Some teenagers in the
northwest suburbs think of Cuba Road in Barrington as an
enticingly scary place. Locals simply think of it as a peaceful
country road.
And they'd like to keep it
that way.
The sequel to a student
spook film about Cuba Road is scheduled to be released in January,
but Cuba Township officials, who have been struggling to protect
the sanctity of White Cemetery on Cuba Road, say they are not at
all entertained.
Independent movies like
"Return to Cuba Road" and the original version,
"Legends of Cuba Road," or anything else that
perpetuates myths about hauntings on Cuba Road, only draws more
people to the area, increases the likelihood of vandalism, and
disrespects the dead and their living loved ones, Cuba Township
officials say.
"To suggest that the
spirits of people's loved ones are roaming around the cemetery is
not exactly respectful," Cuba Township Highway Commissioner
Tom Gooch said.
When asked from where
these ghost stories emanated, Gooch said, "The same place as
Long John Silver or Peter Pan -- somebody's overactive
imagination. The problem is Peter Pan is entertaining and hurts no
one."
In recent years, Cuba
Township has increased security at White Cemetery, a small plot
where some of the Barrington-area's original settlers are buried,
because gravestones were either being damaged or stolen.
Just last year, the
township instituted a rule that anyone found in the cemetery after
sunset would be arrested. The rule applied to a group of Buffalo
Grove teenagers just a couple weeks ago, and the township plans on
pressing charges, Cuba Township Supervisor David Nelson said.
Nelson said the township
is paying thousands of dollars for cemetery security. When paying
Lake County Sheriff's police to stake out at the cemetery gets too
expensive, Cuba Township officers are paid overtime to personally
guard the graveyard. A security camera has also been installed.
At times the cemetery is
locked and closed to everyone, even to families whose love ones
are buried there. Those families have to call the township to ask
for access.
"All (the film) does
is give more negative attention to the cemetery and limits us
financially," Nelson said. "Our inability to keep it
open around the clock is saddening to us."
Security is extra tight
during Halloween, when people try to soak in the holiday with a
good scare by searching for legendary ghosts along Cuba Road,
specifically in White Cemetery. Those who aren't being arrested
are being turned away at the gates.
"There have been a
ton of people trying to get in there," Gooch said. "And
it's not just kids. It's also adults who should know better."
Gooch said the activity
also presents a safety hazard. People driving past the cemetery
are slowing down or stopping completely on the two-lane road to
take pictures with flashes or electronic strobes, which are
believed to expose ghosts that cannot be seen by the naked eye. At
times other motorists on Cuba Road, where the posted speed limit
is 30 mph, suddenly have to avoid rear-ending the tourists.
The films are projects by
CNGM Pictures, a student-run film studio based in Palatine. The
producers and actors were Fremd High School seniors last year when
they made the original and are now college underclassmen studying
theater and film.
Michael P. Noens and J.
Spencer Greene in an e-mail statement representing CNGM Pictures
stated the goal of the group is to teach students the craft of
filmmaking through different genres, including the
"supernatural/suspense" genre.
"The Legends of Cuba
Road," they said, "teaches the screenwriter how to adapt
published stories that are in existence to the screen, how to be
inspired by tales of events, whether true or myth, and how to
create an intriguing work of entertainment based on those
sources."
Noens and Greene said that
because it is a student film it has had limited screenings. Since
being completed 18 months ago "The Legends of Cuba Road"
has been screened only three times to small audiences, the
majority of which were comprised of adults over 30.
"The film neither
shows nor even mentions any vandalism," they said. "The
producers definitely do not condone that kind of behavior and find
it very unlikely that this film did or will encourage anyone to
take such action."
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