For those of you that expect ghost hunting to be all about contacting demonic spirits, getting possessed and then telling people that a door slamming is actually a supernatural creature manifesting its hatred for living beings: you would not enjoy the Chicago Ghost Investigations tour. Located in a shady warehouse near Chinatown, Chicago Ghost Investigations offers an expensive, but unique experience using “real” ghost hunting equipment.

Although the dilapidated building is slightly underwhelming, its occupants, whether living or deceased, are anything but ordinary. The alleged ghostly residents of the building range from 1920s prostitutes killed by the mob to living, aspiring rap artists who reek of what the ghost investigators call “ghost spice”(cannabis) and live in the adjacent studio.

As you approach the entrance to the building at 500 W. Cermak, a very excited ghost investigator ushers you to a studio on the second floor. The studio is much like the company’s website: dark, shady, and giving you no information about what you are about to do.

At the very first sight, sound and smell of the studio, one can infer that this is going to be a long night where you are more afraid of encountering the living than the dead.

When at last the tour group shows up, the lead ghost investigator gives you an hour long briefing on all the different aspects involved in being a successful investigator. This presentation includes the difference between an orb and an apparition, the equipment used to communicate with the other side, and countless experiences that the staff have had with supernatural life in the building.

Once the presentation is complete, the staff leads you down to the basement and, locking the door behind you, begins explaining all the best spots to capture communication with the other side. Ominously, all of the best locations were in dark, creepy corners of the building, so encountering a ghost may not be the worst thing that can happen to you.

Finally, after an hour and a half of groping around with electrical equipment (EMF meters, K2 EMF meters, flashlights, and a thermal imager) and copper rods in the dark, attempting to make contact with the supernatural life that apparently only wants to spend their afterlife in a dark, depressing basement of a warehouse, you are brought back upstairs to tell the other ghost hunters about what ghosts you talked to.

This nearly three and a half hour experience costs each person $55 on a weekend and $45 during the week. The only thing truly “spooky” about this ghost hunt is the liability form that everyone must sign upon entering the building.

Bottom Line: If you want to spend a fair amount of money on an experience based purely on human emotion, please spend three hours trapped in a building at Chicago Ghost Investigations.