The Haunting of Federal Hill Cemtery in Kentucky

Bardstown, Kentucky, has an unusual story that people love to tell. This story is a ghost story, but it runs a little deeper than your average ghost story. This is the story of the moving gravestone in the Federal Hill Cemetery, and it has been around for at least 150 years.

John Rowan was a famous man in his hometown, having served seven terms in elected offices, along with being a state judge and working as a State Senator. Later in life he would also serve as a chief justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and also serving as the Secretary of State for Kentucky. He was also the cousin of Stephen Foster, who penned a number of his songs during the 19^th century.

Though he was fairly popular in the state, he experienced more than his fair share of rough times. As a child he was frequently sick, and doctors told his family that he may not live past an early age. This prompted the family to move to a country estate in Kentucky. He began changing his life, and studied law as a student. He even married a young woman named Ann Lytle. Lytle's father passed along land to the young couple upon which they built Federal Hill.

One night while playing a game of cards at the house, Rowan began arguing with a man by the name of James Chambers. The two were casual friends, and the argument was a silly one that quickly grew more heated. After Rowan insulted the man's wife, he demanded a duel. The duel led outside, and only Rowan survived.

This could have disturbed a smaller man, but Rowan persevered. However even he could not persevere the cholera epidemic that swept Kentucky in 1833. All told the man lost 26 slaves and four members of his immediate family, including his son John who was Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State. John stopped by the house to visit his family, contracted cholera, and passed away in the house.

Rowan himself passed away in 1843, and told family and close friends that he didn't want a monument or marker on his grave. The man believed in pride, and felt that his meager grave didn't deserve such a high honor. He further claimed that the elaborate house he had built on Federal Hill was a monument in and of itself.

Rowan was eventually buried in the Bardstown Cemetery, though his remains were later moved to Federal Hill Cemetery. Upon his grave family members erected a large obelisk type monument, with the belief that his life fitted such a memorial. That was when things began happening.

The moment the monument was complete, it fell over without warning. Despite spending a good amount of time trying to decide why the stone fell, no one could find a good reason. The best excuse they could find was that roots from a nearby tree had caused too much pressure on the base of the monument.

Not long after, the stone tipped over again. Each time it was replaced, it would stand in place for a few weeks or months, but would eventually topple over again. Eventually local stone workers began refusing to return to the cemetery. Locals began saying that this was Rowan expressing his displeasure at the monument. Some even claimed that he had threatened his family prior to his death at what would happen if his wishes were not followed.

Though it has been 150 years since the monument was first placed in the cemetery, it still continues to regularly follow over today. I visited the cemetery once when I was living in Louisville, Kentucky and I have to say that I didn't experience anything unusual. The monument is not as grand as some that I have seen in the past, but it is easy to find. It was standing when I was there, but maybe the next time I visit, it will have toppled over again.

The Ghostly Tale of Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Harrodsburg Spring Park in Harrodsburg, Kentucky is a placed haunted by a sad and lonely ghost. The story itself is sad enough that it might bring a tear to your eye. However, after hearing the story you might notice a few flaws. According to the legends, a beautiful woman came to Harrodsburg and immediately booked a room at the Harrodsburg Springs Hotel. During the late 19th century, the hotel often held dances for locals and the girl became the belle of the ball. She danced with man after man, and seemed to be having the time of the night. As the music grew louder, she continued to dance and no one noticed any problems.

As her dance partner continued to sweep her around the floor, he noticed that she didn't seem as lively and excited as she had earlier in the night. He glanced down at her face and discovered that the gorgeous young woman was dead.

Police were called to the scene, but there was nothing they could do. After looking into the woman's background, they discovered that she gave a fake name when checking in. Despite trying to local the woman's family, without a proper name they ran into a dead end.

Finally the hotel owners decided that they would pay for the woman's burial, and had her interred on the property. When the hotel burned down in the 1950's, only her grave survived. Today the site of the former hotel is a small city park. Other cities would have moved the woman to another cemetery, but Harrodsburg left here there.

Though the hotel is gone, some claim the strange young woman's ghost still haunts the area. Locals claim to see the woman standing in the shadows, and dancing slowly by herself. Others say that they can still hear a hint of music in the air.

The only problem with the story is that it is a pure bit of Kentucky folklore. The grave itself is there, but no one seems to know exactly when the woman died in the hotel. Despite numerous stories, no one has ever been able to give the woman a name either, even the fake name she used.

This is a story that has been passed down for years in the town, since the hotel was still standing. Once the hotel was gone, the story changed from people seeing the woman in the hotel to seeing her dancing where the hotel once was. This seems to be a case of a legend passed down from one generation to the next, and changed a little with each telling.

Kentucky's Most Haunted: The Vengeful Ghost of Carl Pruitt

Stories of a vengeful and killer ghost spread across the state of Kentucky in 1938. People claimed that the ghost was causing death and destruction wherever it went, though it seemed to be centered on a small area of the state.

