The Most Haunted Graveyard On Earth
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- čas přidán 27. 10. 2022
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What is now Greenwood Cemetery, in Decatur, Illinois, was first used as sacred burial grounds by Native Americans of the Illiniwek Confederation hundreds of years before any Europeans lived there. It is one of the most haunted places on Earth. Its dark and sordid history has helped make it one of the most infamous burial sites on the planet. But what did this humble boneyard do to earn such a spooky reputation?
#GreenwoodCemetery #haunted #weirdhistory - Zábava
I spent my childhood, teenage years and part of my adult life(no longer living there)in Decatur, IL and have spent so much of my time in Greenwood. You left out so much!!! The forest around Greenwood is called Hell's Hallow and also plays a part in the hauntings. There are tunnels that run under the cemetery as well, old coal mines I believe. Many graves have sunken and fallen into these tunnels. There are even rumors of secret entrances to these tunnels. I spent many nights as a teen there looking for tunnels and ghosts. It truly is a spooky place.
While walking through some spots of the cemetery at night the hairs on your neck and body will stand on end in an instant. Decatur has a rich history until around the 1930's to 1940s. The city itself is in a sad, slow decline. Hell's Hallow has been gutted to make a road, park and room for more homes. There are many hauntings in this city, there are even some books written by a local author called Haunted Decatur by Troy Taylor. He has a series of Haunted books from around central IL.
On the far north edge of the city which is technically Forsyth, IL there is a neat place called the Old Book Barn. Check it out! If you do pass through, please be respectful. The people for the most part are nice, humble, friendly and will tell you all kinds of local stories. Thanks for the touch of home, I really needed this.
They did leave out a lot. Like the part about the horrible winter in the 1800s where the people who lived in Hells Hollow we're snowed in and left basically abandoned by the town and resorted to a Donner party scenario
Interesting. Do you have any ghost or paranormal stories you can share?
What about the old man in the van down by the river with the candy?🥺
@@bdcarlitosway When it's nighttime, foggy the imagination can run wild. You think you might have seen something, you may have heard something but you DEFINITELY felt something. There are parts that cause fear and dread. The hands and knees shake. The whole body trembles really. The feeling is "No no, this isn't right. This is dangerous."
We owned a house not to far from Greenwood that was about 100 years old. It had a creepy old wooden root cellar in the basement that gave it a creepy dark dungeon look and feel. One night the power goes out, the mother in law and wife come downstairs to see what was going on. I was already working in the basement. My mother in law who doesn't speak english stood next to me and my wife (MY WIFE! 👍) stood behind her.
I asked my wife to translate the situation to her mother. My wife stood there in silence behind her mom and wouldn't answer me, wouldn't translate. I could see her silhouette perfectly with the little little coming from the backdoor window shining down the stairs.
I got rather annoyed asking over and over to translate. Her mom kept asking what was wrong. When the power came back I flipping on the breaker. It was just my mother in law and I in the basement. No wife. She was so close I could have touched her. My wife had been outside the entire time with the dogs. They both still think I'm crazy but I know what I saw! Sorry for being long winded!
@@4FlatTires They say you can still find candy wrappers there to this day!
FYI , there is a difference between graveyards and cemeteries, the difference being a graveyard, by law, is located solely on church property, while a cemetery can be located anywhere. The more you know…
Never thought about that! Thanks ❤️
Ooh! Never knew that. Thanks!
I kinda just thought people used one or the other, depending on which part of the U.S. you come from. I know I don't really hear my kin folk in West Virginia or Kentucky ever saying, "We're going to the cemetery.".... Umm... Yeah, No ... They just call it the grave yard! Lmao!! So I never knew there was a difference. I know where I'm at in Indianapolis, most Hoosiers say cemetery! So I guess that's why I thought that! But thanks for the info. You learn something new everyday!
