The Glowing Tombstone of Pittsburgh

Tombstone of Giovanna Cecere
Photo by Find-a-Grave user, Roseanne Kocinski-Fowler

Giovanna Cecere was born on June 23, 1929 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to parents Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cecere. She was one of at least seven children. Unfortunately, a heart condition would end her life far too soon. She passed away on October 27, 1948 at the age of 19 and was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery. But, she would not rest in peace for long.

On Friday, July 31, 1953, hundreds of curiosity seekers flocked to the cemetery to catch a glimpse of a spectacular sight. A few days before, Mrs. Germaine Woods of 117 St. Paul Street, noticed something strange. It was an eerie yellow-green glow, coming from a tombstone in St. Michael's. That tombstone would, obviously, turn out to be that of Giovanna Cecere. As word spread about the strange phenomena, a throng of onlookers began arriving, and police were called in to help control the situation. That night, Police Inspector Paul Mozuch showed up to control the crowds, as well as try to figure out just why the tombstone was glowing. According to his observations, the tombstone itself was made of a highly polished red marble. No paint or powders were present that would explain the glow. Further, it didn't seem that the stone was reflecting any nearby lights.

The glow seemed to come from an area around the porcelain portrait of Giovanna which was on the tombstone. Weirdly, the glow wasn't observed to those standing in front of the tombstone, or anywhere IN the cemetery for that matter. The glow was only observed from a spot on St. Paul Street, about half a mile away.

Also called in that night, was George Cecere, the brother of Giovanna, who lived nearby, as well as the parish priest. The priest covered the tombstone, which extinguished the glow, then blessed the grave with holy water, leaving it covered.  George and Mozuch stayed until 3 am that night, keeping watch over the grave.  However, that was merely the beginning of a weekend full of onlookers.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
03 August 1953

Each night, the gates to the cemetery were locked, and the tombstone was covered up. That didn't stop people from showing up, though. Worse yet, it didn't detract treasure hunters from trying to chip away at Giovanna's stone, especially her portrait. Chicken wire was put up around the gravesite and padlocks (which were broken off) locked up the gates. Patrolman Michael O'Toole and Acting Lt. John Perich were on site Sunday to direct traffic and replace the covering that kept being removed. 

The church's official stance was that this whole thing was the result of crazy rumors, and was not supernatural, nor miraculous in nature. Inspector Mozuch personally believed that the tombstone's glow was a result of the stone absorbing the sun's rays all day long. Norgal Hoger, a chemist who had not observed the stone in person, gave the explanation of 'fox-fire' as it was a common phenomenon in cemeteries. Whatever, the cause, the mania would eventually die down. Today, Giovanna once again lies in rest. She is joined by her sister, Mary Jo, who shares the tombstone. What is conspicuously missing, however, is the porcelain portrait that once graced the tomb and was said to be the center of the mysterious glow. Was it removed by the family to put the rumors to rest...or did one of those treasure hunters actually walk away with a prize?

"The glowing tombstone" is a popular trope in paranormal research, and with the glow centering on the tombstone portrait, I can't help but think about West Virginia's 'Devil Baby of Ravenswood,' in which a similar portrait was the root of a spooky legend. Feel free to go check out that blog post as well, and if you visit Giovanna or little George (The Devil Baby of Ravenswood), please remember that these were real people...not just ghost stories. Treat them with the respect they deserve. And as always, happy haunting. 

Giovanna's Obituary
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph
28 October 1948

The Pittsburgh Press
01 August 1953

The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana)
02 August 1953

A Gruesome Grave Robbing in West Virginia

Find-a-Grave
Uploaded by Tammy Parks Markwood

Ghoul: n. An evil spirit or phantom, especially one supposed to rob graves and feed on dead bodies.

When I hear the word 'ghoul', that's the definition I usually associate with it, but throughout history, the term has also come to be a description of those flesh and blood living humans who engage in the heinous act of disturbing buried bodies. It was these types of ghouls that had a small community in Preston County, WV outraged.

Mary Ellen Shaffer Calhoun was a well-known and well-respected elderly widow living in the community of Newburg. When she passed away on January 27, 1916 at the age of 78, she was buried in the Calhoun Family Cemetery near Manheim, beside her husband, John G. Calhoun. There she laid in rest...for about two weeks. 

