by Eric D. Liddy Sr.
On Devils Night in 1985, a large amount of us from school went to visit Pere Cheney Cemetery with the intent of getting scared. I had heard tons of stories about the “ghost train”, the witch, and a few other legends and never felt scared one bit…until later on.
A friend of mine took the top half of the alleged “witch’s” headstone from the cemetery and put it on the floor of his early 1970’s Chrysler Newport that night. (Hence why I am writing this story as I did indeed have something bad happen to me and I still to this day, strongly believe that because my friend removed the top of that headstone, we suffered consequences.) Several weeks after the headstone was removed, we were all together and returning from a friend’s house on what was a chilly but clear night.
As we were driving down the road, without warning it began to snow. It was a brief, intense squall that seemingly came from nowhere. My friend slowed his speed down as the road became wet. As he continued slowing, he suddenly lost control of his car and slid off of the road into a huge oak tree head-on. Our front seat passenger was severely injured as she became a human airbag for the driver. My friend who sat next to me wound up with 27 stitches in his leg and me, being the only person restrained in the car, ended up with two fractured patellas. All three of us that were injured were transported to Grayling Mercy Hospital and two of us were released later that night. The young woman in the front seat was hospitalized for over a week with a fractured sternum, ribs and was having her unborn child monitored. My friend’s father towed the car back to their house where it sat for several weeks until repairs could be made.
Weeks after the accident, the four of us met back at my friend’s house to view the damage to his car from our freak accident. I lifted the tarp off of the car to peer inside the wreck and noticed the 80+ pound top of the headstone neatly sitting under the gas and brake pedals. We immediately came to the conclusion that as we were spinning out of control, the headstone slid forward from under the seat and jammed itself under the gas and brake pedals making it impossible for the driver to regain control of his car.
That night, we returned to Pere Cheney and put the headstone back in its rightful place out of the fear of more bad things to come. It’s been many years since I have been there, but her grave site was located on the far right-hand side of the cemetery. I have rarely mentioned this story to anyone over the years and just thought I would share my story about “something bad” happening associated with Pere Cheney Cemetery.
**All cemeteries should be entered with respect. Leave them as you found them. Don’t litter, don’t vandalize anything or so help me, 10,000 demons will strike you down. If the cemetery has hours posted, respect that and enjoy the cemetery during open hours. I am a firm believer that spirits don’t just come out at night. I think it’s just “ghost hunters” who only come out at night. Respect nearby private property and don’t trespass where you do not belong.