Ashley Hood - Haunted Cemeteries of Indiana

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2020 by Ashley Hood

All rights reserved

Front cover: courtesy of Elizabeth Christjansen.

All images are courtesy of Elizabeth Christjansen.

First published 2020

e-book edition 2020

ISBN 978.1.43967.109.2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020938503

print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.671.5

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have to start by thanking Elizabeth Christjansen, my friend and a wonderful photographer, without whom there would be no pictures in this book. Thank you for once again braving the Indiana winter with me and taking some truly fantastic photos of Indianas cemeteries. I promise that the next time around, well visit some warm and toasty indoor locations.

I also have to thank Stephanie Tyler for her willingness to venture out to haunted locations with me and for always being open-minded to the existence of the supernatural. On the flip side of that, thank you to my dad, Greg Cesinger, for always being a skeptic and reminding me that there can sometimes be a natural cause for the things I experience, especially when visiting cemeteries.

A big thank-you to Howard Wooden for words of encouragement and always reminding me that the history of the locations I visit is just as important as the stories of the spirits that remain there.

Lastly, I have to express great gratitude to all of the people who tend to and care for cemeteries, be it the archivists, the landscapers, the tombstone cleaners or the people who volunteer their time to pick up trash. Without you, the gravestones might crumble and the history and the lives of those buried in Indianas cemeteries and graveyards might be lost forever. Thank you again for all you do.

INTRODUCTION

The Hoosier State is often associated with cornfields and auto racing, and though it may not be the first place you think of when it comes to ghosts and hauntings, people have been traveling to Indiana since the first Native Americans inhabited the area as early as 8000 BC; cemeteries have dotted the landscape since that time. Indiana currently has about one hundred thousand cemeteries and burial grounds. Some are massive and ornate, almost park-like, while others lie forgotten, in deep forests or along overgrown riverbanks. Some have even been lost entirely, only to be found when urban progress unearths the remains of an old burial ground or family cemetery. But these graveyards and cemeteries often have one thing in common: they tend to be hauntingly beautiful places regardless of their condition.

My interest in the spirits of Indianas cemeteries and graveyards stems from adventures as a middle-schooler to go spooking with my mom. She was quite versed in the lore of Clay and Vigo Counties in Indiana, so we would venture out to local cemeteries to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary. At the time, we had no fancy equipment, save for an old 110 camera and, later, a 35mm camera. But the spark had been lit. In the years since, I have been able to expand my knowledge of the paranormal and also to visit some well-known haunted locations. But my interest in the ghost stories of Indianas cemeteries and graveyards has always remained. Since that time, my cemetery research has expanded beyond the ghostly residents that may inhabit these locations. Cemeteries have a unique ability to not only keep alive the history of those buried there but also offer a glimpse into the history of a specific city or town and, sometimes, even events that were important to an area.

As a paranormal investigator, I am well aware that many in the field do not give much credence to ghostly activity in cemeteries. This is mostly because many believe that ghosts haunt places that they were familiar with in life, such as their former residences, businesses or locations where they may have spent a great deal of time. For the most part, I agree with this. However, I cannot discount the many tales of ghostly activity reported in cemeteries. Some of these stories involve former graveyard or mortuary employees, grieving family members or, in some instances, events that occurred on the land before the first burial plot was placed there.

Early on in my research, I found that Indiana actually has more haunted cemeteries than I expectedso many, in fact, that I cant possibly cover them all here. In selecting the cemeteries to focus on, I tried to choose locations with a long history of burials and numerous reported accounts of paranormal activity through the years. I visited several cemeteries in each of the three regions of Indiana: northern, central and southern. By doing this, I hope readers can use this book as a roadmap of sorts when exploring Indianas cemeteries, for both paranormal investigations and historical purposes. Before undertaking my adventures to the haunted cemeteries of Indiana, I researched the history and reported paranormal activity of each cemetery as well as the area of Indiana where the cemetery is located. I also attempted to find historical evidence to support the reported ghostly activity and, in some cases, to give the spirits an identity and perhaps tie them to specific people buried in the cemetery. During this tour of Indianas cemeteries, I will also feature some of the strange and bizarre tales, true crimes and urban legends that can be found within these hallowed grounds.

I hope that, after reading the supernatural tales of Indianas cemeteries, you, too, feel compelled to go out and visit some of the locations for yourself. However, I must stress that it is never okay to trespass in cemeteries after hours. And, when visiting, please be as respectful as possible and always remember that cemeteries and graveyards serve as eternal homes for the dead, not only in this life but also possibly in their afterlife.

Happy haunting!

PART I

NORTHERN INDIANA

EWALD CEMETERY
(LITTLE EGYPT CEMETERY)

FIFTH ROAD, BREMEN, IN 46506

MARSHALL COUNTY

HOURS: DAWN UNTIL DUSK

Ewald Cemeteryor Little Egypt, as it is more commonly knownis a horror movieesque little cemetery in the rural farmlands of Bremen, Indiana. It is hidden away on what feels like a dirt path but is actually a road that winds tightly around the cemetery before continuing onward to a well-known Bremen legend called the Troll Bridge. It is a story very much in the vein of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, only quite a bit more terrifying. There are just over one hundred burials on the grounds of Little Egypt, though one would not know it, as the cemetery has been highly vandalized through the years. No more than thirty tombstones remain. In an attempt to curb the damage to the cemetery, a small fence was erected with barbed wire at the top. But this has not stopped vandals from attempting to enter the area, as large holes are visible on both the front and back sides of the fence, leaving the cemetery once again vulnerable to ravagers. Due to this, the area is routinely policed at night, and trespassers are asked to leave.