The cemetery is also known as the Presbyterian Churchyard in Baltimore, Maryland and probably most famously the burial place for Edgar Allan Poe (19th January 1809 to 7th October 1849) amongst others. There have been some reportedly strange occurrences so it seems like it’s worth a little look around and to enjoy a little of the local rumors and anecdotes.
He was reburied there 1st October 1875, and the dedication ceremony was 17th November 1875. He had originally been buried with no headstone and market on a sandstone block with “No 80” and these days is a household name for horror and poetry enthusiasts. Poe’s spirit is said to be there, he travelled through a lot during his lifetime and had an unexplained death. He was on the way to visit his mother and true love when he died and it’s said that he wanders the spot he is buried in and around the nearby church. Perhaps he is seeking for his lover to come and wed him at the altar?
Another lovely anecdote surrounding the grave of Poe is that a local Baltimore man would visit the authors grave, he did this annually and would bring cognac for a toast, he would leave three roses and the remnants of the bottle for Poe himself. He would dress all in black, and would go on the 19th January for the deceased poet’s grave, he did this for 75 years.
Just below the Westminster Hall area, is one of the areas believed to be haunted because there are stories about how many there were buried whilst still alive. The spirit then wanders to find the person that did it, as they want to seek out revenge. There are supposedly a few of them and people have witnessed their wandering spirits.
As well as this is the “Skull of Cambridge”, it is said to be the head of a minister that was murdered. The skill was placed in a segment of concrete in the hopes of drowning out the sounds of his screams but they have still been heard and has frightened a lot who have witnessed it. There is a rumour that several were committed to psychiatric wards because they had gone insane from a prolonged exposure to the event.
Leona Wellesley is another of the rumours for hauntings so I have included her name here, she was a lunatic (reference of the time) who was brought directly from the asylum, still in her straightjacket, and buried as swiftly as they could. Rumour has it that you she follows visitors and her mad laughter can be heard echoing behind as they walk but these days finding her grave does not seem to be located and might be one of those wethered ones in the area.
Black Aggie is another local rumour, was about an innocent nurse who was put to her death in the early 1900’s and they erected a statue in the Druid Ridge Cemetery as an attempt to appease the mistake. It grew in fame locally because rumours of strange things happening around it began to surface. One of them being that if you stand around the “Aggie” statue at midnight her eyes will glow red and if they do you will be struck blind. It is worth noting you may not want to go to close if you are pregnant as it is also said she can cause miscarriages.
Sadly with these things the local rumours and attention have also meant that the 1926 installation has been removed from the original site. People had been caught breaking in at night and the pedestal suffered frequent vandalism. The Agnus family were upset by the negative attention donated it to the Smithsonian in 1967, and sat there in storage in the National Museum of American Art (later the Smithsonian American Art Museum). There is a blank pedestal at Druid Ridge Cemetery and the original rests protected behind closed doors.
Have you ever been and what did you experience?
By AndrewHorne (talk) – I (AndrewHorne (talk)) created this work entirely by myself.Transferred from en.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10862323
Investigations into the unknown and weird 