There are rumors that have been passed down through the generations regarding a local cemetery in Lucas Ohio, Mt. Olive cemetery, and it is said to have been the site of a hanging in the late eighteen hundreds. The victim, a supposed witch, known by most locals as Mary Jane, or Bloody Mary, was actually Mary Jane Hendrickson, a spinster who had lived her entire life near the graveyard. Whether or not she was a witch, or just some old woman that was slightly eccentric, well, the jury is still out on that one.
The dates of her life and death are a bit sketchy as well; no birth
date is recorded but her death was recorded as--
3/3/1898
72y,
5m, 11d--
That gives a little insight into when she was born, the
year at least. Many tales have been spun about the witch of Mt.
Olive Cemetery; no one really knows which ones are true. I have
heard rumors of the woman in the white dress, with the white German
Sheppard, the eye in the muddy waters that gathered above her grave,
and the unfortunate souls who have died in tragic accidents after
defiling her final resting place. Are these all urban legends, or is
there some truth to them? I can’t say for sure because I don’t
know these people first hand, and can’t speculate on the validity
of their stories. All I can say is that I personally have never known
anyone who died as a result of pissing on any graves. I do know of a
guy, an ex lover of mine, that put one of the broken head stones in
the trunk of his car and had horribly bad luck for three straight
months until he returned the head stone. Was this coincidence, or
was the witch’s ghost exacting her revenge for his crime against
her burial spot? This is something that we may never know for sure.
One encounter that I did have a firsthand experience with is
something that I don’t think I will soon forget. It’s an
encounter that has haunted me for some time now, letting me know that
there are forces out there beyond what we know to be reality. There
may or may not be life after death, perhaps it was something demonic,
or just an echo of what once was; but, whatever it was, was strong,
and powerful, and pissed as hell.
Josh, Kyle, Chris and I were all looking for a good place to get
trashed one night. Our parents were all home, well Kyle had his own
place but after the last time we gathered for our little night of
drugs and drinking, my friends and I weren’t the only things that
got trashed. Kyle said a repeat of that night was absolutely out of
the question. Josh suddenly had the great idea of going to Mary
Jane’s grave --a local haunted cemetery-- and having our little
bash there. I was up for just about anything but I don’t think
Chris was sold on the idea. Kyle was indifferent; he’d never been
there before, and didn’t believe in ghosts. Chris tried to be
skeptical but he was scared, he’d heard the stories too and the
whole way down he swore that he “felt” something. At one point he
said he had a horrible feeling that once we got out of the van, none
of us would be coming back. What happened wasn’t all that
dramatic, but I have to wonder if his feeling of dread was a
foreshadowing of what was to come.
It was almost eleven when we reached the cemetery. We parked the van
and stumbled out of it, laughing and joking, three of us already well
past drunk. Kyle stayed sober to be the designated driver and voice
of reason but after an hour he had given in and decided to join the
festivities. We drank beers, and Chris brought a bottle of whiskey,
and then we passed around a few joints. The night dragged on; I have
no idea how long we were there but time seemed to stand still. I ‘m
not sure who suggested it, but at some point we decided it would be
fun to explore the woods. Over the fence that surrounded the
cemetery we climbed, the electricity long since been turned off, the
box broken and the wires no longer charged. The trees that
surrounded us looked as haunted as the graves and there was a strange
sound that echoed throughout the night sky. I wasn’t sure what it
was, some type of bird most likely but it sounded freaky, monstrous,
evil, and slightly alarming. I think that Chris’s fear was
starting to rub off on me and I became paranoid, looking behind me
constantly thinking that something wicked was lurking in the
darkness. I was about to suggest turning back when Josh suddenly
shouted that he found something cool. He wanted us all to come and
have a look so like a bunch of lemmings of course we followed him to
a large clearing in the woods where we came across what looked like
an abandoned well. It was maybe two feet off the ground, circular
and made of bricks that looked old and decrepit; but of course this
was in the black of night and the only light that we had to show us
anything was the light from the full moon, peeking through the bony
trees that entombed us. Josh leaned over the well and yelled down
into the depths of it, I don’t know if it was supposed to echo or
not, but it didn’t. It was empty, lifeless, and dead like the rest
of the forest. I wasn’t impressed by the finding but Chris and
Josh both seemed to be getting a kick out of the thing, as if it held
some magical significance. They lit up another joint and both boys
began to dance drunkenly around the well, laughing and cheering as if
they were pagans performing an ancient ritual. Kyle and I sat down
in the grass and reeds a little ways away from them and started to
make out. He opened his mouth on top of mine and I slipped my tongue
inside and he slipped his hand down the front of my pants. I was so
into what he was doing to me that I really wasn’t paying attention
to my two other friends who were prancing around a dried up old well
like a couple of fools. I could hear them, they were still laughing
and I think at one point Chris started to sing something. I heard
the shattering of glass and I think one of them tossed a beer bottle
off into the foliage somewhere, but other than that I really didn’t
give a damn what they were doing. My concentration was suddenly
broken though when the forest became deathly quiet. The laughing and
the singing had stopped the sounds of their sneakers hitting dried
leaves and twigs were gone; the woods sounded empty. Kyle and I
pulled apart and the only thing that we could hear was the beating of
our own hearts.
