Haunted Witch Grave - Tallahassee, Florida

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The Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida is a very historic place and it features something very unique:  A mysterious witch grave. Here is a 12 feet tall obelisk of Bessie, a witch who died when she was just 23 years old. This happened more than a century ago in 1889, and her full name was Elizabeth Budd Graham.

Watch the video above or read on!

So what is so strange about this monument? To begin with, this grave and the inscription face west, and if you look around all the other graves face east because that is the accepted Christian custom. And this tombstone is the tallest and most ornate and made of 15 tons of French granite. And legend has it that anyone who tries to have a taller structure in this cemetery cannot succeed. A few families have tried to build more elaborate monuments and they were desecrated a few days later.

Before getting to the ghost stories, people have seen actual witches performing ceremonies at night, this is not a rumor but it really happens. On full moon and new moon nights, people who drive by still see a group of witches standing around this obelisk with candles.

The Witch Grave at Tallahassee has the tallest obelisk and has a mysterious energy

Ghost stories include seeing a young woman weeping and sobbing right here. And if you visit this grave, Bessie will show up in your dreams that very night. Another story says that a new offering is made to her every day for all these years. This may be true, because you can see 2 quarters and 2 dimes neatly placed here.

Coins set as offerings on the witch grave  

And you’ll see a lot of shells put in to a granite vase as offerings. Legend also has it that if you look into this vase, you will see the reflection of a dark soul looking straight into your eyes. It turns out there have been many people have also tried to do black magic and other dark forms of witchcraft on her grave. Numerous weird incidents have been reported which has prompted the sign below. It simply says Anyone found on this property will be arrested and jailed!

Weird sign at the Old City Cemetery says anyone will be arrested. Really, anyone? 

Almost every cemetery in the state of Florida has a weird energy attached to it, like the Calvin Phillips Mausoleum, Devil's Chair and even Church Graveyards. One strange thing that I found while taking still pictures - my flash was always reflected on this side of the tombstone. I tried several times but just couldn’t get rid of it. Is it because of some strange energy or do I just suck at taking pictures?

The Grave of Bessie the Witch in Tallahassee, Florida

So why did she die at such a young age? Heart disease? She’s too young for that, but locals think that she was slow poisoned by a close relative and she had a long, painful death which is why her soul has not rested in peace all these years.Most people believe that she was loved by everyone before she died and the rumors started after her death. But if you look at this epitaph, we can understand that she was hated by many and she could have even been poisoned by a relative.Why do I say this? This epitaph engraved by her husband is originally from a poem called Lenore written by Edgar Allen Poe when his wife passed away at the age of 24.

Elizabeth Budd Graham, Born - 1866; Married - 1887; Died 1889

It reads:

“Ah! Broken is the golden bowl. The spirit flown forever! Let the bell toll! A saintly soul

Floats on the Stygian River; Come let the burial rite be read, The funeral song be sung;

An anthem for the queenliest dead That died so young, A dirge for her the doubly dead

In that she died so young.”

The epitaph on the witch grave is taken directly from Poe's poem 'Lenore'

And this has inspired people to give a lot of evil meanings - for example, some argue that the queenliest dead means that Bessie was the queen of the dead. But you can toss them out unless you want to believe that Poe’s wife herself was a witch. The real meaning is hidden in the immediately following lines of the Poem, which the husband has cleverly left out:
"Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride
"And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her--that she died!

R.I.P Bessie

You can see how, the people around her probably pretended to love her for her wealth and secretly hated her for her pride. And when she fell ill, they wanted her to die.What’s more interesting, Poe’s wife Virginia also claimed in her deathbed, that a woman named Ellet poisoned her.The real meaning of the inscription is clear: People hated Bessie and spread rumors about her even when she was alive. And sadly, these rumors are still alive after 129 years, and even modern day witches believe them. So, whether you believe in ghosts or not, there is something more evil around us -hateful and wicked people. At least this is what she told me in my dreams last night :)

Ironically, there are many urban legends where the victims are portrayed as evil. Charlie No Face in Pennsylvania is another fabulous example of this phenomenon. But Florida tops all other states with its spooky urban legends. It is a gold mine for ghost hunters - Robert the Doll, Devil's Tree and even romance can get creepy in this state! 

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