Rows upon rows upon rows
In Edinburgh Scotland, in a well-known cemetery as old as the city itself, there stands a gigantic Mausoleum . It was at this crypt that a homeless man, trying to get out of the rain and the cold, found refuge. While exploring the old stonework and the names on the walls, a loose stone gave way and the man fell to a hidden chamber below.
In this chamber, when the man awoke with possibly a splitting headache, he found he was surrounded by corpses covered in a green slime. As with any of us, he bolted out of the Mausoleum and into the night. What was discovered is that the charnal house was built over a mass grave which was very old and probably was used for the bodies of plague victims of a devastating event that happened centuries past.
Cemeteries bring up images of peaceful resting places to some and horrific sites to others. Let's travel 6 feet down and explore some of the haunted cemetery's that dot our landscape here in New Mexico.
Some cemeteries are in the remains of fortifications. Fort Bayard is one such place. Founded in 1866 when the west was being expanded, the fortress stood tall against Apache raids. The buffalo soldiers defended settlers from these raids and when the attacks ceased and many years went by, the fort became a tuberculosis hospital and a POW camp. These days, the site and the ruins of the fort are said to be haunted by those who perished there. The buildings stand empty as if everyone just walked away.
More reports come from ghost town cemeteries more than any other sites in the state. One such sight is the Dawson cemetery near Cimaron. The Phillips Dodge corporation operated a significant coal mining operation in the town and in 1913 an explosion killed 263 men and one of the worst coal mining tragedies in history. A decade later a second mining accident claim the lives of 121 men. After that the coal mine closed in the town was demolished leaving only the cemetery behind. Perhaps it's these tragedies that has caused people to feel uneasy in the ghost town especially in the cemetery. Perhaps the men killed in those accidents still roam the land today.
Fort Stanton's cemetery is the final resting place of 1500 sailors. The fort, construction 1855 was used as a military base, a tuberculosis hospital for Merchant Marines, an internment camp, and a women's prison. The tragedy that inevitably unfolds at such a place feeds the notion that the grounds in the cemetery are haunted.
Angus cemetery is home to the murder victims of the Bonito city constable. The constable went berserk and murdered seven people including four members of the Mayberry family. The next morning a posse shot and killed this constable ending his reign of terror. The man, Martin Nelson, began his raid in 1885. He stormed a nearby hotel and began shooting. While his body was buried in an unmarked grave, the victims gravesites are still here today. What is interesting now is it the town itself is under 75 feet of water below the Bonito Canyon dam.
One of the more bizarre stories I have found in my research is the Fairview cemetery issue in Santa Fe. Well unrelated to ghosts and hauntings, this issue has made the news. Apparently the cemetery is haunted… By prairie dogs! The prairie dogs invaded the cemetery after construction nearby and have begun digging up remains Of those buried there. This brings to mind the issue that centuries old cemeteries in Europe have. Hundreds of years ago, the cemeteries were so full that on especially stormy days, the contents of the sites would spill out into the streets.
Another cemetery connected to one of my previous articles is that of the Madrid cemetery in Madrid. Ghosts inhabit the entire town but certain places have more sightings than most. Some believe that specters patronize the Mineshaft Tavern and inhabit old homes and the church. In the arroyos in the town, the legendary weeping woman, La Llorona has been seen wandering the area.
In Taos, at the kit cartons in Carson cemetery, three unmarked graves are said to belong to witches. Their graves are set apart from the others and a black top covers the site so their lingering powers may stay sealed and not cause harm to the town.
Finally in the monte vista cemetery in Alamogordo, ghostly orbs and strange noises are recorded and documented. The cemetery is home to a section where babies are buried and that section has been one of the few hotspots in the area. One ghost likes to take shape and water the grounds. This ghost called the woman in white can be compared two similar experiences and sightings in Chicago and Ohio. In those two Midwest areas, the story behind the woman in white differs. In Chicago, the woman in white was the lady who was run down by a speeding car after leaving a dance club distressed where in Ohio the woman in white was the daughter of a Civil War veteran Who took care of the local cemetery for Confederate soldiers. At that time, the confederate army was still frowned upon and the cemetery was less than ideal until she began cleaning it up.
Cemeteries will always be a subject of fear. Sometimes those put to rest don't always stay at rest. Whether it be by the intense nature of a place or by nature itself, the dead always seem to come back.
Remember to always respect these sites. A major issue with the prairie dogs in Santa Fe deals with this. People don't want, for obvious reasons, to have their loved ones dug up and left scattered for everyone to see. sometimes there's a fine line between nature and emotional well-being. Be respectful is all I can say.
Remember too that you can email me at friendsoffolklore@gmail.com!
