Long before Covid, Chicago was no strangers to health scares. Cholera epidemics in the mid 19th century brought the city to its knees, and the city was shut down during the 1918 pandemic (though some people kept throwing parties and refused to wear masks).

This virtual tour of Graceland Cemetery will cover victims and fighters of the old pandemics, with side trips to discuss 19th century diseases such as cholera infantum, consumption, and more - as well details on how science helped us fight them. Entire pages of the cemetery's interment ledger are given to cholera victims from 1866, and many victims of the cholera epidemics of 1854 and 1848 were moved here from City Cemetery.

The virtual tour will use live narration over existing footage, with additional photos and ephemera to bring the stories to life - there are pages of 1918 newspapers where people argue about masks, 1850s papers giving tips on how to avoid cholera, and others that could practically be copied and pasted into today's news!

Tour guide Adam Selzer and is the author of several Chicago History books, such as MYSTERIOUS CHICAGO, HH HOLMES: THE TRUE HISTORY and the upcoming "Who's Who" book for Graceland Cemetery (University of IL Press, 2021). He's a regular on TV, as well, talking strange history on such shows as American Ripper, Mysteries at the Museum, Haunted History, Monumental Mysteries, and more.

HOW TO WATCH - it's easy!

- The event will be broadcast live via Facebook Live on the Mysterious Chicago facebook page. ( http://www.facebook.com/mysteriouschicago )

- ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is be on that page after the broadcast starts (we usually start shortly before the scheduled start time and give people a few minutes to join in), then click “play” on the video. You won't need a code or to log in.

- If you “like” the Mysterious Chicago page you can set it to notify you when the page starts broadcasting! And if you want practice, or to make sure it works on your system, we broadcast “mini tours” nearly every day at 10am central.

-The event is free to watch. No tickets or codes will be required. Donations are suggested either via this page, venmo (adamchicago), paypal (adam@mysteriouschicago.com) or by joining patreon.com/adamchicago.

- If you miss it, never fear - it'll be on the "videos" section of the facebook page for some time after the live broadcast.

If you aren't familiar with FB live and can't seem to get it to work, here are some trouble shooting tips:

- There is no special code or special link, and you won't be asked for a ticket. Just be on the main Mysterious Chicago Facebook page. (not the event page or an old post, just regular old http://facebook.com/mysteriouschicago )

- If you are on the site and don’t see “Happening Now” or “Mysterious Chicago is Live” try refreshing and scrolling down a bit. Or restarting your app.

- Similarly, if you're watching and it freezes or you lose the audio, refresh the page or restart your app.

- And make sure you’re not mistaking the date or time zone! We regularly get comments from people who are trying to watch on the wrong date or time. All times are central.

- Beware of spam and scam sites!

- Note that clicking “follow” on the eventbrite page only means that you’re now following this company on eventbrite, and will get notices about new event postings. The button doesn’t do anything particular to the event. You don’t have to push it.

- If none of this works for you, you may have connection, device or settings issues. Consult facebook.com/help.

Under Section 4-156-720 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, this performing arts venue may not charge an admission fee, minimum purchase requirement, membership fee, or other fee or charge imposed for the privilege of entering the premises. Any donations are purely voluntary