@@peachymeechie1844 true I think it’s both I’ve never heard anybody out here in Alabama say “cemetery” it’s 99% graveyard but what if since down south there’s so many church’s like Bible Belt that there so common so that’s why it’s graveyard down here ??? Just a theory though !
Same 2 me🤣🤷♂️
I like to tour old cemeteries and graveyards especially the ones from the colonial era-19th century. The things folks wrote on the gravestones of their loved ones is always sweet. Some epitaphs are really poetic. Plus, I find graveyards and cemeteries to be really quiet and peaceful.
Not always sweet. Some were rather ironic and sardonic 👻
If you travel you should check out oakland cemetery in Atlanta and there are a ton of old cemeteries in Savannah Ga
@@kennethmills7671 My hubs and I are planning a trip to Savannah next Spring. It'll be our first time going so, I'm excited to tour the cemeteries. I'll keep Oakland in Atlanta in mind.
@@paulsarnik8506 True. Some are funny as well. Cheers!👻
I've always loved exploring cemeteries, they incorporate history, art, and love all in one peaceful spot. During the lockdown every time I got cabin fever I'd take what I called a Cemetery Tour, pack up the truck with my camping gear and a map of old cemeteries and spend a few days enjoying some excellent social distancing. Added plus, when public bathrooms were closed nearly everywhere you could usually count on the facilities at a cemetery to still be available.
One of my hobbies I picked up during Covid lockdowns was to get cleaners for common aggregate found in headstones and walk through, pick out a few from 1900 and older and just sit and chat while I clean the stones. It's a great stress relief and gives me a great sense of self worth. I've come to really enjoy cemeteries
This an action that is grand to hear about. My city has the original cemetery where the pioneers are interred. Due to vandalism (why do cretins do this?), passage of time and other natural occurrences the cemetery fell into sad disrepair. The community and service organizations banded together and cleaned, scrubbed, realigned, repaired tomb and gravestones. The cemetery is beautiful and well protected by police surveillance and CCTV coverage. Your actions are admirable and should serve as example for others. God bless.
That's a good idea 💡
Weirdo
@@Mattyice00 Why's that weird?
I understand that. My family likes to visit our underground relatives and have a picnic, then clean off the monuments.
This reminds me of my encounter with a spirit. I was at boarding school for my high school years, didn't much enjoy the place but I wasn't allowed to drop out. One night, I saw a weird flash of light on my door, figured it was probably one of the night security guards making sure no one was prowling around. Every night it would be there, sometimes bigger and sometimes smaller. Over about a month, the random flickers developed into a human form.
A young looking man, with patched and ragged clothes. Every night, he'd appear and point out through the windows, towards the bushland that bordered the school grounds. Occasionally he'd appear with a bridle in his hand or a saddle at his feet, so I figured he was some old farmhand from back in the days when the school grounds were farmlands. I started exploring out in the bushlands, careful not to let the teachers or staff spot me since I wasn't meant to be out there.
It must have taken me three or four months before I found a broken headstone mostly buried in mud and leaves. Turned out he wasn't a local farmhand, but a drover from the far north who had gotten ill on a long ride and died at an overnight camp right near where he'd been buried. Over time, he'd been forgotten by locals and his final resting place was left abandoned by everyone. The next chance I had to get into town, I went straight to the local historical society with my information and the sketches I'd done of the stone and surrounds.
Last time I was back there, his final resting place had been completely repaired, replanted and rededicated to his memory. The school went to the expense of having a proper access road put in so local history buffs and anyone else who wanted to could get out and see his grave without having to scramble through untamed bushlands.
Glad to hear the school set him free!
God Bless you !
The right thing to do, and so nice of you. 🙏❤🌻
Back then they would boiled all the flesh from the body. The family would receive the Bones and buried them. You couldn't just haul the body around.
I was born/raised in Decatur and I still live there. I've spent many nights hanging out in that cemetery. I've never been on one but now every October they have Haunted Decatur tours that will take you to most of the locations like the cemetery and the Lincoln theater.
