A Tale About A Five-Year-Old Witch Child...
that appears to be false!
- Photo taken by Bonnie Gass (click for larger image)
Here is the story as it is told on The Shadowlands website:
http://www.theshadowlands.net/places/kentucky.htm
Marion [Kentucky] - Pilot's Knobb - Witches Grave - This cemetery is
located off of Ford's Ferry Road in Marion. The legend behind this
cemetery is about a five year old girl who was burned at the stake,
along with her mother, in the late 1800's to the early 1900's for
witchcraft. It is not known what happened to the body of the mother,
however the little girl, Mary Evelyn, is buried in a steel lined grave
that is covered with rock and not dirt. She has a white picket fence
surrounding her grave. The base of this fence is a series of crosses
that connect end to end. However she is not tall enough to climb over
the fence, unlike a normal 5 year old. Her tombstone looks brand new
even though it is close to 100 years old, as does the fence. She paces
inside this fence when someone comes to visit her making faces at them
and reaching out to them. She sleeps during the day but is very evident
at night. The legend also says that she can not rest because she is
searching for her mother but can not escape the confines of the fence.
Many unexplainable things occur at this cemetery. For one the "Watcher"
makes himself very know and tries to follow you out of the cemetery.
The "Watcher" was murdered at the swinging bridge but haunts the
witch's grave. He is trying to get to the little witch but because of
the crosses that surround her he is unable to because he is evil.
Crosses appear in the trees both upright and upside down, directly over
her grave, though they face different directions. She presents herself
as a normal 5-year-old little girl in a white dress, though her dress
is scorched at the bottom as is her blonde hair. If you lay on her
grave she will hold you down refusing to let go until someone from
outside of the fence pulls you free. However never lay on the grave
when you are alone because chances are you will be pulled into her
grave to be with her thus giving her more power. As with every haunted
cemetery people that are open to the spirit world sees something different.
located off of Ford's Ferry Road in Marion. The legend behind this
cemetery is about a five year old girl who was burned at the stake,
along with her mother, in the late 1800's to the early 1900's for
witchcraft. It is not known what happened to the body of the mother,
however the little girl, Mary Evelyn, is buried in a steel lined grave
that is covered with rock and not dirt. She has a white picket fence
surrounding her grave. The base of this fence is a series of crosses
that connect end to end. However she is not tall enough to climb over
the fence, unlike a normal 5 year old. Her tombstone looks brand new
even though it is close to 100 years old, as does the fence. She paces
inside this fence when someone comes to visit her making faces at them
and reaching out to them. She sleeps during the day but is very evident
at night. The legend also says that she can not rest because she is
searching for her mother but can not escape the confines of the fence.
Many unexplainable things occur at this cemetery. For one the "Watcher"
makes himself very know and tries to follow you out of the cemetery.
The "Watcher" was murdered at the swinging bridge but haunts the
witch's grave. He is trying to get to the little witch but because of
the crosses that surround her he is unable to because he is evil.
Crosses appear in the trees both upright and upside down, directly over
her grave, though they face different directions. She presents herself
as a normal 5-year-old little girl in a white dress, though her dress
is scorched at the bottom as is her blonde hair. If you lay on her
grave she will hold you down refusing to let go until someone from
outside of the fence pulls you free. However never lay on the grave
when you are alone because chances are you will be pulled into her
grave to be with her thus giving her more power. As with every haunted
cemetery people that are open to the spirit world sees something different.
Another account & an actual reported visit to the cemetery during daytime & then later at night by The Louisville Ghost Hunters Society:
http://www.louisvilleghs.com/LGHS_MASTER/SUB/Legends/Pilots%20Knob/pilots_knob.htm
http://www.louisvilleghs.com/LGHS_MASTER/SUB/Legends/Pilots%20Knob/pilots_knob.htm
Certainly interesting stories, but then along comes a genealogical researcher... look at what she says and found out!!!
"After learning about this story and the websites from Bonnie, I decided to do some checking to see what I could find out about it. I wanted documented facts only. Below is what I found. Thanks Bonnie Gass for telling me about this." - Peggy Gilkey.
The Truth
Mary Evelyn Ford's Death Certificate shows that she was not burned as a witch but died from peritonitis ( inflammation of the stomach lining) and rec(t)al impaction. Also her mother Mary Rebecca (Davis) Ford was still living in the 1920 Crittenden Co., Ky. U.S. Federal Census: h/h 64/64 Ford's Ferry Dist., four years after the death of Mary Evelyn. Neither was burned for being a witch. Shame on the one that started this story about a "Little Witch Girl"
http://www.westernkyhistory.org/crittenden/pilotknobcem.html
http://www.westernkyhistory.org/crittenden/pilotknobcem.html
Evelyn Ford's parents were James Andrew Ford b. 13 April 1857 d. 17 Sept. 1927 and Mary Rebecca Davis Ford b. 1869 d. 1955. (Burned as a witch, I think NOT!) They are buried by Evelyn and also a son Corbett C 1892-1970 and a dau. Cavey Busey 1897-1980. I imagine the only news story would have been an obit, but as you can see most of them lived a good long life.
[The death Certificate is a little hard to read, but you can see that Evelyn Ford did not die from burns or even related to such cause. Why the story of "witchcraft" for the child & her mother remains a mystery. More research may unfold more facts to bring this "River Debris" into proper perspective... and this poor child's spirit will be able to finally Rest in Peace! - JGWest]
- Submitted by Peggy Gilkey
1 comment:
Just found this on The Unknown Truth, Paranormal Investigations - What really happened? : The following web site has information on the real story of the girl and her mother along with a copy of Mary Evelyn's death certificate. This site and her death certificate explains that Mary Evelyn Ford's "CAUSE OF DEATH" was "peritonitis" (inflammation of abdominal cavity membrane) which was directly related to "rectal impaction". It's also stated that there were records of her mother, Mary Rebecca Ford (Davis), still living, 4 years after Mary Evelyn's death in 1920...
http://www.westernkyhistory.org/crittenden/pilotknobcem.html
- What we found : At no time did we experience ANY of the reported occurrences for this location. We never had the feeling of being watched or followed. We never heard the footsteps of the watchman. Nothing appeared out of place at Mary Evelyn's grave. The car did start after a small tease. The tree did not smell or appear to be burnt. We did hear a 'howling' sound that was reduced to the wind through the trees and over the valleys below. Heather and Collier mentioned the smell of "funeral flowers" near the grave of Penny Wooley Morgan. Collier saw some flowers on the ground and didn't think much of the smell until I let him know the only flowers on the ground near the grave were plastic. We're not quite sure what that was all about...
Looks like Peggy Gilkey got credit for her research! They also show a photo of Rebecca & her husband's grave marker!
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