Hollis, NH – Blood Cemetery, Where Strangers Chat About Ghosts (2001)

No matter what you’ve seen on TV, ghost hunting isn’t filled with drama or apparitions.  Most of the time, the energy is subtle and your experiences will reflect your patience and sensitivity at the site.

It was 2001, and Halloween was fast approaching. On this evening, I felt far more confident that I would capture something.

Also, from earlier ghost hunting experiences, I was using more sensitive film than in the past.

That evening, for some reason, I also felt more welcomed in the cemetery.

I don’t like going to cemeteries alone. That’s not because of ghosts, but because it’s foolish for a woman to be alone in a deserted place.

Also, using a flash camera can attract unwanted attention from anyone passing by.

However, on this evening – on a whim – I arrived alone.

When I arrived, another young woman was in the cemetery. She said she was taking a walk, and always liked to pause at Pine Hill Road’s Cemetery.

Remember, this was in 2001. “Ghost Hunters” TV series – which helped popularize ghost hunting – didn’t air until 2004. Ghost hunting wasn’t mainstream yet.

So, it could have been awkward to admit to looking for ghosts at that cemetery.

To my surprise, it wasn’t. My new companion seemed enthusiastic about the ghosts and spirits she regularly encountered at that cemetery.

We chatted about the history of the cemetery, its ghosts, the missing gravestones, and so on.

And then, she left.

I did not feel ‘alone’ in the cemetery this time, but I also didn’t fear whatever was with me.

Some stones seemed to attract me more than others, but I also knew I needed to click the shutter at just the right moment, to catch the ghosts’ elusive images.

I left, feeling certain that I had at least one anomaly on film. It seemed as if the cemetery was getting comfortable with me, and vice versa.

Several photos had odd lights in them; I’m fairly certain they are just reflections of an animal’s eyes in the low shrubs that surround the cemetery. The quality of them is very different from the orbs.

(Next time I will arrive earlier and wait longer before taking photos. And I probably won’t go alone, for normal safety reasons.)

Most popular Blood Cemetery gravestones and nearby areas

• I particularly like the headstone of ‘Mrs. Elizabeth’ in the oldest section of the cemetery (southwest corner). It has a comforting but eerie ambience.
• The young woman on that October evening walk commented that she’s drawn to the Farley sisters, whose stones disappeared several years ago. (Modern markers have replaced those stones, in the southeast side of the cemetery.)
• Of course, the Abel Blood gravestone is legendary. Unfortunately, it’s been stolen (and brought back, hastily) several times. I don’t recommend spending much time around it.
• At the far left, back side of the cemetery, and at the far right, front side of the cemetery, you may sense a different kind of energy. To me, it didn’t seem ghostly. It’s something else, and while it seems rather sweet, I’m not sure that I’d trust it.

In general, Blood Cemetery on Pine Hill Road (Hollis, NH) is a truly nice, rural location. Visit it when you’re near Nashua, NH. It’s a little over an hour north of Boston, Massachusetts.