February 11th, 1916 was a Friday. That morning, two boys, Kramer Brandau and Harold Painter, were on their way to school in Rowlesburg. On route from their homes in Manheim, they passed the Calhoun Family Cemetery and noticed a big pile of fresh dirt and wooden boards strewn about. Being a small community, they knew that there wasn't a recent burial, so they walked over to check it out. To their horror, they found the body of Mrs. Calhoun, partially nude, lying above ground. The wooden case enclosing her casket had been smashed and scattered. The coffin lid and nameplate had been removed. The body, although outside of the coffin and lying on the ground, was left intact. However, the clothes had been partially torn off and ripped to shreds. 

The boys ran all the way to Rowlesburg to report the incident to authorities. It wouldn't be long before Sheriff Laco Wolfe, accompanied by a pack of bloodhounds belonging to Sheriff Ross F. Stout were on the scene. Dim footprints were found in the mud, but unfortunately, the dogs were unable to sniff out the trail of the alleged grave robbers. Mrs. Calhoun's body was placed in the care of the local undertaker, who hastily reburied her with as much dignity as the situation could merit. 

Local rumor believed that Mrs. Calhoun was the victim of grave robbers because she was buried along with expensive jewelry, valuable papers, and even perhaps a large sum of cash. Local newspapers covering the story even first reported that rings were violently cut from her fingers and stolen by the grave robbers. However, all this would prove false. The family claimed that she wasn't buried with her jewelry, and she certainly wasn't buried with CASH. These rumors may have been started when Mrs. Calhoun's oldest son, Albert Dodson (AD) Calhoun, who was named administrator of her estate went over all the assets on February 5th. In doing so, he discovered that his mother had never cashed or deposited a check for $400 that he had written her 18 months prior for debts he owed her. Upon discovering this and checking with the First National Bank of Grafton, he reissued a check in the same amount to be paid to the estate. However, he claims that no one, not even other family members, were aware of this transaction.

So what was the motive for this horrific crime?

Perhaps the motive was robbery. Mrs. Calhoun seemed to be a very well-known figure in the community, and she probably had some wealth to go along with her reputation. Maybe the grave robber(s) thought she WOULD be buried with jewelry and/or other items worth stealing. That would account for the disarray of the clothing/shroud as the robbers hastily tried to find what they were looking for. However, a strange article came out in the February 12, 1916 edition of the Daily Telegram. This paper claimed that Mrs. Calhoun was disinterred in such a disrespectful manner because of SPITE. It was noted that the body was found in a field near the railroad tracks...the same railroad tracks traveled daily by her son, H. Calhoun who was a conductor on the Morgantown and Kingwood Railroad. 

That's an interesting take on the whole situation, but I never found out what in the actual hell Mrs. Calhoun or her family had done to make someone want to hurt them and disrespect them in such a gruesome manner. Digging up a corpse and leaving it out where it can easily be found by two young boys on their way to school is absolutely horrific. For one to do so out of spite is the sign of a pretty twisted mind.

Whatever the reason behind the gruesome event, it doesn't appear that the case was ever solved. On February 19th, the Martinsburg Herald basically stated that the case had gone cold and all leads exhausted. However, on the following day, the Sunday Telegram ran a small article saying that all clues had been exhausted, BUT an unnamed hypnotist/mind reader was being called in as a last resort to uncover clues. After that, it seems that local papers dropped the matter, and I couldn't find any additional mentions in the sources I regularly use. 

This story may seem a little more...gruesome...than what you're used to seeing on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State. And although it's not paranormal, it is WEIRD---weird and spooky. I love branching out into ALL aspects of West Virginia's strange and fascinating history and thought a tale of grave-robbing might be something YOU'D be interested in as well! Lemme know down in the comments what YOU think of these types of stories, and as always, let me know what kind of content you'd enjoy reading about. 

