Category: Haunted Cemeteries

Haunted cemetery locations and how to find the ghosts in them.

Avoid Legal Consequences at Haunted Cemeteries

video camera warning to ghost hunters
graphic courtesy of Jason Antony and FreeImages.com

In the past, ghost hunters could discreetly slip into haunted sites that weren’t clearly open to the public. If it was public property – or abandoned – and it wasn’t posted, some investigators thought, “Why not?”

I’ve always advised against investigating sites that aren’t clearly open to the public for ghost research.

For example, in New England, Danvers (MA) State Hospital site has been notorious for trespassing, vandalism, and arrests of well-meaning ghost enthusiasts.

It’s one of many locations with eerie reputations, and vigilant security or police patrols.

Like many other locations in isolated spots, it’s easy for police to observe trespassers from a distance. Ghost hunters are at risk as soon as they drive up the road or driveway, or turn on their flashlights. Quite literally, they shed light on their own crimes.

Modern equipment and the police

Today, surveillance cameras and other devices – similar to the tools we use in our research – make trespassing even more risky.

The following December 2015 story –  from KUTV (Utah, USA) – is a good example of what can happen if you break the law.

‘Haunted’ Property Owner Asks Trespassers to Keep Out

By Amy Nay Sunday, December 13th 2015

(KUTV)In Northern Utah, authorities are looking to the public in help finding a few people they want to talk to after vandalism was discovered at a former Catholic retreat believed to be haunted. The pictures are clear, taken from surveillance video a new property owner installed in recent weeks… Despite multiple signs posted on the property – “No Trespassing” and “Keep Out”, threatening fines and jail time for violators, individuals are still coming through the area… In some publications and online sites, the area has been described as a good ghost hunting location, a fun place to take a date and get a thrill, but authorities say this is no laughing matter. (Emphasis added.)

That particular location – St. Anne’s, in Logan Canyon – is mentioned at many websites, including credible YouTube videos, as a reliable place to find ghosts. You can even find St. Anne’s ghost story at otherwise-trustworthy websites like the Weird US site.

This is why you must investigate site accessibility, even before you decide if a location might be haunted enough to explore.

If you don’t, or if you choose to risk getting caught, the quality of surveillance footage – day or night – can be good enough to convict you.

Don’t expect to see warning signs.

Don’t waste your time looking for the cameras, either. They can be tiny or well-concealed in hollowed-out tree branches or fence posts.

Modern surveillance equipment has become inexpensive and easy to use. Many locations are using it to detect trespassers, and fine them for vandalism they might be responsible for.

In the case of the Utah ghost hunters, that’s a $10,000 door that someone had kicked in.

(Really, if you’re facing a jury and trying to explain that, yes, you did trespass, but no, you didn’t damage anything, do you expect them to believe you? Is ghost hunting worth that risk?)

More about trespassing and the law

Trespassing can be a felony in some American communities. Jail time can be as much as a year, and fines can be as high as $4,000 per person, at the discretion of the judge.

If you’re an American convicted of a felony, you can be denied your right to vote in the U.S. You can also be denied travel to some other countries, including Canada and parts of Europe. If an employer or landlord runs a background check on you, a felony conviction looks very bad.

Since my earliest articles at Yankee Haunts (mid-1990s) and HollowHill.com, I’ve always focused on haunted locations people can investigate, with permission. Nearly all sites I talk about – at websites, on TV and radio, and in books – are open to the public.

What happened to the kids who were caught in Utah could happen to anyone. Don’t take that chance.

How to stay safe

If you’re not sure whether a location is open to the public for ghost investigations:

  • Visit the location and look for signs, or ask the staff (if any) about restrictions.
  • Ask the reference librarian at the local public library, or check with the regional historical society.
  • Stop at the local visitors’ center or chamber of commerce, and verify the location and the hours it’s open to the public.

Of course, I always recommend visiting each haunted site during the daytime, to evaluate it for research and plan your investigation.

But, if that’s not possible, be sure to confirm when the location is open to the public for ghost hunting, and if any fees, rules, or limits apply.

Or, limit your ghost hunting to daytime hours, as well as ghost tours, public ghost hunting events, and ghost vigils.

Learn the best ways to find ghosts, in local (and legal!) places…

Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries - A How-To Guide - Classic Edition by Fiona BroomeGHOST HUNTING IN HAUNTED CEMETERIES – A How-To Guide : CLASSIC EDITION

Step into the eerie realm of haunted cemeteries.

