Читать книгу Nashville Haunted Handbook - Jeff Morris - Страница 20

directions

Old City Cemetery, also known as Nashville City Cemetery, which holds the boulder tombstone, is just south of downtown on Fourth Avenue. Facing the river on Broadway, turn right onto Fourth Avenue and follow it for about a mile until you pass I-40. The cemetery is just past Oak Street. The boulder is a huge tombstone near the main building at the center that cannot be missed. The name on the boulder is Ann Rawlins Sanders, 1815–1836.

history

Here at the boulder tombstone, there are known truths and then there are legends that may or may not be true. We know that the person whose name is on the stone, Ann Sanders, was 21 at the time of her death, that she married Charles Sanders four years before her death, and that she died at midnight on March 30, 1836.

The stories behind her death are less verifiable since, in the early 1800s, if someone committed suicide it wasn’t widely advertised. The story goes that in March of 1836, Ann and Charles got into a huge lover’s quarrel. At the climax of the quarrel, Ann ran away, not sure about the fate of her marriage or what would become of her. Depressed, she found her way to a cliff overlooking the Cumberland River and looked down into the water below. Feeling that she had nothing left to live for, she jumped into the river and drowned.

Charles repented after the fight and went looking for her. Eventually, he discovered what had happened and was completely crushed. In order to mark her grave, he had a chunk of rock removed from the cliff where she jumped. It was used to mark her grave in the city cemetery. Ann was afraid of the dark, so in order to make sure that she was comfortable in death, Charles attached a lantern to the top of the stone. Since then, the stone has gained the nickname “Suicide Rock.”

ghost story

You would not be surprised to find out that the ghost stories that involve this tombstone seem to match aspects of the legend that accompanies the stone. Most of the stories involve sounds that happen at any time during the day or night. Witnesses will often hear sobbing coming from near the boulder even though there is no one else around. When they stand near the boulder, people will also hear arguments that sound as if they are coming from a distance. Perhaps these are echoes of the final lover’s quarrel that cost Ann her life.

There are other ghosts that haunt the area as well. Sometimes the lantern above the boulder appears to be lit in the middle of the night although the cemetery is closed and no one has been there to light it. Other times, people will see a figure of a man in period clothing approaching the stone and reaching up toward the lantern as if to light it. People will also see a young woman standing atop the stone with a sad look upon her face. The woman vanishes when approached.

visiting

No one can enter this cemetery after dark. It is only open until 4 p.m. throughout the year. This does not make it impossible to experience the ghosts here, however. The sounds are heard at all hours, so you can go during the cemetery’s open hours to experience these ghostly sounds. The lighting of the lantern at night can be experienced from the public road after dark. Just make sure you don’t enter the cemetery after it closes or you may be fined for trespassing.