Being born & raised my whole life not 5 minutes from the infamous Bachelors Grove, 15 minutes from Resurrection cemetery and 2 hours from Greenwood I can honestly say it’s all hype. I’m WAY more interested in the cemeteries of Europe. The cemeteries that have beautiful grave stones from 1440. The places that are so thick with history that you hear James Earl Jones narrating your journey through it! Those are the ones I want to explore respectfully.
The women in white and the weeping women are quite common ghosts stories, every county seems to have one
I thought I was the only one that noticed!! :O
Yeah, seems lots of women died, crying in their wedding dresses..
This is the only narrator that can discuss the macabre and still insert satire and ironic witt!
Happy Halloween Weird History!! 🎃
Love his voice!
He reminds me of Stephen Colbert
Tom Blank. He is cool.
@@Sawlon Same! I learn a bit of Weird History and I'm wildly entertained!! 😅
The commentary on this one was so funny!
I''m from Decatur. I used to roam this cemetary when I was a teenager. Yeah, it's spooky. The stories we always heard were the bad people would murder their victims there (or elsewhere) and stuff the bodies in the slots in the mausoleums. Every now and then, we would find an unlocked mausoleum. That was always a fun time.
Also, regarding the pact with the devil thing. We always heard that could be done behind the cemetary on a road that ran through the woods bordering the property. The woods were called Hell's Hallow. Go to the road at midnight and the devil will show up.
Many fond memories of that place. I don't recall ever seeing a ghost or anything paranormal. However, many beers were killed tthere.
Maybe you're the ghosts, that is why you never saw anything.
Lagercide
@@sspencer50 Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
@@donHooligan We were merciless.
@@kevinbartolomucci8417
from Budweiser through Red Stripe ...and all the way back around to Black Label.
...nothing was safe.
When a haunting story starts with "this now stands on what used to be a Indian Burial Ground" is 100%, without a reasonable doubt totally f***ing haunted.
🎯🎯🎯🎯So many ghosts, they probably organized into teams and work in shifts so everybody gets a chance to scare somebody…
Except the fact is HAUNTINGS AND THE PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES DON'T EXIST
@@ethanshelbyskateboarding9980
Then you would have no problem visiting one of many notorious haunted hotels in various countries and sleeping alone in the most haunted rooms... or other haunted locations...
Your sassy humor just makes my day. This was a great video. Thank you.
I agree.
The little cemetery in Silvercliff Colorado is classic to visit. On the right nights you can see glowing lights around the tombstones. There was a story in an old national geographic magazine in the sixties.
It's true I used to live there. And I also saw the lights.
I don't think anyone's dying to get in there.
I'll see myself out
🤣🤣🤣
Good one!
😁 but it's the dead centre of town
Scott C, " has left the building!!"
I’ve heard you have to be deadly serious to be buried in this graveyard!
We have 3 graveyards by our house. The oldest is a civil war graveyard for union African American soldiers and sailors. It is 2 doors down from our house. I grew up in Florence, NE. It was winter headquarters for the Mormon pioneers on their way to Utah. The Mormon cemetery on the hill was/is quite famous.
Is it just me or does the story about the girl meeting up to get married and then being buried in her wedding dress AND haunting the area of her grave site in her wedding dress, sound alot like the plot of the corpse bride??
Wow, I grew up near Decatur, IL and had no idea...and love old graveyards. Too bad I moved away 20 years ago. Pretty cool though.
This is so weird!! My mom was born and raised in Decatur Illinois, she recently passed a year ago and that’s where we sent her back to Decatur Illinois! I didn’t know they had a hunted cemetery 🤔
this is literally my favourite channel ever🙇♀️🙇♀️
In El paso Texas we have Concordia cemetery where infamous outlaw John Wesley Hardin is buried. It is said that you can hear the voices of children laughing and playing at night, the spirits of those who died during the Spanish flu epidemic.