In “Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries – Classic Edition,” you’ll learn to discover haunted cemeteries near you, pinpoint the most active areas, and identify the graves most likely to hold supernatural secrets.

With step-by-step instructions and expert tips, you’ll learn how to conduct thorough investigations that reveal the true nature of haunted cemeteries and graveyards.

This is the classic guide, updated and expanded. It goes far beyond the basics. Whether you’re a seasoned ghost hunter, or someone intrigued by eerie places, this book is your key to unlocking the mysteries that lie within haunted cemeteries.

Available at Amazon and other booksellers.

And this may help you find haunted graves…

Haunted, Unmarked Quaker Graves?

Old North Cemetery, described at HollowHill.comIn my book about haunted cemeteries, I mentioned ghost hunting opportunities at unmarked graves, and graves just outside cemetery walls.

At the time, I described many of them as the graves of “sinners,” or people whose lives (or deaths) did not allow them to be buried in consecrated ground.

During a recent Saturday investigation in Concord (NH), I discovered another explanation for those graves.

The answer surprised me.  It’s Quakers (also known as “Friends.”)

Quakers and unmarked graves

Apparently, between 1717 and 1850, gravestones and memorials at cemeteries were considered “vain monuments” and – according to a decree by members of the Quaker faith – had to be removed from Quaker graves.

In other words, some (perhaps many) unmarked graves aren’t anonymous because the families were too poor to afford gravestones, or because the markers were stolen, but because the burial plots belonged to Quakers.

On the other side of the fence (literally, in this case), mainstream Christians objected to members of the Friends Church or Religious Society of Friends – generally known as “Quakers” – being buried in consecrated ground.  This was because Quakers aren’t baptized, or – in Quaker terms – “sprinkled.”

This adds up to a disturbing thought, though it may explain why some homes and fields seem haunted, with no obvious explanation:

Quakers have been buried in fields, and family plots – also unmarked – near their homes.  In other words, you may have walked over Quaker graves many times without realizing it.

Old North Cemetery, Concord, NH

I discovered this during some post-investigation research about the Old North Cemetery in Concord, New Hampshire.  I’d been there with Lesley Marden and Sean Paradis, and we spent about two and a half hours researching the site.

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.Sean and I had been there before, and I’d investigated the cemetery on my own, during daytime hours.  (It’s on the edge of downtown Concord, in the middle of a busy residential area.)

Though the site may be haunted after dark, and we noticed many anomalies at the cemetery, I don’t consider Old North Cemetery profoundly haunted.  It is intriguing, nevertheless.

The cemetery is L-shaped and covers nearly six acres and – according to the National Historic Register application – it’s comprised of three areas: The main cemetery, the Minot Enclosure (sort of a cemetery-within-a-cemetery), and the Quaker Lot.  (That’s not quite true, as I’ll explain in a few minutes.)

The cemetery was in most frequent use between 1730 and 1958.

The Quaker Lot

Looking through the fence, past Minot Enclosure in Concord, NHThough I’d been to Old North Cemetery before, I hadn’t noticed the odd, open field in the back of the Minot Enclosure.  That field has just a few markers, and one of them reminded us of a bunker marker.

It’s indicated by the arrow, and the Friends’ (Quaker) marker is in the oval.  That part of the cemetery is separated from the Minot Enclosure by a cast iron fence (with a break in it) and a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.

To reach the Quaker burial lot, you’ll exit Minot and walk through the main Old North Cemetery, to where the Quaker Lot begins.  (It’s not fenced off from the main cemetery.)

Once you’re standing in what looks like an open field, about 10,000 square feet, you’ll see just a few markers.  The main one is the slanted memorial listing many of the people buried in the Quaker Lot.  The lot was purchased in 1811, according to the terms of the will of Benjamin Hannaford. He’s one of the people buried in the lot.

At left is the memorial marker.  (Due to the late-afternoon lighting, I had to increase the contrast in this photo, for the lettering to show at all.)

At the back of that memorial, you can see a metal marker for Levi Hutchins.  I think it’s a military marker, and it’s just sort of leaning there.  No one knows where Levi Hutchins was buried, so there’s no actual place for the marker.

