Burial seems like a certainty for most people. But according to the legends that are whispered in graveyards around America, not all burials are created equal.
Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Harry Marks and research by Cassandra de Alba.
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Lore Resources:
- Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music
- Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources
- All the shows from Grim & Mild: www.grimandmild.com
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©2023 Aaron Mahnke. All rights reserved.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hey folks, Erin, here doc
The challenge that I think you can help me with a few more
to go, we started making episodes called lord legends. These are stories that are maybe a bit less historical, but so incredibly important to communities all over the place because, as our society becomes less rooted in one physical location, those local,
legends are at risk of slipping away. It's a small thing.
But I like to think that lore legends episodes are helping to preserve our local war and now
swear. I need your help. If you have,
special spooky orb. Strangely unusual story from your town, my team- and I want to hear about it. I can't
is that your particular story will make it into an episode, but we really want to find ways to make that happen at the very
these will be able to build a database, one that I hope to make available some day in the future, for everyone to browse through. Why? Because
hyper local legends deserve a chance to be documented and saved and maybe even get their moment in the spotlight. So if you have it
local legend that you want to share with us head over to the lore websites and click on the story, submissions link under learn more in the menu again
I can guarantee that all the stories you send us will be featured on more, but there's no denying that every story is valuable and with your help, we can preserve them for future generations and now, on what the show
when
die. We remembered by the people who knew us, siblings
cousins, friends and colleagues carry on our memory until they to pass on I've heard it said that
people. We love dont,
we die until we do this.
Their memory is still inside us every day, but once
all gone. What's left
for many of us, it's our grave and headstone. Just
few words about who we were mother
fathers, sisters, brothers, sons or daughters, who eke out a living between two, hopefully distant dates, all of which is etched
to a stone slab a few feet high
it doesn't seem like a lot to honour a life well lived or one that,
taken from this world too soon, but some
legends are remembered a bit differently. Their great
we do more than just honour them. They help define
they were while they were.
Still drawing breath
but these graves were marvels of modern engineering. While others demonstrate the links people will go to in order to remain with their loved ones, even in death.
So join me. As we examined the most unusual graze, the ones that go beyond simple headstones, they are worth.
of art, shaped and moulded out of our grief and paranoia, and while these
serve as reminders that, yes, we too shall one day pass away. We don't have to be forgotten.
I'm erin monkey- and this is law
or legends.
The
Our first story takes system monk in four months located along the states western border. It was there were Timothy
clark. Smith was born in eighteen, twenty one. He was,
ambitious man graduate
from middlebury in eighteen. Forty two followed by a stir
at the. U s treasury department in Washington DC, then he received
medical degree from the university of the city of new york in eighteen, fifty five
but soon after graduating, psmith uprooting himself from the united states and moved to russia. He built a new life
are becoming an army, surgeon and eventually meeting his future wife Catherine. Some reports claim
she was russian, but it appears,
that she was actually the child of an english army surgeon. They had several times
bring together after it,
number of years. Smith was appointed by president Abraham lincoln to the position of consul in Odessa he valued
his career, but also wonder what was best for his family, especially his children, and that's. Why we're
his eldest for reached a certain age psmith took them back to
united states with him to attend school catherine and
younger children stayed behind in russia seemingly for decades. Timothy Smith,
was found dead at the age of seventy one. On february twenty
if the eighteen, ninety three his body,
in turn the vault at newhaven vermont
central burying ground, while official.
