Читать книгу Cincinnati Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 20

directions

Take I-71 north to the Fields Ertel exit. Turn left onto Mason Montgomery Road. Travel about four and a half miles down the road until you see Rose Hill Cemetery on your left. Once you enter through the main gate, go to your right toward the office. Drive past the office and slightly to your left. The McClung family plot is marked by a large family obelisk covered with names. Rebecca and John’s headstones face the street.

history

John McClung was a very jealous person who would rarely, if ever, let his wife Rebecca out of the house. One day in 1901, a scream was heard from the McClung house. When neighbors rushed to see what had happened, Rebecca lay dead in the bedroom, and John was covered with her blood. She had been beaten to death with a log from the fireplace. Her body was moved to the basement of the house while her plot was prepared, and then she was moved a short distance down the road to Rose Hill Cemetery and the family plot.

John was put on trial for murder. He claimed that he was outside at the barn, but everyone knew that he had killed her. The trial drew headlines, and John was demonized in the media for the brutal murder. Somehow though, he was acquitted of the crime. Further, in 1904, he was buried in the plot directly beside Rebecca, the woman he was accused of brutally murdering. (see McClung House chapter in the Businesses section of this book)

ghost story

Rebecca is seen in the cemetery at night. She is most often seen walking up to her own headstone. She appears to be a real person. She is not misty or a momentary shadow. She appears as a full apparition that looks exactly as Rebecca looked in life. Witnesses will be shown a picture of Rebecca and will swear that it was the same person. When she is approached, she always vanishes suddenly. People suggest that she roams the cemetery at night because she is upset that her murderer and oppressor is buried in the plot directly beside her and that he got away with her murder.

visiting

The McClung plot is very difficult to see from the road at night, and unfortunately, the cemetery closes at dark. This makes it difficult to witness the ghost here since she appears mostly at dark or at dusk. Most of the time, this ghost is spotted at night by caretakers who think there is a woman trespassing after closing time.

Your best bet for legally spotting this ghost is to go to the cemetery and wait near the McClung headstone until dusk. Sometimes she is spotted while the cemetery is still open, but you will probably want to leave as soon as it gets dark so that you are not arrested for trespassing.