“Where did they go?” I asked, looking to Kyle for some kind of
reassurance.
“I don’t know.” He stood up and took a few uncertain steps
towards the well. “You don’t suppose that they fell in do you?”
I bit my bottom lip as my heart leapt into my throat. “Oh God
Kyle, how deep do you think that well is?”
We looked at each other for a split second then ran to the well and
peered down into the inky black darkness that filled it; if they were
down there, there was no way we could see them without flash lights.
“Josh? Chris?” I practically screamed into the well, “Can
either of you hear me? Are you down there?”
I jumped suddenly as a strange voice seemed to echo up, out of the
well, repeating my words with a long drawn out hiss--“Joooooooosh?
Chrissssss?” Then we heard what can only be described as a
cackle that reminded me of the wicked witch of the west.
Kyle and I both took a step back, away from the well, our eyes wide
with disbelief. I grabbed Kyle and held onto him. “What’s
happening?” I asked.
He held me close against him, “I have no idea baby… just stay
close.”
He didn’t have to tell me, I had no intention of letting him go for
fear of losing him to the insane creature that seemed to linger at
the bottom of the well. Just then, we heard what sounded like
laughter and singing again, the voices were unmistakable. Josh and
Chris suddenly appeared, as though they stepped out of the thick
white mist that was beginning to cover the forest floor. Kyle and I
stared at them as they danced joyfully around the well; oblivious to
the fact that anything was amiss. The two boys finally stopped their
tom foolery and rejoined us, all smiles and still drunk, but they
were surprised at our confused and slightly frightened expressions.
“What’s up guys?” Josh said as he grabbed another beer.
“What happened to you?” Kyle asked him.
Josh shrugged, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, where did you go?” Kyle explained. “You and Chris,
you disappeared. One minute you were here, the next you were gone
and then just like that you were back again.”
“We didn’t go anywhere.” Chris said. “We’ve been here the
entire time you two have been sitting over there sucking face.”
“That was thirty minutes ago.” I said suddenly, beginning to
shake. “I walked over to the well and yelled down it. I screamed
your names and you never answered and even weirder; we heard this
voice, this evil sounding laugh like a crazy old woman!”
Chris snickered at my story, “You’re stoned dude. We have been
here the whole time. You never screamed anything and there ain’t
no crazy old lady here, just a crazy kid and his boyfriend making out
in the woods.”
Kyle shook his head, “Sess isn’t crazy…” He said soberly, “I
heard it too.”
Josh looked at Chris and they both burst out laughing. “Come on
guys.” Josh said, “You’re jerking us around…right?”
I shook my head slowly. Apparently they both realized how serious
Kyle and I were and how scared we looked. Josh shoved his hands in
his pockets and stood there staring at the ground, kind of kicking
the sticks and leaves around with the toe of his sneaker. Chris
shrugged some and looked away, back towards the graveyard where we’d
left the van. An awkward silence fell over our small group as
everyone considered what each had seen, or not seen. Josh and Chris
weren’t ready to believe that Kyle and I had witnessed anything
paranormal. Chris told us that we’d drunk too much, or smoked too
much, and let the wild stories of the place play games with our
minds. Kyle considered it possible but I was not convinced that a
drug induced, over active imagination was to blame.
“I want go.” I said suddenly, moving closer to Kyle and wrapping
my arms around his waist. He held me protectively against him. It
was comforting, but I was still frightened, and I just wanted to go
home. “Please.” I begged the others. “Can’t we just leave
now?”
