The Urban Legend of 100 Steps Cemetery

If it were possible, would you want to know when and how you'll die?

No?

Some questions are better left unknown. Like many aspects of the supernatural world, maybe we aren't supposed to know. The supernatural world will hold its secrets until it's our turn to step onto the other side.

If you are intrigued by curiosity or maybe just seeking a good supernatural thrill, take a stroll through Carpenter Cemetery in the rural town of Brazil, Indiana or more better known as 100 Steps Cemetery.

There you will find gravestones dating as far back as the Civil War. Some that are so old and weather worn throughout the centuries, it's impossible to make out the names or dates that were once carved into them.

With a cemetery that old, one shouldn't be too surprised to encounter anything paranormal. It is after all considered to be Indiana's most haunted cemetery.

This cemetery might look like your typical spooky graveyard, but there is more to this centuries old graveyard than old gravestones and maybe some restless spirits.

There is a chilling urban legend that surrounds this cemetery and is also how it got its nickname "100 Step Cemetery".

The Legend

The legend of 100 Steps Cemetery falls into one of those urban legends that involve some sort of sinister dare.

The legend follows as this:

In the cemetery, you will find a series of steps that lead to the cemetery's summit. Count them as you ascend to the top. With each careful step as you make your final step to the summit, you should count 100.

Once you make it to the top of the summit, you are then supposed to face the cemetery and look down. There, you will see a spectral being who approaches you - the ghost of the original cemetery's caretaker.

He will reveal a chilling vision to you which tells you precisely how you will meet your demise. Once the ghost of the caretaker reveals your grim future, calmly start the descent back down the stairs counting the steps again as you go.

But count carefully because your life depends on it!

If you count the exact number of steps that you counted as you ascended (100) then the caretaker's vision was wrong and will not come to pass.

But if your count is off by even one digit, then the caretaker's vision of your demise will come true.

Oh! If at any point, you become terrified of the caretaker's sinister vision to finish, you must not leave the path because if you leave the steps or even skip counting them, a mischievous invisible force will push you to the ground and leave you with a red hand print on your body that lingers for days.

This legend can be traced as far back as the late 1800s and was possibly created to deter any grave robbers which were an all too real and common issue back then. It could have also been told to children to keep them from roaming around cemeteries at night.

Perhaps the strange part about this legend is that although one would swear they've counted 100 steps upon their ascent up to the summit, when they count them again on their way back down, the count is always different.

Chillingly, there have been incidents in which skeptics who ridiculed the legend died later in some sort of accident. A curse or just an unfortunate coincidence?

Maybe.

If you're brave enough, are looking for a supernatural thrill, and are in the area of Brazil, Indiana, you can try this urban legend for yourself. As with any cemetery, just be mindful and respectful of the cemetery and its rules.

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