On the other hand, Levi Hutchins’ wife, Phebe, does have a gravestone.  Levi flew in the face of Quaker traditions and commissioned a headstone for his late wife.  That’s it in the photo at the lower right.

Phebe Hutchins gravestone in Concord NHThe history of the Quakers in Concord is an interesting story.

The part that caught my attention was that the Friends (Quakers) built a meetinghouse in 1815, but in 1816 the state bought the land from them (it’s where the Concord State House is, now) . The city moved the meetinghouse to a location just east of the Quaker burial lot, fronting on North State Street.  (Sean, Lesley, and I had wondered about the odd landmarks on the property.)

In those days, that was the edge of the city.

In 1845, the meetinghouse was sold and moved again, to become a school building.  The land it was on was purchased by the city in 1911, for the sum of $300, because it was “in a very bad condition and a disgrace to our city.”

So, that’s an added reason why the Quaker Lot (and land near it) may be more active than other parts of the Old North Cemetery.

And, from the popular, gated entrance to the cemetery at Bradley Street, the Quaker Lot is – as you might expect – at the back left corner.

Quaker-related activity at Minot Enclosure?

We spent considerable time at the Minot Enclosure, an exclusive section of the Old North Cemetery, surrounded by an elaborate cast iron fence and containing 62 graves.  There, we noticed that random gravestones had been turned so they faced slightly away from the Quaker Lot.

Those random and very slight turns weren’t consistent with vandalism.  That was one of many mysteries we wondered about as we walked around the cemetery.

Now that we know about the Quaker Lot, Sean Paradis has raised an interesting question:

The Quakers in the Quaker Lot are from a time when gravestones were considered “vain monuments.”  Just feet away, the Minot Enclosure is where the 14th U.S. president, Franklin Pierce, is buried. Might the activity within the Minot Enclosure be based on the mutual uneasiness of the Quakers and the upper social register in the Minot Enclosure?

That’s a stretch, but it’s fun to speculate.

However, as I was studying the cemetery records, I realized that Old North Cemetery isn’t just a combination of three cemeteries.  I discovered a fourth section of the cemetery, not often mentioned.

The Prison Lot

Original NH State Prison - 1860 photoAccording to the National Historic Register application, “The Prison Lot, comprised of a long 10′ x 75′ rectangular lot just west of lots #384 and #385 in the center of the cemetery, appears on all maps drawn after the 1844 western addition to Old North Cemetery.”

The report also states that the cemetery records note that there are at least a dozen graves there, but no records of the names of the deceased in those graves.

And, since the old State Prison – built in 1811 – was replaced in 1880, there’s probably no way to determine who might be in those graves. (The photo on the left shows that 1811 prison, on two acres near the Court House.  It was attached to a three-story superintendent’s house.)

Unmarked graves + prisoners + no records of any kind to tell us who they were… That’s a formula for hauntings.  (If anyone’s giving “ghost tours” of downtown Concord, NH, take note.)

If you’re going to investigate those graves, be sure to check the chronological history of the NH State Prison.

And, in general, if you’re going to visit or investigate Old North Cemetery, I recommend reading the full National Historic Register application, linked below.

(Note: I’ve tried downloading it three times, and it consistently crashes my Adobe PDF reader.  If that happens to you, notice which page you’re on when it crashes, and then use the “go to” page function when you reopen the PDF, to pick up where you left off.)

Both the main cemetery and the Minot Enclosure deserve separate articles, which I’ll write later.  Today, it’s important to share what I learned about Quaker burial practices.  Remember, as it says in one history of the Society of Friends, “By 1700 the Society gained considerable influence in most of the New England and middle-Atlantic colonies. Quaker migration to the southern colonies, especially North Carolina…”

In other words, unmarked Quaker graves – and even unmarked (and forgotten) Quaker burial lots – may exist throughout the eastern United States, as well as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Canada.

What you need to know about all Quaker graves and burial lots

  • Expect no grave markers for burials before the late 1840s.
  • Quaker graves could be in Quaker burial grounds, near the person’s home, at the far corner of a family farm or homestead, or in a rural location.  I found one reference that said Quakers “always regarded the physical remains of a person as spiritually insignificant.”
  • The burial was intended to be as inexpensive as possible, within the law.  One Quaker historian commented, “Well into the 20th century, it was not unusual for a country burial to have an unembalmed body.”
  • In some Quaker cemeteries, especially before 1850, coffins were placed in the first available slot in the cemetery, not in family groups.  Philadelphia’s Arch Street burial ground (between Third and Fourth Streets), in use until 1804, was organized so the coffins were four layers deep and none had markers of any kind.
  • Despite rumors and folklore, I found no evidence of any Friends (or Quakers) being buried upright.  There was no rule against that practice, but no provision for it, either.
  • In the 20th century and later, Quakers generally chose cremation.

