The Chicago Spirit's symbol
The Chicago Spirit was the largest paranatural criminal organization in the Western hemisphere during the 20th century.
Overview[]
Based in Chicago, Illinois, the group's influence extended to most major cities in the United States, particularly New York, Boston, New Orleans, and Lost Angeles. The Spirit was known for recruiting individuals with paranatural capabilities, as well as creating and exploiting anomalous artifacts for use in its criminal activities. They have been an affront to organizations such as Libra, the Federal Bureau of Control, and the Global Occult Coalition during their early days.
Various artifacts have been discovered which imply the group's involvement, though a conclusive link has yet to be proven. Furthermore, recent evidence has revealed the emergence of a new syndicate calling itself "The Chicago Spectre", which seems to operate primarily in anomalous underground communities. The syndicate has engaged in numerous conflicts with Libra.
Biography[]
The Spirit was founded in 1895 by Chicago resident and bar owner Richard D. Chappell, who was himself a paranatural entity. Despite years of efforts, the Bureau remained largely unsuccessful in its attempts to suppress Chappell's rise to power, due in part to its limited resources at the time as a result of an ongoing internal crisis. In January of 1919, the F. B. C. officially suspended all opposition against the Chicago Spirit to ensure their cooperation in preventing the spread of AI-2680. Once allowed to operate unimpeded, the Spirit flourished into a nationwide syndicate and eventually became a driving force in the illegal distribution of alcohol during the Prohibition Era.
Thanks to the success of its bootlegging businesses, the Chicago Spirit continued to amass power over North American markets and politics throughout the 1920s, and the F. B. C. was eventually forced to terminate its truce with the group in order to prevent the complete dissolution of scientific normalcy. On July 11th 1933, Richard Chappell was finally apprehended by operatives of the Global Occult Coalition following a raid on the Spirit's base of operations. In the absence of its leader, the group gradually destabilized, and most of its members and assets were acquired by other organizations. As of 1938, the Foundation officially considers the Chicago Spirit to be defunct.
However, rumors of the Spirit's continued survival have persisted in subsequent decades.