The Strange History Podcast: Haunted Cemeteries of America – Vale, Oakland, Forest Park Lawndale & Goodleburg

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, my curious history buffs and ghost chasers alike. Welcome

0:04 Speaker 1: to the Strange History Podcast, where the past isn't just

0:07 Speaker 1: a story, It's a live sometimes moaning, sometimes mischievous, and

0:13 Speaker 1: occasionally wandering around cemeteries at night. I'm your host, Amy,

0:17 Speaker 1: and today we're exploring four of America's eeriest cemeteries. Veil

0:22 Speaker 1: Cemetery in the Adirondacks, Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Forest Park,

0:27 Speaker 1: Lawndale in Houston, and Gudelberg Cemetery in South Wales, New York.

0:32 Speaker 1: Keep your lanterns lit, your wits sharp, and maybe don't

0:35 Speaker 1: wear your best shoes. They might get tugged on by

0:37 Speaker 1: invisible hands. Veil Cemetery, Shroon Lake, New York. Veil Cemetery

0:43 Speaker 1: in Shroon Lake is like stepping into a postcard by day,

0:47 Speaker 1: but as the sun sets it becomes a stage for spirits.

0:52 Speaker 1: Established in eighteen eleven, it is home to early settlers,

0:55 Speaker 1: including the enigmatic doctor Albert Speaker. His medical experiments or

1:00 Speaker 1: alleged crimes are said to have created a lingering, supernatural presence.

1:06 Speaker 1: Locals whisper that doctor Speaker's spirit patrols the cemetery, muttering

1:10 Speaker 1: about treatments gone awry, still checking on patients who haven't

1:14 Speaker 1: even asked for his services. The Lady in White is

1:17 Speaker 1: Veil's most famous specter. Witnesses describe her gliding across the

1:22 Speaker 1: misty grounds, white gown fluttering, sometimes carrying what appears to

1:27 Speaker 1: be a small bundle the baby, whose cries are often

1:31 Speaker 1: heard near the pond. One visitor reported following her for

1:35 Speaker 1: nearly ten minutes before she simply disappeared into the mist,

1:39 Speaker 1: leaving only the faint scent of lavender and old pine.

1:43 Speaker 1: Others claim the wind carries whispers of don't forget me,

1:46 Speaker 1: or perhaps who left the picnic basket here? It's hard

1:50 Speaker 1: to tell. With ghosts, Veil also has its share of

1:53 Speaker 1: humorously eerie anecdotes. One night, a group of teenage ghost

1:58 Speaker 1: hunters claimed they were startled by a shit shadowy figure

2:01 Speaker 1: that poked its head out from behind a tree, only

2:04 Speaker 1: to reveal itself as a local raccoon in a rather

2:07 Speaker 1: convincing white sheet someone had left behind. Vale seems to

2:11 Speaker 1: enjoy a good prank, reminding us that even spirits have

2:14 Speaker 1: a sense of humor, and in two thousand and three,

2:18 Speaker 1: when a ghost hunter tragically lost their life on the grounds.

2:21 Speaker 1: Locals insisted it was not a haunting, but just karma

2:25 Speaker 1: for wearing sneakers on wet grass. Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia.

2:30 Speaker 1: Oakland Cemetery is Atlanta's grand historical tapestry, dating back to

2:35 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty. It is home to soldiers, politicians, socialites, and

2:40 Speaker 1: a fair share of mischief makers from beyond the grave.

2:44 Speaker 1: The cemetery hosts Civil War ghosts, including soldiers standing at

2:48 Speaker 1: attention long after their battalions have vanished. Visitors report hearing

2:53 Speaker 1: footsteps on gravel paths and names being called as if

2:57 Speaker 1: for role call. The best pranksters of Oakland, apparently are

3:01 Speaker 1: the Confederate soldiers, who enjoy inexplicably locking gates behind unsuspecting tourists.

3:09 Speaker 1: Ida Bennett Bass adds a Gothic flare. Her statue reportedly

3:13 Speaker 1: weeps red tears on moonlit nights. Some visitors swear they've

3:18 Speaker 1: seen her head tilt as if to judge their choice

3:20 Speaker 1: of flashlight or their pronunciation of Atlanta. Other ghostly tales

3:26 Speaker 1: include the famous Phantom Gardener, an unseen presence that rearranges

3:30 Speaker 1: flower pots and leaves small bouquets on neglected graves. Historians

3:36 Speaker 1: speculate the gardener could be a benevolent spirit or a

3:39 Speaker 1: very committed ghost prankster. Oakland also boasts humorous hauntings. One

3:45 Speaker 1: visitor reported being followed by a ghostly puppy that vanished

3:48 Speaker 1: when they tried to pat it. Another claimed that spirits

3:52 Speaker 1: insisted they play an impromptu game of hide and seek

3:55 Speaker 1: around the mausoleum. Because apparently ghosts have a very particular

3:59 Speaker 1: sense of fun, whether it's soldiers, statues or poultergeists, Oakland

4:04 Speaker 1: Cemetery reminds us that history can be serious, but ghosts

4:09 Speaker 1: not so much. Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, Texas. Forest

4:15 Speaker 1: Park Lawndale Cemetery opened in nineteen o four, hosting Houston

4:20 Speaker 1: legends like sharpshooter Joe Bowman and Senator Lloyd Benson. Visitors