Quaker beliefs about death

I’ll let William Penn have the final word about the Friends’ (Quakers) attitude towards death.  This is from a poem published in 1693:

And this is the Comfort of the Good,
that the grave cannot hold them,
and that they live as soon as they die.
For Death is no more
than a turning of us over from time to eternity.

References

Old North Cemetery, Concord, NH – National Historic Site application (PDF)

Fox’s Pulpit Quaker burial ground, Sedbergh, Cumbria

Quaker Burial Practices, at Quaker-Roots-L

Burial Practices of Quakers, at Genealogy.com

The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia, by John L. Cotter, Daniel G. Roberts, Michael Parrington, page 200

Quaker Funeral Arrangements, by Oxford Quakers

Quaker Funeral Customs

Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States, at FamilySearch.org (LDS)

My YouTube channel includes this and many other how-to videos:

Dangers of Paranormal Research

dangers of the paranormalFor years, many of us have warned about dangerous aspects of ghost hunting.

From physical safety to legal issues, and personal liabilities to spiritual protection, this field has more pitfalls than most hobbies and professions.

In general, the paranormal community can be divided into three groups:

    • Those who know the risks and take appropriate precautions.
    • Those who don’t know the risks, or have only a vague idea, and aren’t as cautious as they might be.
    • Those who see the warning signs (literal and figurative) and ignore them, thinking they’re immune to the risks.

I want to be sympathetic when someone is arrested for ignoring a “no trespassing” sign, or when they go to Vale End (or a similar site) and return home, terrified… a fear that stays with them for years.  I’ve warned about scams and con artists, and sleazy people who like the cover of darkness.

Experienced professionals usually know the risks and do what they can to minimize them.  Event planners try to organize activities so no one is placed in unnecessary danger.

Trespassing (an illustrated rant)

A wide spectrum of ghost enthusiasts seem to be oblivious to all risks.  I see that in my email inbox, with questions and tales of woe, daily.

But, the symptoms aren’t only in my incoming email.  Looking for good videos to explain issues related to the haunted Eloise Insane Asylum in Michigan, I found three videos with the following content.

All were filmed by a group of kids, emulating the Ghost Hunters TV series.

First, the kids filmed the no trespassing sign.  Then, they ignored it and entered the property anyway.

Eloise hospital - No Trespassing sign

Then, they captioned portions of their videos, repeatedly proclaiming that they were on private property.

Worse, when one of the kids said she was afraid to slip under the fence because she might be arrested, her friends talked her into breaking the law.

  

Okay, they’re 12-year-olds, so you might ask, “Where were the parents?”

The answer…?  In at least one part of the video, the mom was holding the camera.

I don’t want to single out these kids as if they’re an example of the primary problem.

They’re not. 

Adults are doing this kind of thing even more often than kids are. 

Laws and legal penalties aren’t the only dangers

The bigger issue is what “no trespassing” signs can indicate.

Those signs might indicate major safety problems, including some that may be life-threatening.

Ghost Hunting - Life in Danger?They might include something as simple (but deadly) as asbestos dust or as urgently perilous as structural damage.  An issue might be toxic waste underground or a site known for harboring territorial, poisonous snakes.

And, almost all abandoned structures have rodent issues.  I talked about that risk in my earlier podcast about ghost hunting and respiratory risks and in my article about ghost hunting and health issues.

Here’s the reason for alarm: With “no trespassing” signs prominently displayed, many site owners and communities figure they’ve done enough. They’ll make repairs later when they have more funds to work with.

They (reasonably) assume that the signs will protect an unwary visitor from putting him- or herself at risk.

“No trespassing” signs rarely go into detail. (When I last checked, the fenced-off area near Gilson Road Cemetery in Nashua, NH, did not explain that it’s a possibly toxic Superfund site.)

But, don’t rely on “no trespassing” signs as warnings.

