Disappearing Jesus

 

Disappearing Jesus
July 2026

It's not often that a city will have TWO major cemetery urban legends, but Ashland, Kentucky is a spooky, history-filled river town that is no stranger to the unknown. A few weeks ago I brought you the story of the Weeping Woman of Ashland Cemetery, a funerary statue known to come to life and sob uncontrollably in grief. Today, we'll be discussing the Disappearing Jesus of East Ashland Memorial Gardens!

Near the entrance to East Ashland Memorial Gardens is an Italianate marble statue of Jesus Christ. Known as a Christus Memorial, the statue is modeled after the original 11-foot marble statue of Christ sculpted in 1833 by Bertel Thorvaldsen. These were popular additions to memorial garden cemeteries around the time that the East Ashland Cemetery began its modern expansion from the old Williams Cemetery (which dated back to the late 1800s) to its modern inception in 1955. 

Shortly after the statue was in place, those traveling along the main road in front of the cemetery noticed something rather odd. Sometimes Jesus was there, on his pedestal in all his glory. And, sometimes when they looked again, he had disappeared!

The story of a Disappearing Jesus statue was so widespread that it earned a lengthy article and photo in the July 21, 1968 edition of the Ironton Tribune. Written by staff writer, Leigh Ferguson, the article goes on to interview Edward H. Scott, who was President of Golden Oaks and East Ashland Memorial Gardens, Inc. (Golden Oaks is an adjoining cemetery property, which has a similar statue, lacking a haunted reputation)

Scott fully admits that the statue in question has a quirky disposition for disappearing, but there's a perfectly natural explanation for it. It is simply an optical illusion caused by the color of the statue blending in against the horizon. It all depends on angle and timing. The phenomenon only works after dark. 

Back of Statue
July 2026

As the cemetery is closed to visitors after dark, the phenomenon is mainly observed by those driving by after sunset. Keep a steady gaze on the statue as you go by, and watch it simply disappear from view! For decades, carloads of teens and other curious onlookers drove by in hopes of seeing it for themselves. I thought it was interesting that Scott noted the urban legend had not attracted vandals to the cemetery. For the most part, everyone remained respectful of the sacred space. The only thing they'd notice is paper cups littering the area around the entrance.

Obviously, I wanted to test this out for myself, but I only had the opportunity to be in town during daylight hours. It was daylight, but it was a rainy, overcast day so I thought that may work to my advantage. The sky WAS very similar in color to the statue, after all. I entered the cemetery coming from the Golden Oaks side and immediately saw the statue to my right, facing away. I drove around the interior of the cemetery, which is BEAUTIFUL, by the way, but I could never get an angle where the statue disappeared. I stopped to take a few photos from different angles, but I could not make the statue seemingly disappear...until I was ready to leave.

I turned left out of the cemetery onto 55th Street, which is the opposite of the way I came in. As I was driving away, I glanced in my passenger side mirror back at the cemetery and was absolutely shocked. Where I was almost 100% sure the statue should have been was an empty pedestal! I slammed on my brakes, turned around and looked and made the realization. I wasn't looking where the statue was located. At the angle I was at, I was seeing the pillars at the entrance of the cemetery, which obviously do not have Jesus atop. 

Hopefully, I'll make it back that way soon after dark and can test out the legend more fully. I'll drive by going both directions, something I also failed to do during my first trip and maybe instead of mistaking a different pillar, I'll actually witness the optical illusion for myself!

Sources and Further Reading:

Find-A-Grave East Ashland/Golden Oaks

East Ashland Memorial Gardens Website

Christus Memorial-Wikipedia

21 July 1968
Ironton Tribune (Ironton, OH)

Ghost Play Causes Death

 

When it comes to the business of ghosts, you'll often hear the old saying that there is far more to fear from the living than there is from the dead...and sometimes, that fear is simply within our own minds. Today's blog deals with a tragic story that happened back in 1907, near Ashland, Kentucky.

According to the November 16, 1907 edition of the Superior Times (a Wisconsin-based newspaper, which can be found on the Chronicling America website for free), a young girl named Clara Osgood leaped from a second story window of her home, fatally breaking her neck in the fall. Clara and her sister had been arguing about ghosts. Clara claimed that no apparition could frighten HER, and even bet her new silk petticoat that she was right. 

Her older sister, Annie, intent on proving her wrong, dropped the matter for the time being. Then, sometime later, she wrapped herself in a sheet, and entered Clara's room late at night, making weird moaning sounds. Overcome with fright, Clara ran to the bedroom window and leaped to her death. 

What was supposed to be a simple prank between two sisters quickly turned deadly. A fun little joke, proving that her sister wasn't as brave as she boasted, left a young woman deceased, and left a reminder to us all to just be careful when it comes to the ghosty stuff. Be careful who you try to scare, and if you see something scary, try to calm down and look at the situation rationally. More times than not, things are NOT what they seem. 

While this prank had a tragic end, the art of scaring each other silly with the paranormal is nothing new! Here's another newspaper article about a different ghostly prank---when a pair of lovers chose a local cemetery for their romantic meetups, the sexton decided scaring them away would be the best way to stop their behavior!  LOVERS FRIGHTENED AS CORPSE AWOKE.