I used to live on Cemetery Rd. in a small town in Southern Indiana. There are small family cemeteries along it the largest of which has about 20 graves. Some of the dates are worn off but a few of them go all the way back to the earliest settlers of the area. And cemetery rd connects to s.r. 135 which was built along the Buffalo trace which is ALSO the route John Hunt Morgan and Morgan's raiders took after winning the battle of Corydon and headed for Salem. My house was extremely haunted and every couple that lives there ends up divorcing. I remember being a very very angry person living there and I can't explain why.
I have visited this cemetery many times, and greenwood is a beautiful place, I have taken photos and got mysterious mist appearing in photos that were not seen with the naked eye. It's definitely worth a visit!!
I have never believed in ghosts, but, one night in high school I had been to a friends house. I left there about midnight. I was on my snowmobile. It was about three miles from his farm to my home in town. I usually took a shortcut through the city cemetary to town. That night as I came up out of the ditch and my headlight hit the cemetary there must have been about fifty jackrabbits in the cemetary. They panicked and they fled, dodging the tombstones as the light swept over them. I've never seen anything so terrifying in my life. I had to stop my sled and let my heart slow down before I continued on. In my defense we had been watching old Kolchak reruns and drinking beer.
Savannah, Georgia has a super creepy/cool cemetery!
They actually have 2! The 2 big ones plus all the squares that doubled as pauper's grave back in the day
(I'm an ex-Girl Scout, btw @)
Another great story, and a spooky one too! I live in Seattle and recently heard about the spirits that haunt Pike Place Market. Would love to know the history of those ghouls. 👻
You should do a story on London cemeteries of 19th century which were overfilled to such a degree, and burials being quite shallow, that it led to a rather gory and very real kind of horror. You could smell it too, apparently. Essentially a cemetary crisis.
A+ video!
Fascinating history, and great ghost stories!
I bet people hang out there all the time.
This narrator is one of the best
My fave!
The whole world is haunted completely you just can't see them.
I grew up in Decatur. Kids always talked about sitting in the Devils Chair but I never went.
It's not weird history necessarily but I would love you all to look into the Royalton Vermont raid around the Revolutionary war. My 4th great grandfather, George Avery, was captured by the Mohawk and sold to the British in Canada. Thanks!
oh man I wish I had antecessors dating back to the revolutionary war only thing I know is that my family originated from Germany
@@brunorf0195 I've been looking at my genealogy for going on 30 years but I was lucky. I had family that wrote their history down and the one that was captured told his story in a book all about the Avery family. You can search for Royalton and George Avery and find his account on the internet. There is another account by Zadoc Steele (sp?) also.
Ranker and Weird History we need new episodes of Graveyard Shift! ❤
Are the owners of this channel reading this?
Never even heard of this cemetery and I love stories about "haunted" places, perfect video for this month.
Also I hope yall have a history of Halloween type video ready to go out on Monday
3:58 "Crying like she just got her monthly cable bill." LTFOL!
The narrator is fantastic! Tells a good ghost story with humor!
We have one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe....lots of beautiful graves, many are works of art really. People picnic there or used to lol But I never heard of any ghost sightings. OK back to the ghosts....these old places have this reputation none more than the UK I think....everywhere you go there's some ghost. A whole Roman legion in one place. What's interesting is they are seen only from the knee up till someone pointed out the old Roman Road used to be lower down. This kinda brings up the question if these places act like 'recorders' of sorts. Playing on a loop. Anyway nothing like a good old fashioned ghost story. Thanks! This graveyard is movie material! BTW we all have a 'white lady' seems to be a pre requisite of haunted places.
You should do a video on Bachelors Grove cemetery in Midlothian, IL.
Lots of history, great for video content!
Phantom houses, Al Capone connections, the lady in white, santic rituals.
I’ve been there in daytime. Definitely gave me the chills. Tried going at night but the darkness really did it in for me.