Sometimes, we’re called into homes and businesses (in use, not abandoned) with significant risks – structural and health issues – as we explore moldy basements and attics with rodent droppings.

Every researcher needs to be aware of the dangers, as well as precautions to take.

Very sick and troubling dangers

I’ve talked about blunders with Ouija boards and sleazy people groping team members in the dark. I’ve ranted about cult-like groups and thrill-seekers with an adrenaline addiction.

So, yes, this field can seem like a minefield to the unwary.

The key word is “unwary.”  Once you’re aware of the risks, you can evaluate which you’re okay with and what limits to place on your research.

In the past, I’ve avoided describing ghost hunting dangers because… well, that’s not the focus of this website.

In the 1990s, I wanted to interest people in ghost hunting.

Now, I’m doing my best to make ghost hunting interesting and safe.

Risks need to be assessed on a site-by-site basis.

It’s one thing to go into a paved, haunted cemetery after dark, where you’ll meet dozens of joggers and dog walkers.

It’s quite another to go into an abandoned building with a wide range of structural and health concerns.

Every site presents  challenges. Know the risks you’re taking, not just in general but at the specific site you’re investigating, and the people you’re trusting in dark and low-light conditions.

Learn the best ways to find ghosts, in local (and legal!) places…

Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries - A How-To Guide - Classic Edition by Fiona BroomeGHOST HUNTING IN HAUNTED CEMETERIES – A How-To Guide : CLASSIC EDITION

Step into the eerie realm of haunted cemeteries.

In “Ghost Hunting in Haunted Cemeteries – Classic Edition,” you’ll learn to discover haunted cemeteries near you, pinpoint the most active areas, and identify the graves most likely to hold supernatural secrets.

With step-by-step instructions and expert tips, you’ll learn how to conduct thorough investigations that reveal the true nature of haunted cemeteries and graveyards.

This is the classic guide, updated and expanded. It goes far beyond the basics. Whether you’re a seasoned ghost hunter or someone intrigued by eerie places, this book is your key to unlocking the mysteries that lie within haunted cemeteries.

Available at Amazon and other booksellers.

Haunted Cemetery Tour – Otterbein, Ohio

This video – “Haunted Cemetery – Ghastly Sounds…” – isn’t a “ghost” video, but a tour and history of an Ohio cemetery that’s worth investigating.

We need more videos like that, to help ghost hunters find worthwhile sites.

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.However, I didn’t see or hear anything especially scary in this video.  Most of the night video quality is poor – weak sound and blurry camerawork – but that’s not what I was watching for.  In general, this video provided some good history and ghost stories, and I’m confident this is an active (ghostly) cemetery.

There’s a certain mix of sounds and silences, images and shadows… it adds up to a “gut feeling” about some locations.  Almost invariably, they turn out to be haunted.  I’m pretty sure this is one of those sites.  If I were in Ohio, near this cemetery, I’d visit it regularly for research.

In the video, the woman mentions some spooky sounds.  Maybe I missed them; the soundtrack isn’t great.

What I did hear – between normal, rural night noises – sounded like footsteps.  If the woman filming the video was alone, or her companions weren’t moving around while she was standing still… yes, those sounds are kind of spooky.

The mausoleum is creepy.  It has that sterile/tragic combination that often marks a site that seems to attract shadow people.  I have no idea why.  It’s as if they need to fill in the void with their forms… but maybe I’m putting the cart before the horse.

All in all, this video got me interested in this cemetery, enough to compile some useful links if you’re investigating that site.  And then, I discovered another haunted cemetery with the same name, also in Ohio.

Resources if you’re investigating Otterbein Cemetery in Franklin Co.

Another haunted Otterbein Cemetery, in Perry County, OH

There’s also an Otterbein Cemetery in Darke County and one in Marion County, Ohio.

Originality – The person who filmed this didn’t let her video skills hold her back. Though the quality isn’t great, the information and the impressions I got from this video made it intriguing.  It’s also thought-provoking because I’m trying to understand why I feel so certain that the site is haunted… and has shadow people.

3-stars

Credibility (Doesn’t apply. This is mostly a “this is the cemetery and what’s known about its ghosts” video.)

3-half-stars

Eight Ways to Spot Fake Ghost Photos

After spending years trying to create convincing, fake, ghost photos, I learned that it’s not as easy as I thought… or as simple as skeptical critics claim.

