The history of funerals and funerary customs.

Urban explorers embraced America's now demolished first suburban mall, south of Chicago.

Once known as the Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane.

Despite its name, this fast food museum is actually a replica of the ninth McDonald's store.

A onetime gangsters' hideaway where you can dine on steaks, fine wines, and cigars just like they once did.

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

An abandoned meat mecca now serves as an excellent locale for urban exploration.

In one Chicago park, a trio of werewolves are waiting to devour their fallen brethren.

What was once one of the country's largest confectionary plants is now an abandoned ruin, but is still pretty sweet.

The carved remains of a 200-year-old oak tree memorialize the namesake of the iconic "Wizard of Oz" character.

The sign to a demolished amusement park now stands in front of a local library.

Tucked away amongst townhomes lies a restored, early 20th-century tea house and garden, the only remains of a historic estate.

An exhibit of items from the mental institution where Mary Todd Lincoln lived after her son conspired to have her committed.

The NBA player's elaborate former home is now a ghost of its old glory.

This deceivingly ordinary warehouse hides an enormous collection of pop culture treasures.

This cemetery is all that remains of a school for "wayward" girls.

It was originally part of a "terrible lizards" collection at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

A historic beacon built in the aftermath of the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes.

Planes, trains, and automobiles have all been sunk as attractions at this Illinois diving spot.

In the loving memory of a tragically deceased role-player this Illinois park is decked out with both dungeons and dragons.

This memorial plaque remembers a strangely shallow maritime disaster known as "Chicago's Titanic."

This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

Spanking machines, fake goats, and more devices of humiliation are on display in this museum of fraternal initiation devices.

This historic-shipwreck-cum-diving-spot can still be seen poking its boiler out of the Lake Michigan waters that claimed it.