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More Haunted Hoosier Trails

EXCERPTS NORTHERN INDIANA BENTON COUNTY The Ghost of Justus Cemetery The clouds scurried across the night sky, at times hiding the pale moonlight. It was a windy, chilly, rainy night, not a good night for man or best to venture out a perfect night for ghosts. It was the era of the steam engine, and a train traveling on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad stopped at the Oxford, Indiana, water tower located within view of the Justus Cemetery. As the crewmembers began taking on water above the whine of the wind, they heard distinctly a mournful moaning. Passengers hearing the sound strained their eyes into the darkness trying to learn from where and what this sound was coming. Suddenly a figure in white was seen floating from the cemetery through the air toward the idle train. Its moans could be heard above the wind. The crewmembers and passengers watched, frozen from fright. Women began screaming. The crewmembers worked frantically to complete the task of taking on water. Suddenly without warning the specter retreated back to the cemetery, plunging headlong into an open grave. The crewmembers were understandably frightened. Some even asked to transfer to daylight trains or better still, to any other train that did not have to pass through Oxford and the Justus Cemetery. Once again, a few nights later, the train made its customary and needed stop at the Oxford water tower. The crew had completed the task when the ghost appeared. The train began to get up a head of steam but was unable to move for several minutes, its wheels spinning on the track. The crewmembers became nearly hysterical when suddenly with a jerk the train began to roll free from whatever horror had held it tight in its grasp. Fear and panic consumed the crew, and with open defiance, the train s crew refused to take the train into Oxford on its next run. Railroad officials were at a loss to know what to do and finally hired a detective. After visiting Oxford and talking to some of the citizens, he was able to persuade a few to accompany him one night as he visited the cemetery. This was scary business he was proposing. As the small group waited and watched, they observed some of the young men of the community creep into the area just before the train arrived to take on water. One of them carried something white a sheet. The detective left his hiding place, and the others followed as he approached the young men. The youthful pranksters admitted they were responsible for the ghost. They had attached a wire from the top of the water tower to the cemetery and were pulling a sheet, draped over a coat hanger, along this track. They also confessed that they had rubbed soap on the railroad tracks to make it difficult for the train to get traction once it had stopped. The pranksters were set free with a stern warning that if this ever happened again they would be arrested. That ended the life of the ghost of Justus Cemetery or did it? There were some among the train s crew those who had been frightened into near hysterics who didn t believe that it was a prank. CENTRAL INDIANA CLINTON COUNTY The Ghost of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving s "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a permanent part of our literary history. The town of Sleepy Hollow along with the headless horseman have become part of our national folklore. The spirit that haunts Irving s Sleepy Hollow is the ghost of a Hessian trooper who has been decapitated by a cannonball during a Revolutionary War scrimmage. He rides wildly through the countryside at night seeking his head, but must return to his burial site before daybreak. Indiana has its own Sleepy Hollow located just outside of Frankfort, and it, too, has a haunting tale. You won t encounter a headless horseman, but what they say you ll find there is much more frightening. Clinton County s Sleepy Hollow is located on a lonely road near a bridge spanning the South Fork of the Wildcat Creek. The story has its origin sometime in the 1800s. A farmer s wife had just prepared and served the evening meal. No one knows why it happened or how it happened, but the seemingly docile wife had killed her husband. Had she taken all she could from a domineering, demanding man? Or had she simply gone mad? Did she use her iron skillet to end his life? To cover up the crime and dispose of the evidence the body she decided to cut him up into manageable pieces. Once this was achieved, she waited until it was dark. Then she loaded him onto the wagon and proceeded to Wildcat Creek bridge. Once there she began to toss him, piece by piece, over the bridge and into the creek. Later, she became fearful that someone would find the pieces. Night after night she went to the bridge to make sure there was nothing to be found. Even if she wasn t out of her mind when she killer her husband, her guilt most certainly drove her insane. In fact, even after her death, she still protects her secret. Many have said that on this lonely road as you approach the bridge, she ll appear as a light floating toward you in an attempt to scare you away. But if you re really lucky, according to some stories you might encounter her husband rising from the creek piece by piece. To find Sleepy Hollow, follow these directions if you dare. Take State Route 28 west out of Frankfort until you reach West Mulberry Jefferson Road. Turn right and follow the road until you come to 600-West. Continue on 600-West until you see the bridge and perhaps something else. "

More Haunted Hoosier TrailsPaperback, 1 September 2004

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