Spider webs with moisture in them

Some people might confuse the lines for ectoplasm, but most won’t.

  

Damp, foggy morning, using the flash in all photos

As you can see, there were no orbs, even in thick fog.  The third photo (lower left) has something odd in it, but it’s not an orb, as I’d been expecting from so much dampness.

    

     

Hair

In some cases, hair could be confused with light streaks or vortex images.  The color of the hair is the clue. (My hair is auburn.)

However, notice the last of these four photos, at the lower right.  It looks like it has large, overlapping orbs. That’s also a photo of hair; when the light catches it in a certain way, it appears as a series of large, faint orbs.

 

 

Smoke

Frankly, the only way we could get smoke to show up in pictures, consistently, was to use actual stick incense.

The results open some interesting questions.  Some of these photos could be mistaken for anomalies.  But if someone nearby were using incense, wouldn’t a photographer notice the fragrance?

  

  

Pollen

Pollen was very difficult to capture in photos.  Even shaking ragweed directly over the camera lens, the pollen rarely showed up at all.  (See the third photo, in the lower left, where I was shaking the ragweed in front of the lens.) The final photo in this series shows what it looks like to crush the ragweed with your hand, and then sprinkle the pollen in front of the camera lens.  These extremes suggest that pollen is rarely a problem for an experienced ghost photographer.

However, in the few photos where it did show up, it could look similar to orbs with “faces” in them.

Unless you’re standing directly underneath a tree that’s sprinkling pollen, or it’s a very bad night for hay fever, I don’t think pollen is a major concern.  Among the few photos that showed pollen orbs, even fewer were orbs that we’d confuse with actual anomalies.

Is it possible to confuse pollen for an anomalous ghost orb?  Yes.  Is it likely?  No.

  

  

Dust and dirt

Dust particles – from household dust and dust (or dirt) kicked up while walking – were equally difficult to confuse with anomalous orbs.

In the first photo (immediately below this text), that’s a Swiffer duster, caked with dust, that my husband was shaking in front of the lens.  Nothing showed up, except the actual duster.

In the next two photos, you can see orbs and other shapes created by reflected dust.  They’re more likely to be confused with ghost orbs, but I think I took 50 photos to get these results.

The final photo in the dust & dirt series shows what very dry, fine dirt looks like, sprinkled in front of the lens.  This is the same powdery, dusty dirt that could be kicked up by people walking or a car driving past you during an investigation.  It looked almost identical to pollen, but a finer texture.

Keep in mind, all of these particles were sprinkled within three inches of the camera lens.  Few produced images large enough to look like ghost orbs, and other characteristics  — such as a solid, dark dot in the middle, or an irregular, notched circumference — usually don’t match anomalous orbs.  However, a  few dust orbs did look like anomalous “ghost orbs.”  (Some researchers might argue that those few were actual ghost orbs.  After all, most of these photos were taken in haunted cemeteries.)

  

  

Rain

Rain produced such obviously fake results, I don’t think rain is an issue for professional or experienced investigators.  First of all, you’re likely to feel the rain even if you don’t see it right away.  Then, some of the drops reflect such as solid reflection, I doubt that you’d confuse a photo of rain with an actual, anomalous orb.

  

Breath

In my opinion, the number one issue for ghost photographers is breath.  Though these photos were all taken on a winter night, I was able to achieve similar results on a warm summer night when the dew point was high.  These are a few of many photos that show strange forms and mists, the result of exhaling sharply at the exact moment I took each photo.  So, these are extremes.

The third photo (lower left) intrigues me the most.  It’s a fairly benign-looking misty shape.  It could be confused with an actual, ghostly anomaly.

  

  

Before I completed the first edition of Ghost Photography 101, I showed these photos to someone else who’s been studying ghost photos for years.  He insisted that some of the photos did represent ghosts (particularly pictures like the third in the breath series.)

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.I could see his point, but in my research, if something could be explained by something normal, I have to discount it.

I’d rather err on the side of caution.

On the other hand, I think we need to explore another possibility:  If we give the spirits something to work with – like breath or incense – should we look to see what the spirits do with it?

After all, that’s not too different than using white noise to give the ghosts sounds to work with, to form EVP.  And, it’s also similar to using a device like a Frank’s Box, ghost box, or “shack hack” to give entities sounds and words to use.