Sources:

The West Virginia Argus. 17 February 1916

The (Clarksburg, WV) Daily Telegram. 12 February 1916

Martinsburg Herald. 19 February 1916

The Sunday Telegram. 20 February 1916. Accessed through Newspapers.com 

BONUS GHOST STORY:

As a paranormal researcher/investigator, I was REALLY hoping I could find some ghost stories associated with the Calhoun Family Cemetery, or tales of it's reputed haunting. How cool would that be to find documentation that this lil' location has a history of being haunted...and making the connection that this tragic tale could be behind it.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. But, I did find a very, VERY brief mention of another cemetery being haunted! Mrs. Calhoun was apparently living in Newburg, WV at the time of her death. Newburg is a good 30 minutes away by today's standards from her burial place between Manheim and Rowlesburg. Newburg is also home to an allegedly haunted cemetery of its own! The Damon Cemetery (sometimes referred to as the Knights of Pythias Cemetery) is haunted by the ghostly apparition of a lady in white. A visitor to the cemetery, checking on her father's grave, also had her own personal experience in the cemetery, which was shared on the Facebook page, West Virginia's Most Haunted Places. 

The Unquiet Grave of Mary Nasson

Close up of Mary Nasson's tombstone

In trying to complete my challenge of finishing out Volume 2 of Haunted America here on the blog, I stumbled across an interesting cemetery legend from York, Maine. It seems that in the historic Old York Burying Ground, there lies a unique tombstone, said to mark the final resting spot of a witch!

When Mary Nasson passed away on August 18th, 1774 at the age of 29, her husband Samuel had her grave marked with tombstone bearing a carving of Mary herself. From my experience, its rare to see portraits carved on tombstones of this time period, especially portraits that do somewhat evoke an image of fictional witch, Winifred Sanderson. But, even more damning in terms of legends and lore, Samuel covered the top of her grave with a granite slab. 

No one knows for sure just when the rumors of Mary being a witch began, but they date back to at least the late 1800's. George Alexander Emery's 1894 book, Ancient City of Georgeana and Modern Town of York (Maine) from it's Earliest Settlement: Also its Beaches and Summer Resorts, mentions Mary's grave in the Old York Burial Ground, noting that the granite slab was added as a means of keeping the witch in her grave. Since then, the legends of Mary Nasson being a witch have only grown and evolved with each telling. 

Protective Granite Slab

Some believe that Mary was actually hanged, or otherwise executed, for being a witch. However, there is no proof of that.  Others believe she was simply a woman who knew a lot about the medicinal properties of herbs...too much, in fact...and that's how she gained a reputation as a witch. Crows that hang out in the cemetery during the summer are often attributed to being her familiars.  And, others just believe that the best explanation for a granite slab (sometimes said to emit its own heat) is that it must be there to keep something sinister at bay. 

More than likely, the granite slab was put over the grave to keep cattle, pigs, and other roaming animals away from the body. In fact, it was a pretty common practice, and there's a good chance that even though Mary's grave is the only one that STILL has its slab in place, at one time, quite a few burials implemented the system. 

But, granite slab or not---witch or not---if you believe local legend, the slab hasn't succeeded in keeping Mary's spirit still. According to Joseph Cito's book, Weird New England, Mary's ghost enjoys interacting with children. Her apparition has been seen giving them wildflowers and pushing them on swing sets. 

Sources:

Atlas Obscura

Find-a-Grave

New England Folklore

The Sistersville Stocking Lady

Photo by Find-a-Grave contributor, Kathy Cook

I absolutely LOVE stories of haunted cemeteries and cursed tombstones.  There's just something about these particular legends that I think appeal to the thrill-seeker and adrenaline junkie in all of us!  Recently, I learned of another such legend here in the Mountain State:  The Stocking Lady of Sistersville. Like many of West Virginia's tombstone legends, this particular grave marker should be respected and admired....from far, far away!

Although we'd probably not consider Sistersville a booming city today, at one time the area was filled with wealthy citizens who made their fortunes in the oil and gas boom of the 1800s.  Many of those once-prominent citizens now call Oakwood Cemetery home, including the family of Philo Stocking.

Philo Stocking migrated from New York to the Wheeling area, and finally settled down river in Sistersville around 1841.  Local history has Philo Stocking as being one of the first people to attempt to drill oil in the area, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out.  However, Philo was a smart man.  He was sure that there was oil under his property, so he retained the oil and mineral rights to his property for him and his heirs.  Meanwhile, Stocking and his wife, Nancy, opened up a flour mill in 1852, which is still standing today under the name of Riverside Mills.  His son eventually took over the business and the family experienced financial success in the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Philo passed away in 1882 and his wife Nancy followed in 1901. Both were buried in the beautiful Oakwood Cemetery. A large granite monument with the elaborate figure of a woman cradling the grave was erected, overlooking the Stocking plots.  At one time, it must have been an impressive piece of funerary art.  Unfortunately, vandals have turned the once opulent statue into a desecrated mess of broken stone.

