Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Back To Gilson

Is the draw back to Gilson Rd Cemetery due to it’s reputation for paranormal activities? Could it be that it’s simply a quiet peaceful place worth popping in on every now and then? You decide. I already have my answer.

We begin with the grave of Walter Gilson. A child’s grave just like so many sen in cemeteries. This grave however had a hole that few could agree on how it formed. Was it a bullet hole from the Indian wars? This was not the oddest part about the grave today. As we approached, shadows of Steven King’s It pranced through our brains as a red ball rolled on the hill. We placed it back where we believe it came from, little Walter’s grave. Never before had we seen such a display of toys and mementos, at least not here before. I wonder who had been visiting. Apparently, Walter likes Barbies.

Visitors had also left remembrances for other babies and at least one adult. I also wonder if it were not a respect thing, but maybe a magical thing, leaving offerings to the spirits in exchange for services. One can never know for sure without being there at the time.

As we leave you, we have a mystery that maybe you can solve. Anyone know what this solar “thing” might be for? It was not connected to anything and I didn’t see a light under it. Just wondering. Until Next time, Gilson. What surprises will be in store for us then?

The Hills Farms Cemetery is behind the Alvirne Chapel off Derry Rd in Hudson NH. The chapel was consecrated on November 12, 1909. There are 4 crypts under the chancel but only two are marked. These identify the resting places of Dr. Alfred K. Hills and his wife Ida Virginia. When the chapel was completed the remains of Mrs. Hills and their two infant children were laid to rest within the chapel.

This is not the oldest or the most remote, but it is beautiful in the Autumn and I even caught sight of another elusive graveyard rabbit.

This is actually a portion from another blog but I thought it was important and so I am re-posting this piece with reference to the original author,

The full original article can be found here: https://www.joincake.com/blog/cemetery-vs-graveyard/

4 Differences Between Cemeteries and Graveyards

To further understand the distinction between “cemetery” and “graveyard,” it helps to make some side by side comparisons. Let’s have a look at where the differences truly break down.

1. Location

Cemeteries refer to large burial grounds that are not affiliated with a church. A graveyard, on the other hand, refers to a burial ground that is located on a church’s property. Graveyards, on the whole, tend to be much smaller than cemeteries.

2. Space requirements

Starting around the 7th century, churches had complete control over burials. This meant that most burials took place in the graveyards adjacent to the church.

But as the population grew over time, graveyard space became limited. This is when cemeteries unaffiliated with churches came into being.

3. Religious requirements

Because graveyards are attached to the church, churches may have stipulations that only members of that particular faith be buried there. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are secular. This means people of all faiths can be buried there.

4. Headstone requirements

Just like many churches have stringent requirements over the faiths of people interred there, they may have particular requirements about headstones in church-owned graveyards. Headstones are typically required to be made of granite or natural stone.

Churches typically demand that stone be uncolored and unpolished and discourage elaborate memorials. Even headstone inscriptions are regulated to ensure that they adhere to Christian values. The plus side of this austere aesthetic is that at least the cost of a headstone isn’t too high. You may also want to ensure your next of kin knows about cleaning a headstone.

Cemeteries, on the whole, have much fewer restrictions when it comes to headstones. You can go as simple or as over the top as you want.

What’s in a Name? Cemetery vs. Graveyard

Language is a lot more fluid than a lot of people realize. Over time, the meanings of worse change to accommodate changes in the way people use them. So while cemetery and graveyard were originally distinct words coined at different times in human history, these days the distinctions are a lot more subtle.

 

 

A while back I visited Lexington while on a trip to Concord and Carlisle where I go on occasional road trips. Never before have I posted these images and I know I have been saving them for just such a time as I returned to my beloved Graveyard Rabbits.

The fascinating thing about this cemetery, as with a select few in the Northeast, is the age of some of the graves. I found the graves of Isaac and Sarah Ston [e] who passed in 1690 and 1700. They seem to be mother and son by the ages but I am unsure.

Back From The Dead

I wanted to begin updating this space once again. Those who visit will see many old but still relevant and interesting posts. It will begin to be brought up to speed soon and welcome ideas and suggestions.

Chester Village, NH

SyntekExifImageTitle SyntekExifImageTitle SyntekExifImageTitleSyntekExifImageTitle SyntekExifImageTitle SyntekExifImageTitle SyntekExifImageTitle

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 53 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Vale End Cemetery, Wilton NH

OK, so I have heard all the scary rumors of demonic little creatures jumping on cars, chasing people, and causing weird things to happen. I read about the strange lights (Don’t all supposedly haunted cemeteries have THOSE?) and the spirit of a woman who may have been spurned (Or just upset that her cheapskate hubby buried his 2nd wife with her when she died as well).

All this sounds like a typical day in the life of Vale Mary Ritter SpauldingEnd Cemetery in Wilton NH if you believe everything you see on the internet. Odd how only the “investigators” are the only ones reporting these occurrences while the locals seem barely aware. They have heard the stories of poor Mary Ritter Spaulding whose grave is home to some strange blue lights, but other stories I’ve seen, they know nothing about.  The only blue lady we saw today was a wildcrafting woman who often roams the cemetery but couldn’t find any mushrooms on this occasion. Local authorities monitor the site well (due to trespassing intruders at night, go figure) and none have reported seeing anything odd.

No funny lights (of course it was day) and no odd cold spots, no gnome like creatures out of the corner on they eye, no car trouble caused by gremlins. Who started calling these little demons “grovers” in the first place? Too much LSD in the Kool-Aide while watching Sesame Street I’d bet.

Vale End Cemetery is NOT the hot spot of phenomena some would like you to believe. What it IS is a beautiful rural woodlandChild's Grave cemetery set on a hill near a bright blue pond that you can glimpse through the trees at one end. The back road leading there is narrow and if another car approaches one has to move over a bit to make room, taking care as the car brushes against the bushes on the side of the road. The earliest stone I saw was 1769 and the only sad thing I noticed was a center area where there seemed to be a lot of children’s graves.

Go visit during the day if you can. It’s peaceful and the location is beautiful.

If you enjoy ghost stores and tales of the paranormal, you might enjoy reading Ghost Stories: True crimes, Paranormal stories, Demon encounters, poltergeist & unsolved cases, available on Amazon.

Spring is here and out I go to explore once again. This time, accompanied by a large woodpecker and other birds, I checked out a small cemetery I drove by one day but couldn’t find listed on any map.

Continue Reading »

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,800 times in 2010. That’s about 7 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 7 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 21 posts. There were 37 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 14mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 22nd with 52 views. The most popular post that day was And Now You Know the Rest of the Story….

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were thegraveyardrabbit.com, facebook.com, directory-gyra.blogspot.com, peteralexandervaughn.wordpress.com, and search.aol.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for witch bonney, gilson road cemetery, witch bonnie lowell ma, gilson rd cemetery, and clara bonney.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

And Now You Know the Rest of the Story… September 2009
4 comments

2

Witch Bonney December 2008
9 comments

3

Gilson Road Cemetery December 2008
1 comment

4

Clara Bonney aka Witch Bonney June 2010
1 Like on WordPress.com,

5

Out For Blood May 2010
10 comments