Boo! Cemeteries

Today we are going to highlight some famous and eerie cemeteries.  Are you brave enough to enter my cemetery of the famous dead? I’ve wandered throughout the internet and done a lot of research to bring you some intriguing places of final rest… or is it?  I hope that you find them interesting.   Let’s take a little stroll amidst the stones shall we.

.

St. Louis Cemetery #1

When I think of scary and mysterious cemeteries, my first thoughts have to go towards New Orleans.  St. Louis Cemetery #1 opened in 1789 and there are over 100,000 residents.  With that much of a crowd, you know some have to be a little unhappy with their final resting place.  I know I would be.  The most famous tenant here is Marie Laveau.  Marie Laveau was a famous voodoo priestess.  People visit her grave site often and mark three “X’s” on her grave.  People that do so believe that by marking the three “X’s”, Marie Laveau will grant them their wish.

Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and Resurrection Cemetery

The next that came to mind were two different cemeteries in the Chicago area.  The first one is Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery.  I’ve heard about this place a lot over the years.  I’ve seen specials on television and mommy has read me different chilling facts in books.  Not only does this cemetery have a history of unexplained lights and ghosts, it has an entire house that mysteriously appears and disappears.  Many people that have seen the house describe it as a white farmhouse with pillars and a swing.  The other cemetery was Resurrection Cemetery in Chicago.  This story sends chills up and down my spine every time I see it on television.  It starts off with a beautiful girl who was walking home from a dance one late night.  She was hit by a car and killed and has been looking for a ride home every since.  I saw a story one night where a man picked up this lady at a dance.  They danced into the late hours and he admitted that she felt cold to the touch.  Upon taking her home after the dance, she asked him to stop in front of the cemetery.  She got out and disappeared into the air.

Howard Street Cemetery

And how can we forget the most eerie of places in Salem, Massachusetts at Howard Street Cemetery.  With all of the witch hunts that took place here, this has got to be one of the most haunted places in the United States.  Just think of all of the innocent people that were slowly tortured and burned at the stake for the public believing they were witches.  How many of those spirits still walk around wanting people to know that they were innocent but forever labeled a witch.  Talk about your unfinished business in setting things straight.  This reminds me of a story that mom told me about a guy named Giles Corey.  He was officially the only person to die by torture during these Witch Trials.  He wouldn’t say that he was a witch so the sheriff of the time made him lay down in the middle of his field.  The sheriff then had a board placed across his chest and slowly added stones on top of the board.  Eventually two days later, Corey was crushed to death in a slow and agonizing way.

 

Lake Placid Marathon – Spoilers

Oh this was a GREAT weekend.  Mom and dad decided to have a Lake Placid movie marathon Saturday night.  We didn’t go to bed until we saw all FOUR movies.  Shivers – we got the popcorn and soda out. – it was great.  They even let me stay up with them and watch them all.  Have you seen these movies?  They have a little bit of horror mixed with some good lines of comedy.  They are a MUST see.  Here’s a breakdown:

 Movie #01 –

This is the beginning of the four movies that came out in 1999.  It all starts in Lincoln County, Maine at Black Lake.  What a nice pleasant sounding name huh?  This movie stars Bill Pullman as Jack Wells, Bridget Fonda as Kelly Scott and Betty White as Delores Bickerman.  Strange things are happening on the lake.  Jack and Kelly start to investigate and they witness Delores blind folding a cow and feeding the cow to an enormous crocodile.  After they confront Delores, she admits that the crocodile followed her husband home one day and they fed it.  Years later, the crocodile ‘accidentally’ ate her husband.  But instead of being upset, Delores kept feeding it treating it like it was one of her kids.   And might I add, Delores has some of the best lines in this movie.

Towards the end of the movie, there was actually two crocodiles in the lake.  One does die and in the last seen you see one surviving adult tied to the back of a flat bed truck speeding down the road towards Portland, Maine.

But don’t worry, in the last scenes you also see Delores feeding bread crumbs to several baby crocodiles leading us to believe that the two that were original had mated.  YES!  So this brings us to Movie #02.

Movie #02

Lake Place 2 came out in 2007.  This movie starred John Schneider as Sheriff Riley and Sarah LaFleur as Emma Warner and Cloris Leachman as Sadie Bickerman (who is Delores’ sister from movie #01).  It picks up from the first one.  Delores has passed away and her sister Sadie is now living in the cabin near the water.  A researcher has disappeared on the lake and the sheriff and Emma (from Wildlife and Game) are investigating.  They get attacked early on by a 20 foot crocodile and here we go all over again.

But this time, there’s a twist.  You see Sadie has been feeding the crocodiles now.  Not just anything but with hormone enhanced meat and this is why they are so large.  And the crocs have mated and everyone finds a large nest of giant eggs.  Oh hog heavens – this one will keep you on the edge of your seat – trust me!

Movie #03

Lake Placid 3 came out in 2010.  It still takes place on Black Lake in Maine.  At this time Sadie Bickerman has passed away.  Her son, Nathan, (played by Colin Ferguson) along with his wife Susan and their little boy Connor are at the cabin packing things up for sale.  Conner starts chasing a lizard towards the lake where he sees baby crocodiles.  Conner keeps the babies a secret and refers to them as ‘his pets’.  He starts feeding them and they start growing really fast.

This movie also brings Reba (played by Yancy Butler) to the screen.  I have to say that Reba really makes the movie.  She is a poacher that doesn’t really follow the rules of the law.  AND she has a mouth on her – let me tell you she can feel UP the swear jar here at the Hotel Thompson during this movie – snorts.

All I can say is towards the end of the movie, don’t move.  Wait for it and you’ll see what I mean.  Then this brings us to Movie #04.

Movie #04

Lake Placid: The Final Chapter came out in 2012.  This brings back our friend Reba who was a poacher in Movie #03 but now is working as an EPA Agent.  Not because she had a change of heart but rather it’s part of her judgement from being a poacher in movie #03 – snorts.  The people in the town thought it would be a wonderful thing to build an electric fence around Black Lake and turn the lake into a crocodile sanctuary.  Sounds all nice huh?  NOT!

One night the fence gets left open and you know a field trip of kids are on the way to the other lake.  But the driver is checking out his cell phone instead of watching the road and goes through the gate to Black Lake.  So here we go – the kids are at the wrong lake and you know the crocodiles are going to come out and play – and they do!

Don’t let “The Final Chapter” fool you.  Stay to the end again.  I guess they can make a Lake Placid – Really The Final Chapter if they want to.  Snorts – hope you check these movies out.  They are really good.  And I have to admit – me and mommy jumped maybe a half of a dozen times while watching these Saturday night.  These are probably what you call b-rated movies that have played on the SyFy channel numerous times.  It doesn’t matter – they were great to watch.