I literally just filmed some drone footage there 3 days ago! Someone put some jack-o-lanterns on one of the headstones. Cool little place.
I love stories of haunted cemeteries!!!
I just discovered your channel and I love it! Your commentary is so interesting, yet witty and funny! A great combo!! 💞
What a hoot! ( I ) live in Decatur, IL.
This cemetery has been popular for spooky seekers for generations. It's a hot spot for ghost tours during Oct. I've sat in the Devils chair (really a mouring chair). I sure wouldn't want to live in the houses that surround the cemetery! Age and all the huge moselums make this site creeeeepy!! But then neat going thru on a bright sunny (day).
We own & live in a funeral home. I always get the question if I see ghost. In 22 as being a funeral director I’ve never seen one. “Ghosts are not real- neither is professional wrestling but I’ve seen a lot of it” lol 😂
It's more sad than creepy
I would have said the one in Savannah, GA
I'm from Illinois and remember hearing about this graveyard as a kid growing up
I think the devil thought Hell would be better off without Charlie Sheen.
Or DT
Speaking of Greenwood, try Hollywood Graveyard "Greenwood Cemetery". Prohibition was a fun time....
I love that channel. Arthur Dark is the best!❤
I was wondering when they'd get to the Civil War part of things. No talk of an Illinois graveyard being haunted is quite complete without one.
I'm giving a like just for the monster mash reference. Going to listen to that next 😆
I used to live in Decatur, IL and I didn't know about this at all.
I remember my group of friends were gonna go there for Halloween years ago and we showed up I guess at the perfect time because when we rolled up, police were arresting a bunch of trespassers so we definitely dodged a bullet 😅
Fab as always you come up with so interesting contents please do continue with the spooky theme
Thanking you 🙏
You've convinced me that Charlie Sheen is buddy buddy with the Devil. The shit I learn on this channel is amazing.
This was great thanks for this. I am going to be scheduling a road trip to visit this place now that i know about it
Well, another cemetery added to my bucket list! Thanks Weird History!
This was fun to listen to. Thanks.
Reminds me of a cemetery in Nebraska that is now closed to the public because of all the sinister stories attached to the cemetery. You have to get special city permission to even set foot in the cemetery.
What kind of things happened there for the city to close it like that?
Apparently there is a demonic portal or spirit in the cemetery that can follow people home if you look in the mirrors as you drive past or leave the cemetery and cause harm or even death. It's called Ball cemetery in Springfield Nebraska.
But there's just a bunch of different legends surrounding it since it's a really old cemetery.
@@debbiebrantley61 somewhere in southern Nebraska there's a road called seven sisters hill that leads to an abandoned cemetery in a grove of trees that has a demonic portal there. The legend of the road is a dad was possessed by a demon and hung each one of his daughters on all seven hills before taking his own life.
Great Video! Love visiting old cemeteries.
Bought a book about Greenwood Cemetery many years ago. It had maps to all of the haunted areas and listed the stories and history. I’ll have to dig it out again and visit!
I am so glad I stumbled across your channel,you make me laugh,even when I don't feel like laughing thank you x
I got super excited y'all were making a video about Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn, NYC. Maybe next Halloween?
And I thought they were making a video about Greenwood cemetery in Ft Worth, TX lol
I like your narration!! Makes it not as scary.
Love the narration!!
I always thought Gettysburg was the world's most haunted 👻
I live in Decatur! WHATTT
I grew up in Springfield and had no idea this place existed!
Oh, side note. You can pronounce the river Sang-uh-mun. Sang-uh-MON makes you sound like how our GPS devices say it. Lol
I love your commentary!
Another great video!
Greenwood is cool as hell!! Love the old mausoleum stories the most.
The story of the Devil's Chair is very spooky!
Very memorable story because I don't remember hearing one like it outside of this video!
Very good video. Thanks!