4:24 Speaker 1: have reported shadowy figures, strange voices, and Poultergeist activity, making

4:30 Speaker 1: it a hot spot for paranormal enthusiasts. One famous tale

4:34 Speaker 1: involves a disembodied voice whispering don't step on the cracks

4:38 Speaker 1: as someone walked through the cemetery at night, perhaps the

4:41 Speaker 1: ghostly equivalent of a sidewalk superstition. The cemetery has also

4:46 Speaker 1: been the site of strange humorous occurrences. Ghost hunters describe

4:51 Speaker 1: encountering invisible hands that pat's shoulders or poke fun shaking

4:56 Speaker 1: a flashlight as if to say, is that the best

4:59 Speaker 1: you've got. In twenty twenty four, a burglary stirred unease

5:04 Speaker 1: when earns, including that of a stillborn girl, were stolen.

5:09 Speaker 1: Some locals joke that the spirits were more annoyed about

5:12 Speaker 1: the poor taste of the thieves than about the break

5:15 Speaker 1: in itself. Beyond these tragedies, Forest Park has lighter legends.

5:21 Speaker 1: One ghost is said to appear only on windy nights,

5:24 Speaker 1: twirling around like a spectral line dancer, making visitors question

5:28 Speaker 1: whether they're experiencing a haunting or an early Texas hoedown.

5:33 Speaker 1: Whether frightening or humorous, Forest Park Lawndale reminds us that

5:37 Speaker 1: spirits have personalities and some are just here for a

5:41 Speaker 1: bit of fun. Guttelberg Cemetery, South Wales, New York. Finally,

5:46 Speaker 1: Guttelberg Cemetery, nestled in South Wales, is steeped in eerie charm.

5:53 Speaker 1: Established in eighteen eleven, it remained active until nineteen twenty

5:57 Speaker 1: seven and has been linked with doctor Albert Speaker, whose

6:00 Speaker 1: dark medical history reportedly fueled much of the hauntings. Doctor

6:05 Speaker 1: Speaker was a surgeon who was well known for his sloppy,

6:08 Speaker 1: botched abortions. He lived next to the cemetery and hid

6:11 Speaker 1: the bodies of the women and fetuses in the lake

6:13 Speaker 1: behind his house, which is still there. That's not creepy

6:17 Speaker 1: at all. Visitors frequently report seeing a lady in white

6:21 Speaker 1: drifting silently near the rear pond, sometimes carrying the cries

6:25 Speaker 1: of an unseen infant. Some say she's searching, Others claim

6:29 Speaker 1: she's just gossiping with passing shadows. Folks, it's not a

6:33 Speaker 1: haunted cemetery without a lady in white, is it. Gudelberg

6:37 Speaker 1: also hosts the Oak of Whispers, a gnarled tree said

6:41 Speaker 1: to murmur secrets of the departed. People visiting alone report

6:45 Speaker 1: feeling chills, as if the tree is telling them be

6:49 Speaker 1: careful or do my laundry first. One paranormal group caught

6:54 Speaker 1: what looked like a miniature parade of translucent figures circling

6:58 Speaker 1: the oldest tombstones, perhaps a ghostly pta meeting. Real tragedy

7:04 Speaker 1: took place at the cemetery in June of two thousand

7:06 Speaker 1: and three, when a paranormal investigator from Western New York

7:10 Speaker 1: was killed by an oncoming car late at night. The

7:13 Speaker 1: road the cemetery lies on does not have adequate lighting

7:16 Speaker 1: and features blind spots, Yet Gutelberg continues to draw curiosity

7:21 Speaker 1: seekers and ghost hunters. Some report colored orbs floating along

7:25 Speaker 1: the paths, shadows moving against logic, and once an invisible

7:31 Speaker 1: entity supposedly rearranging gravestones in a straight line, only for

7:35 Speaker 1: them to mysteriously return to their original positions by morning.

7:40 Speaker 1: Locals jokingly call it the tidiest cemetery in New York

7:44 Speaker 1: thanks to the afterlife. So there you have it, friends,

7:49 Speaker 1: A spectral road trip from the Adirondacks to Atlanta, down

7:52 Speaker 1: to Houston, and back up to Upstate New York. Vale,

7:56 Speaker 1: Oakland Forest Park, Lawndale, and Goudelberg four cemeteries, countless stories

8:03 Speaker 1: and spirits that range from tragic to mischievous. Some hauntings

8:08 Speaker 1: will chill you, some will make you laugh, and some

8:11 Speaker 1: will just poke your shoes when you least expect it. Remember,

8:16 Speaker 1: history isn't always quiet. Sometimes it whispers, sometimes it moans,

8:20 Speaker 1: and sometimes it rearranges your flower pots, keep your lanterns lit,

8:25 Speaker 1: your curiosity sharp, and if you ever visit these cemeteries

8:28 Speaker 1: at night, maybe tip your lady in white. She has

8:31 Speaker 1: a sense of humor and she appreciates good manners. Thank you,

8:36 Speaker 1: dear listeners, for joining me on this haunted adventure. Don't

8:39 Speaker 1: forget to subscribe for more strange histories, eerie tales, and

8:43 Speaker 1: ghostly giggles. Until next time, stay curious, stay brave, and

8:48 Speaker 1: remember the past is never truly gone. It's just waiting

8:51 Speaker 1: for you to notice it.