erie

Erie Cemetery

Legend has it that Erie Cemetery includes two intriguing
stories. This would be the Witches' Circle and the Vamp's
Tomb.

For those not familiar with Erie Cemetery, it is huge! And that's
an understatement. It covers 14 city blocks, and you cannot
see from one end to the other. It sprawls over hills and acres,
and the mausoleums that are strategically placed throughout
the grounds make it very serene and beautiful.

In October 2005, four of us made the trip to Erie, Pa to
investigate this urban legend. We entered the cemetery,
which has posted on its website that it is open to the public
until 10pm, only to find that it is actually only open until dusk.
This was a bit of a setback and disappointment, but luckily we
arrived early enough to conduct a daytime investigation.

We found the famed "Witches' Circle" immediately. It is said
that the two tombstones turned black when the devil came to
claim the souls of the two witches buried there. Supposedly,
Luther Douglas and Michael Haverstick were being tried as
witches at the Salem Witch Trials, and they fled to save their
lives. We were able to debunk this part of the story prior to
making the trip there. Tom pointed out that these people died
in the 1800's, and the Salem Witch Trials happened in 1692. So,
unless they were over 150 years old at the time of their
deaths, that was impossible. Place, the fact that their names
appear nowhere in the Salem Witch Trial Papers. As for the
blackened tombstones, it is quite common for these types of
headstones to turn black over the years - but it has nothing to
do with fire or the devil. It is also said that this particular
burial was strange because they were buried in a circle. As we
explored the cemetery, we found several of these circles, and
many appeared to just be family members buried together in
family plots.

We also located the Scott Mausoleum, which had become
famous when a private investigator set up a scheme to steal
the bodies, knowing the family would hire him to find them.
Unfortunately, for him, his scheme didn't pay off, as he was
caught.

We searched for a while, but finally found the Vamp's Tomb. It
is said that there are symbols on this building that look like
bats, and it is an old and spooky structure. While it is very old,
and it's true that from a distance the flowers engraved on it
may look like bats, it is no different from any other tomb in the
cemetery. The name is missing, but you can tell there was one
there at one time. It is padlocked, so you cannot enter, of
course. So, that may have lead to some of the mystery around
it. It is a fact that the cemetery has no record of who is buried
here, or how old it may be.

We did several EVP sessions throughout the cemetery. The
near the Vamp's Tomb was noisy due to the nearby traffic, so
we concluded early at that location. There were no EMF
spikes, nor did we detect any temperature fluctuations (and
boy was it cold!). Nothing of a paranormal nature appeared on
video or in photos.

Like many cemeteries, it has its "spooky" areas, as well as its
beautiful spots. Having debunked the Witches' Circle and
Vamp's Tomb, there wasn't much else to do. It might be
possible that a few restless spirits are hanging around there.
But, we didn't catch any of them.