a home at the Rainbow road address, a 30-acre estate owned by Robert Krilich, president of Krilich Builders, Inc., of Niles. The boy's father, a treetrimmer and landscaper, is caretaker of the Krilich estate and other estates in the area.

I have attached picture with revised boundaries showing what the total estate MIGHT have looked like. FYI, the north parcels are referred to as Rainbow woods and were sold off in 6/97 and 2003.

Another reason that Rainbow Road may seem haunted:

All not peaceful in regards to roads, Daily Herald, June 20, 1999, Author: Katherine Hamilton-Smith
Roads can be controversial. Take the Route 53 extension, for example, which causes heated discussion among residents of Long Grove, Mundelein and other towns through which it is proposed to pass.
Heated discussion - and even violence - over the location and construction of roads is nothing new in Lake County.
On Sept. 8, 1877, three Lake Zurich road commissioners - John Robertson, Jacob Bees and August Kuikke - went to the western edge of Lake Zurich to the Peter Davison Farm. The commissioners were charged with the task of opening up an obstructed road, what is now Rainbow Road, on the Davison property. Evidently, Davison had put up a few sections of crooked fence rail to block a public right of way.
Davison, his son, wife and a hired hand refused to take down the fence, and in fact sat upon it in order to more completely block the road. The Davisons were armed with clubs and revolvers. When the two parties could not come to an agreement, the commissioner's party began to take down the fence.
Davison and his son drew their revolvers, and Robertson said, "Mr. Davison, we don't want any fuss. We don't want any fighting. If we do not act right, then use the law."
Davison replied, "If you go on, I'll use force enough to stop you."
Even though the witnesses' accounts all indicate that Davison was not aiming specifically at Robertson, a shot was fired.
The bullet entered Robertson's lower jaw just under the right of the chin. It struck several vital parts and caused a hemorrhage, which filled Robertson's lungs.
By the time the doctor reached him, about an hour and a half after the shooting, Robertson was still breathing, but was "already black in the face and in the first stages of suffocation." The bullet had taken a fatal course and he died at 6 p.m.
Davison was convicted, but was later released due to ill health. Robertson was one of the early settlers of Lake Zurich. His big beautiful white house with broad arcaded front porch still can be seen at the corner of Robertson Road and Route 22 in Lake Zurich.
The story of the Rainbow Road dispute will be told in the Lake County Museum's Mall of History exhibition, opening later this fall.
Katherine Hamilton-Smith is the curator of historic resources for the Lake County Museum. The Lake County Museum, a department of the Lake County Forest Preserves, is an award-winning regional history museum on Route 176, west of Fairfield Road near Wauconda.
Edition: Lake
Section: Neighbor
Page: 1
Column: Notes from Lake County Museum

response from Slim Pictures: 

Question: Hey, I was surfing the web and I came across the whole Rainbow Road hauntings. My father and I have driven down there and spotted an enterance blocked by a gate leading to nothing...atleast from what I can see. Do you know what is exactly behind that gate. Also, I heard that big glass house has a story behind it. I am interested in your book, where can I buy it? Thank you for your time -- Aly Pecka

response from Slim Pictures:  Aly - Yes, by finding that area blocked off by a gate, you did find the place known as the House on Rainbow Road. I do have a few pictures in my photo gallery section (slimpictures.com/ghostpicture.htm). You can also read the introduction to the Cuba Road chapter, which covers Rainbow Road (slimpictures.com/cubaroad.htm). The CD-ROM that comes with the boook has a number of pictures and video clips of what's beyond those gates. I have heard recently that the remainder of the buildings back there have since been bulldozed in order to construct new homes on the land, but I have not been able to stop by and verify that. What was back there was a three story abandoned mansion that, by many accounts, was incredibly haunted. You can purchase the book online at slimpictures.com/slimstore.htm
The book can also be purchased in person at:
Witchy Wearables
147th & Kilbourn, Midlothian, IL
Ashbary Coffee House
Archer Ave & Willow Springs Rd, Willow Springs, IL 60480

As for the 'big glass house' you speak of, I admit I have no information about it, but I hope that someone speaks up with anything they may have heard.  eMail me here!

response from w00t!! (a fellow reader): I have been there once before last year - about July, maybe August. I saw what looks like more of a barn, and silo, of which also had a doghouse next to it. Laying next to those buildings I saw a foundation for something. it seemed to me to be a foundation for a greenhouse of some sort. I say greenhouse because in the foundation there was broken pots for plants, remains of soil in crevases, nails that looked to have been burned and rusted, and alot of glass. Now this isn't for certain, but I think the glass house Aly speaks of was a greenhouse at one time or another, as for the story behind it....I know nothing of a story behind it. I'd love to hear something about that myself.

I would like to add that when me and my friends went there we decided to look around the backside of the barn and there was a 6 maybe 7 ft tall sliding door (no longer able to slide...the poles and brackets that it had been on rusted together making it impossible to open. The door led into the basement of the barn. When we approached the door written on it was "do not open," "dead bodies inside" scattered across it, my friend who's built like the hulk decided to pull on the handled a couple times till he managed to break the back door off, looking inside of it layed, rolled-up carpets, which were the most prominant items noticable in there along with other junk, we deicded against venturing in because the barn was delapitated and that was just freaky knowing that it was a a mafia house at one time. Also when we looked in the ground-level area there was some phone line in there and other misc. junk like a lawn mower and stuff....maybe people dumped stuff there. Also as for the third level of the barn which, I would not go onto any further than the
stairs, if you looked up there you could see with just the tiniest bit of sunlight beaming in that there was a single sewing machine upstairs.

I heard there was an asylum on the property (which I'm lead to believe is a lie) but, in search of that, we went through the thick forest behind the barn...a path which branchs off into 2 directions will lead you to the forest. There wasnt much to see...there's a small creek, some phone lines and markers for whatever. We went all the way through that forest till we hit some upscale houses. There was no asylum to be found.

On our trip, as mentioned previously by other peopl,e we did see a camera box hidden in the tree with wires yanked out of it and smashed up pretty dang good to the right of the gates. Also I didn't see a thing writen in the road as one person had stated seeing "Dr. Tibol" in it. The road was pretty badly beaten up so, who knows, maybe it's there but I highly doubt it. I was watching the driveway pretty closely because of it being so badly ripped up, I was on bike...if I didn't I woudlve been eating asphault. On bike is a pretty good way of gettng in and out real fast if we needed, if you can I'd recommend that to people if they wanted to look around for themselves.

Side note: January 15th, 2005 after seeing the a bad movie "White Noise," we deicded to go and see the graveyard on Cuba Road so we went down Rainbow Road and drove past where the gates stood when I went to the house in July. The gates arent standing any longer and the tree that had the camera in it was cut down. I'm not sure about this part but I could've sworn seeing a bull dozer sitting mext to where the tree stump was where the camera had been hiden in the tree. None of my friends I was with had knowledge of the house on Rainbow Road so they didn't want to stop to check it out...they didnt believe me that there was anything there from that decievingly long driveway..they were also scared and it was freezing .

We went to the cemetery on Cuba Road...It was quite boring actually...the driver and my other friend didn't wanna go so me and a fourth person went in, jumped the fence to avoid having the huge lightpole turn on next to the gates. Then we got a little too close to the pole after just looking around so it went off and we took off before the cops came....looked for orbs but no such luck :(