Waited word from his widow. Newhaven vermont is
small picturesque town, just north of middlebury close to the new york border. Now
cemetery where smith's grave is located was renamed evergreen cemetery in nineteen fifteen. After a row of, do you guessed it
ever green trees was planted there, the old
gray, that evergreen dates back to seventeen ninety one, although it's possible that it was moved there from a family cemetery later on, the land itself appears to have
actually become a burial ground in eighteen. Ten,
It is still an active cemetery to this day is located just
if the world town he'll road and its autumn
till gate is flanked by its namesake evergreens, but according
local, more timothy clark, smith was deathly, afraid of being buried alive, a fear known as tough a phobia. This was a cop
and fear to have the time to, for example,
edgar, Allan POE, published a short story called premature burial in eighteen. Forty four about him,
who takes extensive precautions to
void winding up six feet under while still alive of fate. He ultima
LISA comes to by the end of the tail
I think century saw a variety of inventions which were designed to help those who had been buried alive, communicate with people above ground. These included airplane
and bells connected to pull strings, but
more on those later psmith, not one to take chances of
himself of as many of these precautions as possible. One ledge
and claim that his biggest fear was contracting, a disease known as sleep,
in sickness which would give him the appear
of having passed away the law
thing he wanted to do was wake up inside a coffin with the lid over his head, and so after
his death, his son, Harrison travelled from I
What government to make sure his crypt was built according to certain specifications, it cost a pretty
of course, but the end result was a grave that any corpse would be happy to decompose in. It was a single underground room which was constructed out of cement and stone about
did a cement shaft filled with glass that connected the room to the surface above
say this window was meant to provide his relatives with a way of confirming that he was true
lay dead. All
had to do was look down,
through the window,
There was also a staircase leading up in the event that smith felt the need to leave his grave at any moment, then as well
customary at the time he was buried with some kind of a signalling contraption, either
belle inside or a wire connect
to a bell on the surface. Other
for a man who was so afraid of being buried and forgotten. He made his grave pretty difficult to find. He has no
headstone nor any kind of engraving or plaque identifying his burial cite the glue
window. Looking down on his remains the same.
no longer functional firms
have moved in beneath the surface of the grave and
condensation on the windows interior have blocked visitors,
from peering inside it,
thirty nine one local paper, reported that several older locals had tried to catch a glimpse of smith's corpse debating whether or not they actually saw the bones of one of his hands by the nineteen forties. The grave had already become a tourist attraction. The cemeteries
Superintendent was quoted a sane every some
we have any number of visitors some from this,
states who
two new haven to see the Timothy Psmith grave. Personally, I can't
see what they see in it and that makes sense.
as the window had already become too cloudy to see all the way into the tomb of
That hasn't stop certain rumours from spreading. Even to this day, at the most
disturbing legend of all that, if you listen
carefully you.
here, the sounds of screams in a ring
in bell coming from the grave
the
for our next.
After. Let's do some travelling about eight hundred and fifty miles south of vermont is the city of charlotte north carolina, the home of lila maud davidson hansel. She was born there in eighteen, sixty one to a wealthy family. How
prominent where they well. The nearby
davidson college was named after
her grandfather,
Lila herself worked as a schoolteacher where she was known for a number of positive qualities. She had a sunny demeanor and an unwavering love for humanity. She was also beautiful with one paper describing golden hair
that wreathed the face. That was the talk of ball rooms of two states. These were atrophy
it's that earned her the nickname, the sunshine woman? Then
teen ten. She married a judge named Charles prehensile, who happen to be
member of the state legislature, the two big
and building a life together until things took a turn
for the worse around nineteen
fourteen. That's when lila came down with a case of tuberculosis, forcing her and her husband to pack up and
two henderson bill north carolina. The hope was that
the change in scenery and and climate would help her get better.
Unfortunately, she only got worse, but no matter how sick she got, nor how badly the disease
he's, sat her beauty away. She still here,
onto her smile, which lit up every room she entered until her
f on December second of nineteen fifteen lee
as uninvolved body was buried in a brick above ground vault in oakdale cemetery, with her coffin sitting directly on the ground located in Henderson, ville oakdale was founded in eighteen, eighty five and encompasses twenty two acres of land over five thou.
In bodies are interred there with more being added each year. Her vault was the first
of its kind at oakdale and just like timothy cork smith's grave. It was not marked with her name, but her burial site differs quite a bit from the good doctors in one unique way. Right
than a windowed shaft leading down to her chamber. Leland tomb was fitted with a roof
made of glass squares
nickel, in these charlotte observer, stated, the squares measured about two inches square at the base.
