Spooky Haunted Cemeteries

Old Western Burial Ground

Cemeteries have gained the reputation of being haunted and with reason since this is the place where the remains of people are buried. Let us keep in mind that the skeletons will be found in the coffins here, not the spirits and it is the spirits that for some reason have chosen to roam the cemeteries. Some may be troubled, some seeking someone or something and there are even spirits that find themselves lost between this world and the next.

At the Old Western Burial Ground, Westminster Presbyterian Churchyard in Baltimore, Maryland you’ll find the graves of people like famous author Edgar Allan Poe, the son of Francis Scott Key, the grandfather of former U.S. President James Buchanan, five former mayors of Baltimore and fifteen generals from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Edgar Allan Poe

The catacombs of this cemetery are located underneath Haunted Westminster Hall and have always been the subject of a ghostly tale or two. Some of the stories include ghosts who have been buried alive and now are trying to tell the living of their plight. You'll find the popular author of horror tales and haunting poems Edgar Allan Poe, here in spirit. There are those who say they’ve seen him, felt him, and talked to him. Personally, I would love to have a chance to speak to Poe as it could be very inspirational for my poetry. They say he is seen dressed in black with a black fedora and a black scarf in order to hide his face. Every year around Poe's birthday January 19, his spirit can be seen walking through the cemetery aided by a usual walking stick topped by a silver cat's head. As a believer of the paranormal, I find this quite interesting and wouldn’t at all mind encountering the gentleman. He is rather dramatic I must say dressed in all that black but then the raven, who cried “Nevermore” was also black.

There is a legend that says the ghost of Poe has been seen near his grave and in the church catacombs. It is known that he died mysteriously in Baltimore but apparently, no one is really sure exactly how or of what he died and therefore was buried in the city. Perhaps his spirit is not at rest because of the unusual circumstances of his death. What is known is that he arrived in Baltimore taking a break in his journey to New York to visit his mother-in-law. Fate intervened and he met death unexpectedly.

In Baltimore, he was discovered on East Lombard Street barely conscious lying in a gutter. After being rushed to the hospital he died a short while later. During the brief time he was at the hospital Poe was delirious, crying, and trembling and at one time he screamed out the name “Reynolds”. Finally, he met death on November 17, 1875, at the young age of 40.

Screaming Skull

Another cemetery story tells about a screaming skull known as the screaming skull of Cambridge, Maryland. Legend has it that this is the skull of a murdered minister. The skull started screaming night and day and was finally bound and gagged and buried in a block of cement. They say that to hear this skull scream will drive a person mad. I leave that for the unbelievers to discover. Wait it gets even better.

Crazy Lunatic

There is also the ghost of a wild, crazed lunatic known as Leona Wellesley, who was buried in a straight jacket right from the asylum to the cemetery. Residents of the area say that they can hear her mad laugh and get a feeling of being followed through the cemetery. At least it keeps her entertained.

A Ghost with a Shovel

We now come to old Valence a long-dead Western Burial Ground Cemetery Keeper and Gravedigger who if he sees that you don’t respect the well-kept graves will chase you right out of the cemetery with a shovel in his hand. Well, I’ll tell you that if I saw a ghost coming at me with a shovel I’d certainly get the heck out of the way. Valence’s ghost is said to be a drunken ghost and will cuss at you or even attempt to bury you alive. Friendly isn’t he? Therefore it is said that visitors to this cemetery should go there at their own risk. I think it would be a grand adventure, but then that is only my opinion.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1

Everybody knows that if you want to bump into ghosts then it’s a good idea to go to a very haunted location or to a cemetery. Well for the non-believers all I can say is until you actually experience an encounter with spirits I can just tell you about them. New Orleans, Louisiana has a very haunted cemetery, and residents, visitors, and even paranormal investigators look upon this cemetery as the most haunted cemetery in the world and the number 1 haunted cemetery in the U.S. Here you’ll find the haunted grave of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. I would love to explore this cemetery because I have a strong sixth sense and my family all have had encounters with spirits at one time or another.

