Читать книгу Cincinnati Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 15

directions

Take I-71 North from Cincinnati to exit 24, Western Row Road. At the end of the exit, go straight at the traffic light. Kings Island will be on your right. The cemetery is just off the road to your right. The cemetery is between the Kings Island parking lot and the Great Wolf Lodge parking lot on Kings Island Drive. It is easy to miss so keep careful watch for it just past the last exit from the Kings Island lot onto Kings Island Drive.

history

Before Kings Island dominated the landscape in this area, a small nondescript cemetery sat along the road surrounded by a picket fence. Some of the headstones in the cemetery date back to the mid 1800s, and some of the words on the headstones have faded to the point where they are illegible.

Today the cemetery seems like an anachronism surrounded by modern wonders. On one side of the cemetery is the main road. On another side stands the Great Wolf Lodge, a large indoor water park and hotel. And on the remaining two sides are Kings Island Amusement Park and the parking lot. This small cemetery seems dominated and almost forgotten amid all of this development. Perhaps it is this domination that has encouraged ghosts to come out. Perhaps the ghosts just don’t want to be forgotten.

ghost story

The most famous ghost from this small cemetery is a young girl. She is often seen in Kings Island itself in the area between the water park and the amusement park, but she is also seen in the cemetery. People will see her standing inside the wooden fence, looking out toward the amusement park. Many times when people see her, they only see her out of the corner of their eyes on the way out of the parking lot. By the time they realize that it’s too late at night for a girl as young as she to be inside the little cemetery, they have past her.

Other people will feel unwelcoming presences when they are inside the cemetery, or they will feel like they are being watched. At night, people will often see shadowy figures moving throughout the cemetery, especially when they are driving out of the park through the exit near the cemetery.

visiting

The biggest obstacle to visiting this cemetery during the day is parking. It costs money to park in Kings Island’s lot, and there is really no parking anywhere else near the small cemetery. It seems the only options are to park down the street at the theater or pay for parking at the amusement park.

Once you are parked, you still might face some obstacles. Although there are no signs that say anything about the cemetery closing at dark, it is possible that the cemetery is off limits at that time. Kings Island is heavily guarded after closing, so it is likely that you will be approached by security if you are in the cemetery after hours.

If you are visiting the park itself, the cemetery might be a stop to consider on your way out or in. I personally wouldn’t suggest you go to the cemetery in the middle of the night when Kings Island is closed. I went once in the middle of the day during the off-season when Kings Island was closed for the winter. I was not approached by anyone while I was there.