Inside the Gold Room at the Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Feb. 14, 2013. Original Material.

Update (Aug. 12, 2015): We added links to the other investigation areas at the end of this post. Please click those to continue reading about our ghostly encounters at the Congress Hotel.

We began the investigation at 10 PM on the 12th floor of the south tower. Our equipment included:

• Mel Meter (EMF)
• Digital Camera
• IR Digital Camera
• Digital Voice Recorder (EVP)
• Ghost Meter (EMF)
• Digital Thermometer
• Spirit Box

Our best piece of equipment wasn’t equipment at all: It was psychic medium, Colleen. She connected us to nearby spirits, who guided us to the interesting parts of the hotel.

One of the spirits, Gwinny, died in the Congress during the 1920s or 30s. She was a prostitute who was strangled. Gwinny seemed aware that she was dead. Tonya, the second spirit, joined Gwinny, but she didn’t communicate with us. Tonya only watched what we were doing. Overall, most spirits continue their business at the hotel. They don’t seemed concerned about ghost hunters and the public.

Image: Looking down the stairwell from the 12th floor of the south tower. The EMF spike happened here.

Colleen guided us to the central stairwell next. As we entered the area, Colleen said “Whoa! There’s a lot of people in here!” At this time, our EMF meters reported surges. The Mel meter recorded levels up to 7.8 mG. We tried to debunk the surge, but none of the electrical items (lights, elevators, service phone, utility closets) reported EMF over 1.6 mG.

We did experience more ghostly activity on the 3rd floor by the stairwell again.

Links to investigation areas:

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Conclusion
• EVP Analysis Pt. 1
• EVP Analysis Pt. 2

Last updated on April 7, 2025 by Jacob Rice