10/15/2026
Description of food court so good! The only thing missing is mentioning the new Burger Bounce and Kansai have some fantastic food offerings! When the Water Park opens up perhaps the Mall will thrive again!
The Ghosts Of Northfield Square Mall
Bradley, IL — A strange presence can be felt wandering the nearly deserted corridors of Northfield Square Mall, where the occasional shopper can still be spotted drifting past empty storefronts, usually killing time before their movie starts at Cinemark Movies 10.
What was once a bustling Midwestern shopping destination has become something resembling the Backrooms, a seemingly endless maze of fluorescent lighting, vacant retail spaces, and unsettling silence, broken only by the distant footsteps of someone trying to remember what used to be there.
Gone are the days of Sears, JCPenney, Carson Pirie Scott, and Venture, when families spent entire afternoons shopping, teenagers gathered with friends, and the mall served as the social center of Kankakee County.
But while the stores have disappeared, some believe their spirits remain.
Visitors have reported hearing faint whispers of long-forgotten sales echoing through the corridors. Disembodied voices announce 50% off clearance racks at Carson's, while somewhere in the distance, an unseen employee at Bath & Body Works still desperately tries to convince customers to buy five bottles of lotion.
Witnesses claim to hear faint explosions, electronic gunfire, and the familiar music of games being demonstrated at EB Games. Some have even reported seeing the ghostly silhouettes of children trading in their old games and getting absolutely housed by the adult employee on the trade-in value.
Others describe the unsettling sensation of passing an empty storefront and suddenly remembering Suncoast Motion Picture Company, a store that once sold VHS and DVDs for the price of a Netflix subscription, but hey, at least you owned it.
Yet perhaps the most frightening encounter occurs when visitors pass Jimmy Holmes' store and discover that someone is not only still operating a business inside Northfield Square, but appears genuinely happy to be there.
Witnesses describe Holmes' pleasant demeanor, enthusiastic salesmanship and willingness to engage customers as deeply unsettling in a building where most human interaction has been replaced by the hum of fluorescent lights.
The hauntings are perhaps strongest near the former food court, where visitors occasionally detect the unmistakable aroma of grilled steak and onions from the long-closed Great Steak & Potato Company.
Others report the sweet, syrupy smell of glazed chicken drifting from the long-closed King Wok, where the ghost of a hungry shopper still waits for a free sample.
Perhaps most disturbing are reports of a teenage apparition standing behind the counter of the former A&W, endlessly preparing root b**r floats for customers who haven't arrived in decades.
The Village of Bradley's acquisition of Northfield Square and plans for a major redevelopment, including a proposed indoor water park and potential hotel development, could eventually bring new life to the property.
Whenever construction begins, some hope the transformation will finally release the spirits still imprinted upon the old storefronts, allowing the mall to move beyond its past and become something meaningful to the community once again.
Until then, the ghosts of Northfield Square will continue wandering its quiet corridors, forever searching for friends, a slice of pizza, a new CD or the entrance to a department store that closed years ago.
And somewhere in the distance, a faint voice can still be heard.
"Welcome to Suncoast. Can I help you find anything?"