New Orleans had problems with burials before modern drainage was introduced due to the high water table. As a result, you dug a grave in marshy ground and buried the dead then when the next great storm came the corpse would just float on out. The solution to this was to bury people above ground in tombs and mausoleums. Cemeteries had some real architectural wonders to admire in the older cemeteries. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest in New Orleans and has an impressive European mixture of ornate marble tombs, crumbling memorials, and narrow, winding footpaths. Along any of these, you can come face to face from someone from the world beyond. Visitors to the cemetery have heard weeping and groaning coming from inside the crypts, while others have seen things like unusual mists to even transparent figures. The ghosts don’t rest in peace in this cemetery but seem to have formed a ghostly world of their own. On the wall of one tomb an old male face has manifested itself but the most ghostly of all if the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans herself.

Marie Laveau House New Orleans

Even though a great part of Marie Laveau’s life seems to be cloaked in folklore. In fact, there appear to be two – another Marie Laveau lies buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. It seems that the real Voodoo Queen is in the first cemetery. It is debatable if she really lived to be more than a hundred years old and still looked like a sensual, young woman. This Voodoo Queen did leave her mark on New Orleans’s culture. Some people visit her grave to seek her assistance in their voodoo rituals and leave her small tributes and marking signs with powdery stones. The sightings of her began soon after she died in 1881 and still continue to this day.

Marie Laveau Grave

There is a Marie Laveau ritual held here every year by local Voodoo Priestess Manbo Sallie Ann Glassman. Meanwhile, Marie Laveau has been spotted in the cemetery walking between tombs dressed in a red and white turban with seven knots in it. She appears to be mumbling an original New Orleans Santeria Hoodoo Voodoo curse to cemetery trespassers. It is said that this mumbling is very loud and very audible. It is supposed that she has become alarmed by the many vandals that come to the cemetery and how the cemetery itself appears. Personally, I would love to see her but I certainly wouldn’t want to get in her way. For you disbelievers, it would be easy to see if this was a hoax or not because keep in mind people see and hear her but then she just simply disappears so there is something there.

Those who visit the Voodoo Queen's grave come bearing offerings like candles, flowers, good luck charms, voodoo dolls, and many, many other things having to do with voodoo rituals. Some say they have seen her emerge from her tomb. A Devil Cat has been seen with red eyes and those who know voodoo say if you see this cat cross yourself three times and back away from it because you should never let this cat see your back otherwise you’ll forever be cursed to do the bidding of Marie’s spirit. One way or the other you don’t have to tell me twice I know to believe and I know to be very careful.

Drawing of Marie Laveau with Snake

Some say that along with Marie Laveaus’ body, her large snake called Zombi was buried. People have seen a large dark boa constrictor or black anaconda more than 12 feet long slithering among the tombs. The snake guards her tomb. Some teenagers once tried to chase the snake and saw that it just disappeared. It has been seen high atop of her tomb basking in the sun. A horrific story is that Zombi once followed a visitor back to her hotel room because she spit on the Voodoo Queen’s grave and then appeared in her bed and scared the wits out of her. Of course, we can take these stories with a grain of salt but just think what if these things are all possible? It is better not to mess with the things you are not sure of.

Others go as far as telling about secret Voodoo rituals being held along with drumming and screams well into the wee hours of the morning. Other times people have discovered fine china plates, cups, saucers, and silverware all throughout the cemetery. Paranormal investigators have said that this is a result of an ancient Wiccan practice of the occult known as the “Dumb Supper” or “Feast la Morte”. This old ritual involves a mock table setting of a meal placed before a tomb or on top of a grave. It is meant to call the dead to answer your questions. Other times actual food or bottles of wine and other such items have been discovered.

Ghostly Cats and Dogs

Every day you can see ghostly cats and dogs walking about. Some say these animals belonged to an 1800s cemetery keeper and were his guard dogs and pets. Others say that these dogs and cats are waiting for their owner who is buried in St. Louis No. 2 to return and feed them and take care of them.

Ghostly Jimmy

Other ghosts include a lost man who asks for someone to help put flowers on his wife’s grave and then just fades away into a mist. Referred to as Jimmy, and appears as a heavy-set man with piercing blue eyes, smells bad, and has a few teeth missing. He looks very much alive even though he isn’t. He has been known to ask people for a ride home or to offer to carry small children. Some say he is a drunken ghost that sings songs and tells nasty jokes on EVPs

Whatever the truth is I believe that spirits do exist and I have heard and seen enough things to know that there is something beyond what we know. I don’t fear the world beyond it fascinates me and I love to explore and get to know all about it.