“Yeah…” Kyle looked to the others. “Let’s just get out of
here guys.” He said to them. “This place is getting creepy.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts and witches.” Chris
snorted a laugh as he looked at Kyle.
“I believe in what I see and experience for myself.” Kyle told
him. “I’m not claiming that I saw or heard a ghost. I’m just
telling you both what Sess and I saw, and whatever it was, it freaked
me out.”
Chris shrugged. “Fine, whatever dude, we’ll leave if you want
to.” Chris sighed in defeat and started back towards the graveyard,
his shoulders slumped and his steps heavy. He kicked at random things
as we walked and mumbled under his breath. Josh was right beside him,
the ever present lap dog that he was, following Chris where ever he
went, always at his heels and eager to take whatever scraps were
thrown at him. I picked up on bits of their conversation as Kyle and
I followed behind them. Mostly they were annoyed with me and saying
that Kyle should have never brought me along. I wasn’t offended in
the least. I knew that I had ruined their plans for the night. They
had more than just smoking and drinking planned though they never
said anything; Kyle and I just knew because we pretty much had the
same thing in mind.
When we finally got back to the graveyard and to the van, I was
relieved to see that everything was just as we had left it. I’d
heard stories in the past about guys finding their tires slashed or
windows smashed in. My heart was still racing though as my
imagination conjured images of the four of us laid out in the
graveyard with our entrails in neat little piles beside us. I
imagined the van not starting, or some wild, hideous creature
snatching us from within the darkness of the woods. Kyle must of
felt me shivering because he squeezed my ass reassuringly. “Calm
down Hun.” He said to me, “It’s just a graveyard.”
‘Famous last words,’ I thought to myself as we all piled
into the van.
Kyle fished around in his pockets for the keys. He was taking his
time, not paying attention to anything or anyone else. I was getting
fidgety in the passenger seat beside him, I really wanted to get out
of there, but I didn’t want to seem like a pussy either so I kept
my mouth shut.
Chris and Josh were in the back seat being their normal selves,
talking and laughing, knocking back what was left of the booze we’d
bought. They didn’t seem upset anymore that we were leaving, but
the incident in the woods seemed to have slipped their minds as well.
Honestly, I was the only one who seemed uneasy now. I started to
feel a little foolish that I had allowed myself to get so worked up
over something that I wasn’t even sure really happened. I started
to wonder if maybe the others were right and I had imagined the whole
thing. I slouched down in my seat some, putting one foot on the
dash. Kyle gave me a disapproving look but I ignored him. He shook
his head and sighed then started to back the van out of the cemetery
and onto the dirt road behind us.
I started to say something then thought better of it and clamped my
mouth shut. There was no point in causing more drama so I sat there
in silence, relieved that we were finally leaving and about to put
this night behind us.
The road before us was hidden in the blackness of the night. Thick
groves trees lined the narrow road, their limbs dropping down as if
they were reaching for us. The night seemed to have gotten murkier
while we were in the woods. I could barely make out the fence around
the cemetery; the head stones looked like misshapen creatures that
were standing about, ready to attack anyone that dared to enter their
domain. Kyle switched on the head lights but they did little to cut
through the darkness.
I was jolted forward suddenly as one of the boys in the back kicked
my seat, laughing at having startled me. I turned around, angry,
ready to bite someone’s head off when I suddenly froze. “What’s
up?” Josh asked me. Chris giggled.
“Look.” I whispered. I pointed out the back window and both boys
turned to see what had startled me so bad.
“What are we looking at?” Chris asked.
“You don’t see it?” I questioned him.
He shrugged then looked harder, straining to see what I was staring
out. The mist had risen up around the van, spilling over and rolling
onto the dirt road. It crept up alongside us, spreading itself out,
and licking the sides of the windows. Somewhere within the mist a
figure began to emerge. It was hard to make out at first but slowly,
bit by bit, the figure began to take form.
“What the hell is that?” Kyle whispered as he too turned to see
what we were all staring at.
