The month’s Genealogy Blog Party is all about the strange…the question being ‘What is the strangest thing you’ve found in your genealogy research?’
For me, it would have to be the story of the lantern in the cemetery.
My sister, Joyce, and I were fortunate that our maternal grandmother, Florrie Jane THOMAS MARTIN, lived with our family when we were growing up. Subsequently, everyone visited at our house. My mom’s seven siblings and their families, her great aunts and uncles, and cousins galore were in and out of our home all year round.
Joyce and I heard many stories again and again which we never tired of. One of the most memorable is the one about the lantern in the cemetery.
Not THE cemetery…just an old cemetery
My grandfather, Joel Daniel MARTIN, was a tenant farmer, and there was a cemetery down the hill from one of the houses they lived in while tenant farming in Virginia. The cemetery could be seen from the front porch. I don’t know the size of the cemetery, but it was probably a small one since it was a family cemetery on private land.
My mom and her siblings said that sometimes their dogs would get to barking and carrying on, and then take off running to the cemetery. About the same time a lantern could be seen going through the cemetery, swinging back and forth as if someone was carrying it. But there was no person to be seen.
Once in the cemetery the dogs yelped and cried like someone was beating them with a stick. Then they would run back home like something was chasing them. The dogs looked pretty panicked when they came back, according to my mom and her siblings.
This happened more than once, too. I never heard of my mom or her siblings going to the cemetery to see what was going on down there. From what I know about my grandfather, I’m sure he forbade them to go. He would have believed it was best left alone.
This story is one of favorites, and it still gives me chills.
Copyright © 2016 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved
Great story! Was this a family ghost or the ghost of the owners of the land?
It was a ghost from the landowner’s family, I suppose. Maybe we’d know if my grandfather had let my uncles go check it out. LOL
Is this where the headless horseman is buried? Or NOT?
The headless horseman!?! How did I miss that story?
I believe your grandfather was right: it probably was best left alone! Good spooky story. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely, Michael. This isn’t the only spooky thing that went on at that house. My grandfather wouldn’t let the boys investigate any of the strange things. He was a wise man.
This is creepy. And your family obviously never forgot the lantern in the cemetery, all those years later. This is one story worth passing down to future generations!
I’m glad it was repeated enough that I remember it. I wasn’t so good about writing stories down when I was younger but this one is plastered in my memory. 🙂
Great spooky story! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Sue, and thanks for stopping by and commenting. 🙂
Good advice from your grandfather. Best to leave things like that alone is right! Thanks for sharing
I didn’t know this grandfather, but from all I know of him he was a wise man. Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂
Great story, Nancy. I also would have left it alone. I do love stories like this – little bits of family history. And congrats on the win!
Thanks, Joan, for stopping by and reading this story. I would have left the lantern alone, too.
Thanks for reading my story, Joan, and for commenting. I would have left it alone, too.
I’m glad my story was enjoyed. It was fun to write, too, and remember my mom and her siblings telling it. 🙂
I’m glad my story was enjoyed! I enjoyed writing it and remembering it being told. 🙂