Fright Bite: Oklahoma's Blanchard Cemetery

Source

When I was searching for a haunted location in Oklahoma to feature on my Haunted America page, I kept coming across articles listing the alleged 'spookiest' haunts or most disturbing haunting cemeteries in the state...and Blanchard Cemetery always seemed to make the list!  Although there isn't a whole lot of information about this particular haunting...its a neat story!

By haunt standards, the Blanchard Cemetery, about 12 miles north of Norman, is fairly new. It was incorporated on October 19, 1917 and is still an active cemetery today, accepting new burials and being maintained by the Blanchard Cemetery Association. The sprawling acreage of the cemetery is divided into sections, and while the cemetery is quite large, it seems like the only section to be haunted is Section 2.

Various websites state that if you enter the cemetery and come to the second section, you'll see a group of three trees. Stand to the left of the trees, and in the middle of this tiny grove, you're sure to see a spooky sight: a ghostly young man wearing black pants. This young man will stand there, with his hands in his pockets. If you're lucky, he may raise his hand to wave you over to him, although various commentators to different websites claim that to accept his invitation would surely be a ticket to demonic possession.

You can tell that the young man is about to make his appearance by a ghostly light. It is said that right before he appears, witnesses have observed a bright bluish light, that suddenly goes dim. Others have heard unearthly noises right before the apparition makes itself known. Unfortunately, not everyone may see this spooky sight. A girl named Chelsea wrote in to the Ghosts of America website, claiming that SHE was the original reporter of the story, submitting her claims to the popular Shadowlands Index, where it was subsequently copied and pasted by a variety of other websites. Chelsea asserts that only teenagers are able to see the apparition, and that on subsequent visits to the Blanchard Cemetery, the young man in black pants had grown progressively more frightening, in once instance, brandishing a knife at the witnesses.

Although I'd put money on the fact that this story is nothing more than a modern urban legend, it would be interesting to see if the young man can be tracked down. The cemetery's website offers an alphabetical listing of burials, which includes what section the plot is in. Just going through the As and Bs I found a few very early burials...and a few of young men who passed away. Could one of these be the young man...and if so, why is he still haunting the cemetery? Is he protecting the cemetery itself from potential teenage vandals, or is he protecting something more specific? Hopefully someone will do a little more research and possibly come to some conclusions. If you'd like to learn more, I suggest my article on cemetery guardians---people who were the first burial in a new cemetery who folklore denotes are chosen as protectors of that cemetery until Judgment Day.

Murdered by Human Wolves

If you were to visit Oklahoma's Konawa Memorial Cemetery, you might come across the grave of Katherine Cross. The unassuming stone reads states that Katherine Cross, daughter of JT and MK Cross, was born on March 13, 1899 and died on October 10, 1917.  It's always sad to see the grave of someone who died so young, but death is a normal part of life, and it doesn't discriminate based on age---especially during that time period!

It isn't until you take a much closer look at the tombstone that you realize there is much more to the story...

Yup. That's right.  It says, "Murdered by human wolves." Who or what were these human wolves and how was Katherine murdered? Rumors sprang up that her body had been found mutilated---torn to shreds. Some say the culprits were Ku Klux Klan members, while others took a more supernatural approach and claimed that these 'human wolves' were actual WEREWOLVES. Further legends sprang up that Katherine's ghost was haunting the cemetery, being seen AND heard in the vicinity of her tombstone, a legend that persists to this day.

But what REALLY happened to Katherine?

According to data from Katherine's death certificate and an October 25th, 1917 edition of the Seminole County News, Katherine's death was every bit as horrific as the legends would lead one to believe---but with a much more human monster than any werewolf or even Klan member.  Katherine died of what was listed as a 'criminal operation' at the hands of Dr. A.H. Yates, and his assistant, a school teacher named Fred O'Neal. While not confirmed, this cause of death heavily implied that Katherine had undergone an illegal abortion and succumbed due to complications.