Four inches through to the tipp of the pyramid, which points downward. They were array
in seven rose at twenty one pains each for a total of
one hundred and forty seven squares. It seems that
in death. She could not bear to be kept out of the sun, according to
on account. She pleaded with her husband before her passing that she not be buried underground. She
quoted as saying lay me
where the sun will shine on me all day long, her tomb
was designed by undertaker J w step, while lila was still alive. In fact, she had been the one to approve his design and it was completed only a few weeks before her untimely passing when she
finally laid to rest, songs about beauty and sunshine were sung in her honour ass. She took her place beneath the glass roof
but her unusual burial site led to a proliferation of rumours peoples.
wondering whether they could see inside her tomb. One news, article from nineteen twenty six reported that three,
for visitors to leave as grave claimed that they could see
her body. The trick was
sitting on a sunny day and waiting for the light to hit the tomb at just the
I'd angle. So
might someone expect to see while peering inside what some have said that Lila, whereas a grey dress adorned at the wrists with elegant lace, brothers,
in the chamber is chock full of flowers surrounding her caskets and those who knew her while she was still alive believers,
He wore a permanent smile across her face. Never
embodiment of her nickname, the sunshine woman, but the two
was designer MR step disagreed for what
seen inside her tomb was practically impossible, as he had used opaque glass, which was then arranged in such a way that it would keep the light from reaching the inside. In addition, LEO
was laid to rest in a simple burial shroud, not a great dress. Her coffin was
opened enough to reveal the top half of her body, and she didn't have thousands
flowers, position around her but
where's that didn't stop people from trying to catch a peek, a newspaper?
order in nineteen twenty six decided to see for herself and visited the grave a total of two times afterward.
She came away, convinced that the tombs designer had in fact been wrong
was possible to see inside, but what she wit?
This was astounding to she reported not.
In a body, but a miniature skeleton, its
bones exposed to the light with no trace of the shroud mention
by MR step. Apparently, a crack in the tomb had led insufficient moisture that had utterly decayed the cloth. The reporter
So I believe that the flowers people claim to have seen were pieces of brick that had the appearance of roses. The skull
Diminutive size was blamed.
the glass pains which acted like a camera lens and optically shrunk, the full sized bones. But the reporters are
gold did little to shut down the rumour mill. It was bad
up and running by december of nineteen thirty one accord,
to the legends Lila has been a bit restless since her death. That's the gossip going around claim that she had turned over in her grave the reason
her change in position, the branches
of two pine trees. West of her tomb had grown so much that they overshadowed the chamber's glass roof blocking
the son, of course,
people have suggested cutting down those trees to grant lila her beloved sunshine. Again. Meanwhile,
neighbourhood children did brisk business selling cups of water to visitors so that they can pour them.
on the glass to better see the skeleton inside none
fortunately, no amount of water will offer a glimpse into her tomb. Today, the girl
It has long since been covered over in concrete blocking out
this afternoon, sun glow, leaving
the sunshine woman where she
in belong lost in it.
Colonel shadow
several states away from lila handsome are the remains of miti wilkins manning she was born in holly springs, mississippi on january nineteenth of eighteen. Seventy one, her father
van manning had been a lawyer and a former confederate soldier, while her mother grew up as part of a wealthy local family. Many
and alone in the house growing up. She had to
their brothers, as well as an older sister, any marry any
your sister name, Harriet, said
while her siblings would go on to do great things such as enter local politics are served during world war, one minute
wouldn't be so lucky. Her life was tried.