The story started with Carl Pruitt, who seemed to be an ordinary man. Ordinary that is until he discovered his wife cheating on him, and not only that, but cheating with him in his own bed. In a fit of anger, he grabbed a steel chain and strangled his wife with it, while the other man ran for his life. Seeing what he had done, Pruitt killed himself. Considering what he had done, the wife's family insisted that the two be separated, and Pruitt was placed across town in a different cemetery.

Pruitt's headstone almost instantly changed in appearance, and people swore that they could see a chain wrapped around the stone. It almost looked as if the chain was etched into the stone, and it continued to grow longer and take up more space on the headstone. Once the chain stopped growing, some suggested that the stone be removed, but it never was.

The first death came just a few weeks after the chain stopped. Several boys rode through the cemetery, and one tossed rocks at the headstone to prove his bravery. On the way home that day the boy's bicycle veered out of control and he somehow ended up being strangled by the chain on his bike. Though his friends swore that the boy broke the stone with one of his throws, no evidence of the damage could be found.

A few weeks later the boy's mother went to the cemetery with vengeance in mind. She attacked the tombstone with an axe from her farm, destroying it into a pile of rubble. The next day the lady was hanging clothes outside her house when the clothesline came loose. Somehow, and no one is quite sure how, the woman ended up being strangled by the clothesline. Some claim that once again the tombstone appeared perfectly normal.

Though stories of the deaths continued to spread, not everyone was afraid of Pruitt. A family driving past the cemetery witnessed the horrifying death of their father. The man shot at the headstone, declaring that he thought the whole story was fake. Right after that, his wagon veered out of control and the man was strangled to death by a chain on the wagon. Not only did the tombstone look perfect, but authorities were baffled to how the chain came loose to kill the man.

Following the last death, people began to talk. The talk spread to the point where authorities were sent to the area to examine the tombstone. One of the men laughed at the tombstone, and it would be one of the last things he ever did. While leaving the cemetery, his car crashed. A chain in the area broke through the windshield, wrapped around his neck, and strangled him.

That incident caused people to keep their distance, but once again there was a man who scoffed at the stories. He attacked the tombstone with a hammer, and people could hear the cracking as the tombstone broke in pieces. There was a short silence before people heard the man screaming.

When people ran to the cemetery, they found that a heavy chain from the cemetery gate had strangled the man. It looked as though the man had run right through the gate, caught his neck on the chain, and hung there until people arrived. Once again there was no sign of any damage to Pruitt's tombstone.

This was the turning point of the cemetery. Families began moving their buried to other cemeteries, and new burials rarely occurred there. The cemetery itself was destroyed in the 1950's, leaving only the story behind.

Even today people still talk about the mysterious deaths surrounding this one little tombstone. No explanation has ever been given, but people still love to tell the story of what once happened there.

Mitchel Road and Hotrod Haven: A Ghostly Legend from Kentucky

Mitchel Hill Road is a place in Kentucky that locals call Hotrod Haven. While teens and young adults today tend to think they invented, or refined street racing, those that hopped along this road during the 1940s and 1950s would beg to differ.

The road itself is fairly dangerous to drive during the day, and even more so at night. With a number of curves and twists, it's a road that begs people to take it slowly. Yet not everyone heeds its warnings, and that has resulted in at least 25 deaths over the years. The death of one such individual on the road has led to a ghostly tale that still plagues the area.

The date was September 23, 1950 when a young couple headed down Mitchel Road traveling to a dance. The two made it to a certain bend in the road where they lost control of the car. The car careened into the bottom of a hill, killing the two instantly. Though their deaths were tragic to locals, it also brought forth a long-standing ghost story.

Supposedly the couple was buried in a cemetery on the road that is reserved for several local families such as Mitchel and Griffen. Story claims that the two were buried side by side so they could still be together in death. The story further claims that the young woman is now doomed to wander through the cemetery, and along Mitchel Road.

Oddly enough history doesn't recall the name of the young couple, or even the names of even one of them. Some people claim the young woman was named Mary, while others are convinced she is Sarah. There are stories that people in the area simply picked the name out of the cemetery, based on women that died during the same time period.

There actually was a deadly accident on Mitchel Road, but it happened on September 23, 1946. A young couple was traveling down the road on their way to a dance when the car crashed. Roy Clarke and Sarah Mitchel were both killed in the accident and buried together in the cemetery.

There are many who believe that this tragedy gave birth to the urban legend told about the road, while others believe it is proof that the ghost story is real. There are also some who believe the story originated as a way to keep teenagers from racing down the dangerous road.

Mitchel Road is a place that if you visit, you should be careful driving down. Whether there are ghosts or not, it is still a dangerous place to visit.