What is especially tragic is that she wasn't the first.  On August 15, 1917 another young lady named Elise Stone was admitted under Dr. Yates' care.  She stayed at his office for four days before being sent home, where she died soon after. The original cause of death listed for Elise was 'congestive chill,' but suspicion arose and her body was disinterred for an autopsy. Like Katherine, her cause of death was now listed as complications from a criminal operation. Although the newspaper article states that the two men were charged, it doesn't appear that any further legal action was ever taken. And even with the cause of death cleared up, there are still more questions than answers concerning this strange tale of how two young women suffered a nearly identical fate two months apart and what the heck a school teacher was doing assisting abortions.

One researcher has delved into a few different theories suggesting that Mr. O'Neal was actually the father of these unborn children or perhaps even worked as a 'scout,' choosing among his young pupils boys and girls to engage in illicit sex acts with prominent town citizens. Whether or not any of that is true, we will probably never know.

*All Photos from Find-a-Grave*

Sources:
Merlyn's Cave
Wikipedia
Find-a-Grave
USGenWeb

Oklahoma's Purple Church

On the outskirts of Spencer, Oklahoma there is a location so scary that the alleged paranormal activity that is said to take place there is the LEAST horrifying aspect of its history!

That location is the Purple Church.  This location isn't exactly a church...and it isn't exactly purple either.  Located off of rural Douglas Avenue, the Purple Church is actually a concrete foundation, with steps leading into an "underground" cellar type area.  There is speculation as to what this structure was originally used as, with the general consensus being that this was the cellar to either an old clapboard church or a private home, which was destroyed many years ago.  The "purple" comes from the many occult and "Satanic" symbols that are spray painted inside and out of the small structure.

Over the past 20 years or so, this structure has become one of Oklahoma's most infamous legend tripping locations, as scores of teens and young adults flock there in order for a good scare...and just about anyone who has visited for this purpose has not been disappointed.

The Purple Church has a long history of alleged Satanic cult rituals, and there are many sources online saying that Sean Sellers, the 16 year old alleged Satanist convicted of killing both his parents and a convenience store clerk, was instrumental in first using the property for these purposes.  One of the most prevalent beliefs is that when a full moon falls on a Saturday, cult members meet at the Purple Church to engage in a virgin sacrifice.  Similar tales involve mothers sacrificing newborn babies here.

Source: Professor Caleb Lack-Youtube

While there is little to no evidence that human sacrifices are, or have ever been, conducted at the Purple Church, there are plenty of eyewitness accounts that say that animal sacrifices are routinely conducted.  Dead and mutilated animals, as well as animal bones, have been found hanging from the trees, on make-shift altars, and along the path leading to the Purple Church.  In one tale, a witness claimed to have found a tub full of animal body parts.

As far as the paranormal stories go, there is actually very little information on that, although the Purple Church has a widespread reputation as a "haunted location."  Strange floating lights in the woods, disembodied voices, and a smell of death are the most widely reported incidents.  However, as I said....the paranormal aspects are the least of anyone's worries when visiting this site.

Again, many visitors to this site, including those in law enforcement, the military, and other stations in life we'd consider more "credible" when it comes to reporting, have had similar horrifying incidents with the living.  People claim to be chased out of the area by men in robes.  They've had shotguns pulled on them, or have otherwise been threatened.  Some witnesses claim that nails are regularly thrown into the road in order to damage tires, and possibly strand people in the area.  Others were chased down the road by someone in a large truck, usually with its headlights turned off.

The property is currently owned by the Chesapeake Energy Company and is private property.  In 2006, there were rumors spread  that the structure had been filled in, in order to cull the amount of thrill seekers, but subsequent investigations into the property have proved this to be false.  However, neighbors who live across the street from the turn off have been known to monitor the property and confront trespassers.  Please seek proper permission before exploring this legend for yourself!  Plus, there are ample YouTube videos where one can vicariously check out the location from the safety of behind the computer screen.

The video I've posted above is from a documentary made by Katherine Jones, a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, for a Science vs. Pseudoscience class.

More info from Only in Your State