if we cut short in april of eighteen, seventy five by an unknown disease it took her quickly
the tender age afore middys
He was laid to rest at hilcrest cemetery founded at eight
In forty five as town cemetery, its ground,
these have been used for burials all the way back to eighteen, thirty, eight, then it's beautiful, too
with a variety of holly cedar magnolia end linden trees planted across it sprawling twenty four acres, then it
nineteen o five it became. Hillcrest
she's buried among a number of unknown confederate soldiers, as well as some victims of an eighteen. Seventy eight outbreak of yellow fever, some of whom are marked by special monuments. One was
not by the mississippi press association to commemorate some of the reporters who died of the illness. Another was
but up in honour of father, obesity and catholic nuns
who tended to the sick as the epidemic
dragged on, but despite all that
celebration and grandness Middys grey
is something special. It's an above ground, brick wall tomb
with a marble slab on top. In fact, it looks an awful lot
like a large table and right there on the top of it is a raised circular portion of the slab that bears her name. Her birth and death dates, and the names
her parents- and there is also an inscription of a quote from the book of Isaiah, which reads he shall guy
there, the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom, but that's not what
sets middys grave. Apart from the others, you see that
circular section of the marble top does more than just tell people who rests inside it also moves
was designed to swivel to the side in order to reveal a window which would allow
visitors to gaze down into the tomb itself, you see minutes
mother Mary was so devastated by her daughters, death that she had the sliding window installed so that she can visit and looked down at her daughters face which was positioned directly beneath the glass. Sadly,
middys angelic face? Could at last for ever ass. Her remains started to decompose. Marries visits did more to inflame her grief than to sue that before long she was staying at her daughters, tomb day and night staring through the port hole at what was left of her daughter. Her husband
eventually had to step in and have their diet
his body buried under ground, but he left
marble, slab and sliding window in place. Then event
surely the manning family moved away, and many was
left alone. In fact, neither
of her parents nor any
our siblings, are buried there in hillcrest cemetery.
in recent years. A local preservation society donated time and money to restore the young girls tomb, which was
Thirdly, on the verge of collapse, years of being
with lawnmowers by maintenance crews had
considerable damage to its integrity? So the group
a cement base around it, along with the new brick structure, to support the marble slab on top and they rip
here. The sliding mechanism for the window and
rededication ceremony for the new grave was held in september of twenty twenty, with a local reverend presiding over the occasion and, of course,
You won't see midway through the glass she's tuck safely beneath the soil. Out of you from the public,
Visitors can still slide that cover out of the way and gay
into her empty tomb at the red.
Occasion service. The minister
quartered assain show me the manner in which a nation cares for it's dead,
will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the law.
as of the land and their loyalty to high ideals,
Clearly many manning was well loved in both life and death, and, although thing
have changed a lot since then
tender mercies are still on display to see them.
All you need to do is step up to the glass and look inside.
The
Timothy Clark smith, wasn't the only person with a fear of being buried alive after
there's, a reason it was a common fear and although he came up
several ingenious solutions to avoid that fate, others
into even more extensive links to avoid it in seventeen. Ninety nine george washington was dying several days before he had contracted a throat infection after going out in the cold and wet clothing and now,
he was on his death bed, his secretary
Tobias lear close at hand washing
and whispered to him. I am just going have me deeply
we buried and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead. Lear alleged
the bowed in agreement with the former president's wishes and repeated
instructions back then, washing
responded with his final words. Tis well,
washington died on December. Fourteenth then was a fish
we buried on December eighteenth for those doing the math. That was,
more than three days later, just as he had wished for
than a century later and thousands of miles away. It was the turn for another man to die. The composer chopin he took his leave
s breath in paris only thirty nine years old, but just before he did he had led
thirdly, told his sister. The earth is
suffocating swear to me,
them cut me open so that I
we'll be buried alive,
during a later autopsy chopin, heart was
move from his body and placed in a jar of cognac. It was then
muddled into poland by his sister, where it was kept
inside a local church, the rest of
is interred in paris, is famous powerless as cemetery and those are
Just two more examples of a vote:
we come in fear over the years.
Inventors remove the need for waiting periods and pickled organs by creating a variety of safety. Coffins meant to stop print
sure burials. According to historians, central europe was ground zero for the safety coffin craze. During this
contain nineties. Most
the devices included some element to allow the and not quite dead, to activate
signal on the surface bells
were common, but some even allowed the trap person inside to raise a flag or set off a fire
cracker as a message to the living
Apples and ladders were also incorporated. You know, so someone
Dig their way out if they needed to and many safely
coffins were equipped with a built in breathing tube that could carry food, water and food
ash air from the surface above down
the person below
fully advancements in medical science have stopped most premature burials, although they do still happen from time to time, and yet the
Often industry is still stubbornly innovating. Some recent patents have even incorporated audio play back into their designs. None of these
inventions have removed. Our fear, though, and so will keep
asking ourselves the most terrifying question of all. What would we do if it happened to us
if you're like me, graveyards have always been a fascinating placed a visit from the names and dates upon the stones to the beautiful headstones in decorations. Honestly, I love being inside a cemetery but of course,
His tour of some of the most unusual burial sites has been far.
