Nashua – Schoolhouse Cemetery orb
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Schoolhouse Cemetery, Nashua, NH
31 October 1999, about 8 p.m.
(full-size photo below)
Photographer’s comments: After my camera refused to work on Halloween night at Blood Cemetery in Hollis, I visited Schoolhouse Cemetery in Nashua, NH, to prove to myself that there was nothing wrong with my camera or the film.
Schoolhouse Cemetery never felt very haunted. I’ve heard no local tales about it. Frankly, it’s on busy Daniel Webster highway, across the street from Bickford’s, with a large apartment complex in back of it.
Generally, I stay out of it to because I’m concerned about the living, not the dead who might be there. The cemetery has no light in it at all. The deeper you go into it, the creepier it gets. But I can’t say that it’s a really “haunted” feeling–just creepy.
On Halloween night, the highway was nearly deserted. I knew I could take these photos at the entrance to the cemetery, without risking intrusion, flares, or reflections from apartment or shopping center lights. As you can see from the photos, it was very dark that night.
The orb on the right took me by surprise when I picked up my prints. When I show my “ghost photos” and negatives, this is the one that impresses most professional photographers.
As usual, these two photos were taken within seconds of each other from the same location.
The schoolhouse is boarded up. There are many headstones in the cemetery, but only one shows in the photo.
Camera: Olympus AF-1, point-and-shoot
Film type: Kodak Gold ASA 800 color film, 35mm
Negative shows: Same image. No splash of chemicals, no marks on the negative.
Developed and printed by: Shaw’s Supermarket overnight photo service
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Umm, Fiona, did you try checking that gravestone? The one the Orb is nearby. There might be a story behind that person’s name, grave, and death as if a long history or something like that (mabey not)
You’re right. It never crossed my mind to research the person in that grave. I was so rattled when the camera worked again, and then when a professional examined the photo and film and confirmed that it’s an anomaly…!
We’ll definitely see who’s names are on that headstone and stones nearby, and schedule this for future research.
Thanks for some great ideas and observations!
Ms. Fiona I am new to this but if you look really closely you can see different pictures of 2 different mens faces in the tree branch. It is in the top right hand corner, the last brance in the picture. Hope that helps you out some.
Hi Ms. broome.
I live in Nashua and pass by this cemetery almost everyday. I’ve never heard anything weird about this place but I’ve always felt “funny” when there and just had the feeling that something was here, watching. So Thanks for showing my husband I’m not losing it and to trust your intuition.
Joanne,
You’re not losing it. After all my years in this field, I still get a little creeped out by something — I’m not sure what — at the back of that cemetery. That always seems weird to me, because the Royal Crest apartments are directly in back of it, and it’s well-lit once you’re back there and near the apartment complex’s lights.
I don’t have an answer, but I’d believe the rumor that the Rev. Mr. Parris — who fueled the Salem Witch Hysteria — is in an unmarked grave there. I doubt that he ever rested easy after so many innocent people were killed, based on events that began in his household.
Sincerely,
Fiona