A tale of two cemeteries

As the title says, what follows is one of my old "adventures" so to speak as being a "self investigating" ghost hunter.

Back about 5-6 years ago, I decided to spend a weekend doing my own "ghostly" investigations into two of my local cemeteries: The first was abandoned, and had no "new" graves since the 1920's. The second cemetery is still in use today, and is quite large (it's also open to the public - many people use it as an impromptu "walking park").

Both had an extensive history (according to online resources). The abandoned cemetery is surrounded by woods, and it's rumored to be haunted by voices. The second cemetery is rumored to have had several accidents, including an "insane" man being shot & killed inside the cemetery. There have also been several fatal car accidents on and around the property as well.

My first stop was the abandoned cemetery, which can be reached by following a small path through the woods. Upon arriving, I noticed that there was a "stillness" in the woods (usually, one would hear bird calls at the least), and even the cars on the road close by seemed dim (could have been caused by the trees blocking out the noise). My footsteps seemed to be the loudest sound that I could hear.

When I entered the cemetery, I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary - I took several photographs with my phone (of which I may add later, if there's a big demand for them). Out of the thirty or so taken, only 1 had a possible orb included (NOTE: I did this investigation during daylight hours, so at the least, it wasn't "dust particles" on the camera lens). I did feel like I was being watched, but in a laid-back, lazy sort of way (Kind of like how you may sometimes watch a bird or squirrel from a window). The only "disturbing" aspect to the cemetery was that there was a mulberry tree growing from one of the graves.

The other cemetery, on the other hand, was something that scared me enough to not want to go back (at least, for the following year). Unlike the first, as soon as I stepped onto the cemetery property, I felt like I was being watched. The same "stillness" was there; it didn't feel "inviting", but rather seemed to hold a warning. The farther I went into the cemetery, the worse this feeling became.

At first, I shrugged off the feeling, and started to take pictures, particularly of some of the more elaborate headstones. My main "goal" was to go through the various portions of the cemetery, and just take photos of anything that seemed out of the ordinary (there were several symbolic gravestones on the south side, near the children's section). Eventually, I found myself going towards a stone pedestal in the south-west corner of the cemetery - and the feeling of being watched came back with a full force. What made this pedestal so "creepy" was that on each of the six sides, there was a figure carved so that the eyes followed you no matter which way you looked at them. Now, it is quite possible I spooked myself out, but the feeling was getting to be too much for me to handle.

I decided to start heading back the way I came, as it already felt like I overstayed my welcome. This is where my tale seems to take a somewhat dark turn. I decided it was best (for me, anyway), to take my time leaving the cemetery (I figured that theoretically, if any "spirits" were in the cemetery, and they "saw" that I was leaving, then they would leave me alone). The problem was, that I apparently didn't leave quick enough - for a couple moments, it seemed like the sun had dimmed, and that the wind picked up. I started getting a headache (this usually happens when the pressure is changing, as in when a storm is on the way), which caused me to move even quicker. The weirdest effect happened when I took a shortcut (went off the paved path) to get out of the cemetery - In a sense, it felt like time was slowing down; it was almost as if I was struggling against something to get out (my legs felt like I had just got done walking 13 miles). As soon as I reached the other side of the sidewalk, everything "went away" - I found that I was moving normal, my headache was gone, and I could hear the sounds that you would normally hear in the summer.

As a side note, I happened to be in a metaphysical shop on a trip up North, and told the owner about what I experienced. He casually asked if I believed in spirits, and upon asking why, responded that he used to be a "ghost hunter" with an organization in the UP of Michigan - many of the symptoms that I "felt" during my investigation were things he felt constantly. This was a couple years after the event. His theory, at least to the second cemetery, was that at some point in my investigations, I made a couple or more spirits "upset" - either by taking photos or even going too close to someone's grave. The reason that I felt and saw what I did was because that was the only way they could let me know it was time to leave. Finally, he said that had I stayed on the paved path, I probably wouldn't have "struggled" to get out - as all the spirits were "trying" to do was have me out by the correct path (and not by cutting between the gravestones).

Anyway, I thought ATS might enjoy hearing a couple "true" (true in quotes, as I'm the only one that experienced everything) ghost stories.

-fossilera

NOTE: I do apologize for the "chunky" style of my writing on this one, as I'm re-reading my old notes. I decided to post the notes exactly as I wrote them, to prevent making "false memories".

My own experince was a couple of years ago, Im camping with my friends and were at one of those cabin style areas, it was 11:pm and we decided to sleep but as we were drifting away you could here my name echoing everywhere and I swear there was something outside and as I was exploring one day I got a headache
That's it

reply to post by fossilera

I really appreciate the theme of your thread. IMO,it's true that different cemeteries have completely different characters and personalities to them...in much the same manner that some communities vary so much in character, personality and feeling. I believe the inhabitants are responsible for any community, be they communities of the living...or the dead.

Originally posted by Thereisonlytruth
My own experince was a couple of years ago, Im camping with my friends and were at one of those cabin style areas, it was 11:pm and we decided to sleep but as we were drifting away you could here my name echoing everywhere and I swear there was something outside and as I was exploring one day I got a headache

That's it

I normally get the headaches when a storm is anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour away (It came in handy when going hiking, as I knew that if a headache was forming, a bigger one in the form of my parents would form if I was caught out in the storm). As for your experience, I'd be interested to hear more (feel free to IM, or "take" control of my thread if you want - I don't mind ).

Originally posted by IAMTAT
reply to post by fossilera

 

I really appreciate the theme of your thread. IMO,it's true that different cemeteries have completely different characters and personalities to them...in much the same manner that some communities vary so much in character, personality and feeling. I believe the inhabitants are responsible for any community, be they communities of the living...or the dead.

I know, right? I find that usually the older cemeteries seem to be the more peaceful ones (back in my home town, I was part of the Memorial Day services every year - when we went out to the cemetery there, it was almost as if the spirits were proud to see everyone participating (they apparently didn't like photos though, as a lot of our cameras died once we entered the gates). Maybe this year I'll bring extra batteries, and have a couple more tales to tell.


-fossilera