Exhaustive. Thankfully,
My team and I have one
our grave to tell you about stick around through this.
brief, sponsor break to hear
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most grave,
tell a story. Sometimes that story is just a name and a pair of dates. Frequently it also tells us who their beloved spouse was where their children, or both sometimes
a grave, can tell us more what kind of person word
before they died. Did they leave their
marks on the lives of those around them and on
your occasions, was their death celebrated and why? Well?
west. There is a grave that tells such a story, and it anyway
is this. Burial site has done something even more. Its legend has out
ro the person that it commemorates defined it? We
the heads lafayette cemetery, which is in the mining town of lafayette colorado coal? Was
discovered on a farm there back in eighteen, eighty four, four years later
Two minds were in full operation along with a pair
a general stores, a few boarding houses and even a stable
people came from all over the world to work in life, minds and eastern european immigrants were especially sought after by the mind owners as you'd, probably guess,
worked gruelling hours in dangerous conditions for meagre pay and one of those,
eastern european minors was a man named food or glover from the country of transylvania.
Now we don't know much about glover in his life, sadly mode.
The details we do know come from his tombstone in lafayette cemetery. He died.
in december of nineteen eighteen as a result of the flu pandemic. That was sweeping the nation at the time. He only live
be forty one years old and was survive by a wife back in europe. He was there
reed, alongside others, from europe to including john transfer from Romania who died from the same sickness on this
same day. Both men were buried
in the potter's field, section of the cemetery, the burial site is marked by a simple, cruelly fashion: stone blind down flush.
against the ground. Eventually,
rumour started to swirled. Glover was not just a minor the story,
that there is something more something sinister about him. According to the whisper
is he was a vampire some
He will claim that these rumours started before his death. Local historian,
MR buried. I believe that the food
course surrounding in began in the nineteen fifties and sixtys by heist
students because vampire culture was invoke the ledge
this became so irresistible in fact that the locals allegedly took matters into their own hands they dug up.
The grave to
for themselves whether the rumors were true and what
found shocked them
According to the stories, his teeth look larger than normal and his nails had continued to grow, but it was.
Blood around his mouth that really set them on edge, so they draw
a wooden spike through his heart and covered him up with dirt, again remembered
This is all hearsay there's. No, his
oracle evidence backing up this particular piece of lore. It's just a legend over
I'm glad as grave continued to collect stories according to claudia.
And the curator of lafayettes minors museum a tree had grown over the grave in the exact spot, where his heart would have been. How would it
gotten there. The stake right and then
There are the blood red rose, bushes growing, alongside his stone, the rumoured source
our his fingernails. Naturally, that's even
said that you can see a dark, mysterious figure stocking around the cemetery. At night. It's been described.
tall in thin wearing a dark coat with long claw, like nails, extending from its fingers and, of course,
Folks think that figure is Glover himself
other paranormal thrill seekers claim to have seen strange lights heard this
embodied voices and experienced malfunctioning batteries, while passing by the graves. Some even leave small trinkets and flowers as a gift for glover in a vain attempt to save their necks.
This episode of lord legends was produced by me, Aaron man, key with writing by harry marks in research by cassandra they Alba dont, like hearing aids. We ve got a solution. There's a paid version of more on apple pod casts and patriotic. That's one hundred per cent ad free plus subscribe
brisket weekly many episodes called lore bites. It's a bargain for all that ad free storytelling and a great way to support this show and the team behind it. Lore is
much more than just a podcast there's the world of Lord
three book series.
Two seasons of the television show on amazon, prime video learning
Moreover, at lore podcast dot com, and you can
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hide cast all one word and then click that follow button and when you do say hi
I like it when people say hi
and as always thanks
for listening.
Transcript generated on 2023-12-14.