Haunted Brown Springs Cemetery, Oklahoma

Brown Springs Cemetery in Oklahoma caught my attention.  This location looks so good – if you take proper precautions – it’s worth investigating

First, check the description and links on this Oklahoma history webpage:  Brown Springs, Thackerville, Oklahoma.

Then, watch this “Panic Attack Videos” presentation, which includes language – audio and captions – that is not safe for the office. (Ignore the cheesy graphic in the video screenshot. It’s a good video.)

  • The on-site portion of the video gives a hint of why this could be a powerful location for research.
  • Then, it shows why you shouldn’t bother going there unless you have a large research team… including big guys with stakes (or at least baseball bats).

(As of Jan 2016, the following link will take you to that video’s location at YouTube, but you’ll need the channel owner’s permission to see it.)

https://youtu.be/jicCxgPihPs

This could be a highly dangerous location, due to the living, not the dead.  And, I wouldn’t want to see threatening violence escalate.  That could be a tragedy waiting to happen… again, because of the living, not the dead.

However, with enough bouncer-type team members – and some good maps of the area, so you know which dirt roads are dead ends – a site that is active at night should be worth investigating during somewhat safer daytime hours.  (Here’s a link to one map with a general overview: http://www.oklahomahistory.net/brownspr/bsprmap.jpg )

Mostly, I like this video because the guys seem very normal and they don’t leap to paranormal explanations for what could be ordinary things.

Yes, the video could have been staged.  (Their YouTube description says that they enjoy “pranks,” and some of their videos seem like fake, staged silliness.)

That’s not the point. 

Interested in ghost hunting in haunted cemeteries? Here's a quick way to get started.Fake or not, I liked the first video, because it shows one good reason never to ghost hunt by yourself. That kind of real-life scare can happen anywhere.

Okay, Brown Springs Cemetery is known for trouble, but that trouble started at some time in the past.  You should never put yourself at risk by ghost hunting alone or unprepared.  You do not want to be at a haunted site on the night when trouble begins at that location.

In the next video, “World’s scariest ghost hunt that never happened,” the guys explain that Brown Springs isn’t one of their “prank” locations.  (Like the others, this video contains not-safe-for-the-office language.)

In the next video (linked below), you’ll see why you’ll want a good 4WD vehicle, leg covering (in case of snakes), and good hiking shoes.

Early in that video, one of the guys talks about hearing gunfire nearby, confirming the risks of visiting Brown Springs Cemetery, even in broad daylight.  And then… they get lost.  So, have GPS and a good hiking map and compass.

This is another video with not-safe-for-the-office language.  You’ll be tempted to stop after the 10-minute mark since that’s when they leave the cemetery area.

However, if you’re planning a trip to the site, watch to the 12-minute mark.  You’ll get some useful tips about road hazards in and out of the Brown Springs Cemetery location: Specifically, place logs in the deepest ruts in the road.  (At the end of the video, they go to the nearby casino.)

Here’s the link to that video, but (as of Jan 2016) — like the first one I linked to — you’ll need the channel owner’s permission to view it:

https://youtu.be/4IS_uFJ3IYs

Additional Brown Springs references

In A walk through the vineyards: Ishmael and his descendants, by Judy Vinyard Beebe, I found a reference to one person in the cemetery.  Augustus “Gus” R. Vineyard, b. 1840, Mississippi (to Corder Vineyard and Debbie Bowen), d. ca. 1900, Gainesville, TX.  Married Mary Phillips, b. 1842 in TN, d. 1880, Gainesville.  At Ancestry.com, I found that they had five children including a daughter, Elizabeth Phillips Vineyard, b. 1870, death date unknown.  (Other children:

  • Mealer Phillips Vineyard
  • John Wesley Vineyard
  • William Phillips Vineyard
  • Robert Lee VineyardThe fact that this one family leaps out of the records… that’s a paragenealogy line I’d follow.
  • I’d also research the Love family members buried there since the cemetery is in the middle of nowhere, it’s neglected, and the county is Love County.  That’s significant.
  • And, in case Brown Springs is related to the Brown family – which seems likely – I’d start with the Love/Brown/Crockett Bible Records.
  • I’m also seeing references to the Chickasaw Nation in connection with that cemetery.  Will all of this lead back to the proverbial “Indian burial grounds” where hauntings are often reported?

Note: Browns Spring Cemetery – with an S – is a different location.  It’s in Georgia.