At first all I could make out what looked like a head as if someone
were staring out from within the thick fog that surrounded us. There
were no facial features that I could see. Gradually arms and a torso
began to appear. The figure had a very petite frame, defiantly
female. I couldn’t tell if it had legs or not because it was
shrouded in some kind of long gown that seemed to almost melt into
the mist itself. The apparition moved closer to the back of the van,
almost floating, and as it closed in on us, we saw it stretch its
arms out towards the van. Long, bony fingers scratched along the
glass of the far window, making an eerie screeching noise that
reminded me of Freddy Kruger, The villain from Wes Craven's
classic slasher film, “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“Move the van!” I shouted, “Take off now!” I turned and
starred pleadingly at Kyle
“Do it!” Josh chimed in, “Go!”
Kyle nodded as he turned around again and fumbled with the gear
shift. He stepped on the breaks, casting a reddish hue over the
ghostly figure. I gasped as I saw the thing lunge towards us,
drenched in the light from the breaks as though she were suddenly
covered in dark red blood. She opened what I could only assume were
her eyes though they didn’t look like any eyes that I had ever seen
before. Pitch black orbs floating in the phantom face, a face that
save for the ghastly eyes, revealed no other facial features what so
ever! The eyes grew wider, nearly swallowing her face entirely and as
she closed in on us, we all heard a terrible, high pitched scream
that sounded both furious and insane at the same time. Kyle hit the
gas and the van lurched forward violently. The boys in the back seat
were thrown forward, hitting the seats in front of them. Josh cried
out in pain as he was slammed back against his seat again and his
left hand struck the window. We were flying down the road at unsafe
speeds, swerving all over the place. Kyle came dangerously close to
driving into the ditch that ran along both sides of the road.
“Watch out!” Chris screamed at him.
“Do you wanna drive?!’ Kyle shouted back.
“Just try not to kill us.” Chris snapped. He turned around and
looked behind us again. The apparition was still there, keeping pace
with the van. Her angry howls permeated the fog and shook the glass.
I slid closer to Kyle and literally pressed my body against his.
“Hang on guys.” He said as he gave the van more gas. “I’m
gonna get us out of here.”
The trees whipped passed us; gravel flew up from the road and struck
the windows with hard, loud, little pings!
We came to a small dip in the road and the van literally soared over
it smacking down hard on the other side. I was terrified that the
tires were going to blow out when we hit but they didn’t, never the
less, I closed my eyes and buried my face against Kyle’s shoulder.
It seemed to me like we drove down that narrow, winding road for
hours but in reality it was less than five minutes. Finally, Kyle
patted my leg and told me to open my eyes again. We had cleared the
wooded area and we were coming upon the main highway that we had
crossed earlier. The other side of the road was paved, there were no
trees obstructing our view, and the rows of small, country homes were
lit up like jack-o-lanterns along the road side. The light from these
homes cut through the gloom and lit our way.
A thick fog had been following us the entire way down that road but
as we crossed over into civilization again the fog dispersed and went
back to where ever it had come from. The ghastly wails of the spirit
could no longer be heard as we were now far from the cemetery and all
its secrets. Each of us breathed a breath of a relief and relaxed
some in our seats. The night looked peaceful now, not nearly as
imposing before, and the bright, shinning moon above us was a
welcomed sight.
It didn’t take us long to get back to town, maybe twenty minutes at
the most. Kyle said he was getting low on gas and needed to make a
quick stop. We pulled into the gas station and everyone jumped out
of the van. I was thirsty and eager to get myself a soda. Chris
wanted a pack of smokes and Josh said he was starting to get a little
hungry. Kyle pumped the gas while the rest of us went inside and
Kyle came in shortly after to pay for the gas. With our arms full of
snacks and drinks we headed back to the van. Chris came up the rear
of the van, headed for the sliding door when he stopped suddenly, his
eyes were wide, and his face had gone white.
“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked him.
Chris pointed to the back of the van. “What do you make of this?”
We all walked around to look at what Chris was pointing at; I must
have gasped because Kyle quickly gripped my hand. On the back of the
van were claw marks etched across the paint up to the back window.
It looked like an animal, a large dog or something around that size,
had clawed up the paint. Kyle ran his finger over the grooves and
shivered. We knew that no animal had done this, but we also knew
that no one in their right mind would believe us if we told them what
had actually happened. We got back into the van and Kyle started the
engine. We drove back to his place in silence, the shock of the
evening starting to wear off just a little. Over time I think we all
started to doubt what had happened to us that night; that is until we
looked at the scratches on Kyle’s van again. They were a subtle
reminder of our experience, and a very clear warning that whoever, or
whatever, resides in that cemetery, did not want us there.
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