Close-up from Granny Sue's Blog

The Stocking Lady still stands guard over the graves of the Stocking family, but her arms have been broken off.  If you look closely at her face, you'll find it scratched and gouged, her eyes which were supposed to watch over the family in their eternal slumber now indistinguishable.  Because of the disrespect shown to her, local residents feel that the Stocking Lady is out for revenge!

The Stocking Lady is one of the tales collected and told by Appalachian story-teller, Granny Sue.  In a recent appearance at the WV Book Festival, she told the story of the Stocking Lady, and how at one local event, quite a few audience members came forward with personal knowledge of the statue's wrath!  It seems as if the gentleman responsible for breaking off the arms of the Stocking Lady soon after suffered a horrific accident in which he lost an arm.  The man accused of vandalizing the statue's face went blind.  In fact, it seems that if anyone just simply TOUCHES the statue, they will suffer bad luck, most likely in the form of health problems occurring in the part of their own body corresponding to what part of the statue's body they touched.

The cemetery is also alleged to be haunted by phantom moaning and white, wispy apparitions floating about.  Is this further evidence of the Stocking Lady or members of the Stocking family showing their displeasure for how their grave site was treated...or do the mysteries of Oakwood Cemetery extend even further?  If you find yourself in the Sistersville area, possibly staying at the historic and haunted Wells Inn, make sure you take a moment to stop at the cemetery and pay your respects to the Stocking family and the Stocking Lady.  Just...don't get too close!!

(This story can also be found in Rosemary E. Guiley's book, The Big Book of West Virginia Ghost Stories.  I've seen the cemetery in question be listed as both Greenwood AND Oakwood, but according to Find-a-Grave, the grave is officially listed in Oakwood.  If you have any clarification or corrections, please let me know!)

Happy Haunting, ya'll! 

Prepare for Death and Follow Me: An Iowa Cemetery Legend

Photo by Gravefinder, of Find-a-Grave

Atop a hill near Williamson, Iowa sits a quaint little cemetery.  Known as the Oak Hill Cemetery by some, and the Stoneking Cemetery by others, this final resting spot of the Stoneking and Darrah families is home to a rather creepy urban legend!

Like many similarly spooky legends, this one is all over the map.  Websites that feature lists of hauntings, such as Shadowlands and Iowa Haunted Houses, note that apparitions of horribly burned people and apparitions of people missing their hands have been spotted in the area.  And although it is no longer there, an abandoned home adjacent to the cemetery property was said to be rather scary itself.  Those brave enough to attempt to walk up the front steps of the home found the task physically impossible---something always stopped them from making it to the top.

The most talked about legend, however, is that of Joseph Stoneking. Joseph Stoneking was born on February 9, 1849 in what is now Wetzel County, West Virginia.  He passed away on March 17, 1916.

It is discussed among legend trippers that if one were to go behind the trees to the rear of the cemetery, they would witness the ghost of Joseph Stoneking sitting atop his own grave.  Anyone unlucky enough to experience this would be dead shortly after.

Fueling this fear, undoubtedly, is the rather grim epitaph found on the tombstone that Joseph shares with his wife, Lucinda:

DEAR CHILDREN AS YOU PASS BY

AS YOU ARE NOW, SO ONCE WAS I

AS I AM NOW, SO SOON YOU'LL BE

PREPARE FOR DEATH AND FOLLOW ME

While a tad unsettling today, this epitaph (and small variations of such) were actually quite  common here in the United States throughout the late 18th century to the early 20th century.  The blog, Vast Public Indifference, has a nice little write-up about the origins and use of this verse, so definitely go check that out!  

And, if you're in the area, actually check out this peaceful little cemetery...but only if you plan to do so respectfully.  In years past, the cemetery has seen bouts of vandalism, such as tombstones being knocked over and the cemetery sign being shot at.  Another aspect of Joseph's tombstone legend has visitors actually urinating on it, as doing so is believed to cause the epitaph to disappear.  Obviously, if you get a dark colored stone with lighter colored engraving wet, its going to be harder to read...so keep it in your pants and refrain from pissing on someone's relatives!