Listen. Your delivery and sarcasm are UNMATCHED. I laughed out loud 3:58 at the line "crying like she just got a look at her monthly cable bill". 🤣🤣😂😂
Why are fences around cemeteries so high?
Cos people are dying to get in..
🚪🏃 see ya!
I love cemeteries, so beautiful
Illinois being one of the most haunted places is fun
Please, do bachelor's Grove cemetery in Illinois.
Thank U wierd history for a really interesting VIDEO......GOD BLESS U GUYS....
Great video brotha!
That monthly cable bill thing killed me
The humour in this video is top-notch.
I live in New England , every cemetery here is haunted lol
Right? Forget Mercy Brown, every spot with a historic graveyard marker lol
Yup
I will check out that graveyard. 😀👍
Your commentary was hilarious!. Good video ❤
At Port Arthur, Tasmania, - used as a jail for secondary punishment for convicts during the early 19th century - resides the Chaplains House. It’s reportedly on the top 10 of haunted residence’s in the world. Furthermore, the Model prison at Port Arthur (solitary confinement) is supposed to be haunted as well. There are ghost tours at the site. I’ve been inside the Chaplains house during the day, and could only stay in there for no more than 2 minutes. I felt the presence of pure evil. I’d hate to stay there at night. The Chaplin died in the upper room. He was so grossly overweight he had to be lowered through the top window because they couldn’t get him out of his room. He’s buried on the Island of the Dead, a little way out from Port Arthur.
I just re-watch an old 1980's paranormal TV show produced in Australia were this places and many more where spoke about. It is one of my old favorites dealing with hauntings and such. I would love to visit that hemisphere but after watching Scotty's Australia Dash Cam videos I would be frightened to leave the airport, Ha Ha,,, Honestly, Tasmania, New Zealand, Australia are beautifully brilliant lands with all kinds of mysteries mixed into their earliest histories.
I live in Illinois, been to Decatur a handful of times and never enjoy the vibe. Not surprised to see this
good idea for a Halloween special video!
Thanks Weird History!
Greetings from Illinois defintely on my bucket list . I actually live near Decatur
Hi Rusty!! My grandfather had a grocery store in the 20s. Located in Oregon Illinois. He would drive down to Decatur with meat for the tribe in the winter. I have a turquoise ring they gave him.
@@elderlypoodle9181 that's fricking awesome I love the history of Illinois
I almost moved to Decatur recently and the house we liked best was very close to that cemetery. The neighborhood was what spooked us, though...not the cemetery. It's apparently pretty rough over there. Anyway, looks like we're not moving to central Illinois after all. Too bad. I kind of liked Decatur.
I had never heard the words "humble" and "boneyard" in the same sentence before. Good on you Weird History!
I love how you ended the video bc I get scared so easy and I was getting freaked out. The Peanuts gang partying was a great transition
I am so surprised! Decatur! I grew up in Urbana illinois.
I love cemeter and graveyards they are so beautiful and peaceful especially the older ones Sensationl my friend love this video
Walked through a cemetery in Edinburgh, OH. once. There was revolutionary War veterans buried there. What I noticed the most, all the young children that died. All in the 1800s and early 20th century.
Reality Show!!! That's gotta 1 of the better ones I've heard in a long time!! Thank you!! 😂😂😂
Fabulous as always! The Mourning Chairs are a big no no here! We’ve gorgeous cemeteries but I’ve been to many in The States that are definitely a bit rowdy at times! They’re not haunting, just having a get together to argue over who died in the worst way! 🤣🤣🤣
Do Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore....
As a teen(15-16) my friends and I spent all our time walking around the local cemetary. We even heard and saw things(well my friends seem to, I never did). I don't know why if was our favorite passtime... teens being teens I guess. Im not sure if there are ledgends to the place. It was in a small town in Ohio
This guy is the best narrator for this
Not gonna lie. I love the stock footage at 5:20 with a Canadian flag beside the headstone. 😂
I love your sarcastic dry hilarious narration.