Читать книгу Cincinnati Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 12

directions

From Cincinnati, take Route 50 west all the way to North Bend or take I-74 West to the SR 128 exit (exit 7) and follow 128 south until you reach Route 50. Turn left on Route 50. Turn onto Miami Avenue in North Bend. There should be a sign pointing you to the tomb of William Henry Harrison. Follow Miami Avenue to Brower Road and turn left on Brower. Turn right onto Cliff Road just after the bridge. Follow the road up the hill past the William Henry Harrison tomb. Parking is on your right; the cemetery is on your left near the top of the hill.

history

The cemetery was built by the man who founded North Bend (not to mention most of the rest of the Cincinnati area). His name was John Cleves Symmes, and he hoped that North Bend would become the jewel of southwest Ohio. In 1814, Symmes was one of the first to be buried in the graveyard. At the time, it was called the Pasture Graveyard. Symmes’ son-in-law was President William Henry Harrison, and his great-grandson was President Benjamin Harrison.

In 1878, a man named John Scott Harrison died. He was the son of William Henry Harrison and the father of Benjamin Harrison. He was taken to Congress Green Cemetery, where his children noticed that a grave had been disturbed and the body stolen. To prevent their father’s body from being stolen in the same way, they buried him in a concrete vault without a marker. After the funeral, Benjamin Harrison went back to his home in Indiana, but John’s other son, John Jr., went looking for the body snatchers. His investigation led him to the Cincinnati Medical College in downtown Cincinnati. As he entered the school to question them about the recent robbery, he found the body of his father, John Scott Harrison, sprawled on a table about to be dissected.

ghost story

People say that John Scott Harrison and John Cleves Symmes both haunt this cemetery. John Scott Harrison supposedly haunts it because of the grave robbery, and John Cleves Symmes haunts it because he is upset that North Bend didn’t become the jewel of southwest Ohio. People will hear voices and see figures walking through the cemetery. Sometimes strange mists will rise from certain headstones. Other times people will see men dressed in Civil War uniforms walking through the cemetery.

visiting

The best time to visit this cemetery is during the day. Many ghost hunts have been conducted here during the day, and some strange images have been caught in photographs. The area is kind of out of the way, so many times you will be the only person wandering through the cemetery.

There are clear indications that the cemetery closes at dusk, so it is in your best interest to follow these warnings and leave when the sun goes down. There is a house adjacent to the cemetery, and the owners are likely to report trespassers after dark. Since there has been ghostly activity caught here during the day, it is not worth the risk to break the law and wander into the cemetery at night.