They see them as a mass of energy, It is said that her spirit continues to wander and search for justice. Taylor is interested in perusing a trying to play with you, said Linda. Over the years, claims have surfaced of ritualistic gatherings in the cemetery, especially those linked with an obscure religious cult. If I can get more info from the DNR Ill have an update, but the initial information about the fire may be incorrect. You get the recipe for one of the most haunted locations in the State of Indiana Stepp Cemetery. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. rapid, but words are softly spoken. She could be observed humming to a baby. It would be great to educate others about He believes there are energies that exist in Stepp and has made this Please enter your email and password to sign in. The entire ten members of he family were laid to rest in Stepp Cemetery. Baldwin have referred to these energies as subtle energy. Hundreds of stars hover above the secluded meadow. Cart. Another place of interest in Morgan-Monroe State Forest is Stepp Cemetery a remote burial site in the middle of the woods with a reputation for the paranormal. Jacob Adkins lived near Morgan County line in mid-1800s; log cabin homestead (cornerstones still visible) now site of Walls shelterhouse on Mason Ridge Road where cemetery located. cemetery. cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list. This cemetery has an reputation of being haunted by a unfriendly female ghost that guards the grave of Baby Lester whom is buried here. to Monroe Countys past, while others have linked the spiritual world to If you see or know of anyone involved in vandalism of this location, contact the Benton Township Trustee at (812) 339-6593. Im not gonna give any spoilers here, but lets just say that I doubt Lynsey will ever return to Stepp again without her shittin pants on. Offerings left at Baby Lester's grave. Perhaps most interesting of all the stories associated with Stepp Cemetery are the Crabbites. Toys at the grave of "Baby Lester" were set on fire sometime in the past few days, Saturday, July 24, 2021 in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest in Northern Monroe County. Stepp, Jr., 92, of Greenbrier, AR and formerly of Leland, MS were held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at Martin Baptist Church in New. View Wanda Lester results in Michigan (MI) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. It belongs to Isaac Heartstock, who was a veteran of the war of 1812. She guards her child's grave to keep him (it's a son in this one) from being afraid of the dark, scaring off anyone who approaches her with a wave of her hook. (The Reporter-Times, 1/11/1982). Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Restoration Either these were other locals playing some type of game, cultists such as those described earlier, or locals looking after the cemetery grounds after the act of vandalism that transpired last week remains unknown. Funeral services for Lester Vardaman (L.V.) Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Baby Lester has his own marker at the back of the cemetery, where those who visit often leave behind trinkets, coins, and other items on and around his headstone. Taylor recalled a time when he visited Stepp with his wife and two Quite the opposite in fact; it only contains roughly 30 graves (though more people are listed as being buried there). Crossing this barrier and entering (Indianapolis News, 5/23/1908), They claim should a snake bite any of their members the reptile will die, and that the patient will suffer no pain or ill results. (Bedford Weekly, 8/23/1907). Stepp Cemetery is located deep within the Morgan - Monroe State Forest, south of Martinsville. Gallery: Baby Lester grave at allegedly haunted Stepp Cemetery set on fire. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. However, some have unlocked the door The baby passed after only a few breaths. is an avid believer that there is life outside planet Earth. tool to educate people. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. What do you get when you mix a forest, UFO sightings, snake handling, a square earth, a cult, ghost-lore, orgies, exorcisms, punks, animal sacrifices, the occult, Bigfoot, resurrections, magic ceremonies, Jesus under an apple tree, and one small and very misunderstood grave? Walking into complete blackness brings about an eerie feeling. Its basically just a normal cemetery, albeit very remote. ). Agnostic. She kneels beside a flat stone and Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? journey that links the spiritual world to the scientific study of UFOs. Epitaph reads BABY LESTER 1937 (R is very faint), Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Toys at the grave of "Baby Lester" were set on fire by vandals sometime in the past few days, Saturday, July 24, 2021 in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest in Northern Monroe County. The Oak trees and a rusted, iron rod were the only things separating the world of the dead from the living. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. (Reporter Times, 9/24/1908), Crabbite followers said to number about 600 in Brown and Morgan counties. GREAT NEWS! Forest land comprised of more than 24,000 acres and 25 miles of trails in Morgan and Monroe counties in southcentral Indiana, encompassing many steep ridges and valleys. Baby Lester died in 1937. Writer. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. To upload a spreadsheet, please use the old site. enough people to care for them. // -->. (wildindiana.com). Available for both RF and RM licensing. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Harp, said they are not the only ones fascinated by this historical site. There is also a lack of funding. and Lynn Taylor, cofounder of the Association for Aerial Anomaly This browser does not support getting your location. Beliefs Pale skin illuminates their dark hair. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Which is true? To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Ghosts This ghostly apparition could be seen seated on a tree stump near the back of the cemetery (known as the Warlocks Chair, which is reportedly no longer present). (Reporter-Times, 2/14/2010) May have originally been owned by Reuben Stepp in 1856; sold to William Peterson in 1884. The cemetery, which is closer to Martinsville than Bloomington, has a reputation for allegedly being haunted. He observed individuals in black robes conducting some type of ceremony. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? The baby died just a few days after its birth and is buried on the east side of the cemetery under a tombstone that has the name 'Baby Lester' etched into it. Create an account. Person who sits on stump usually at certain hour said to meet death or misfortune. Someone mentioned that the bare spot was the baby's grave, and was devoid of vegetation as a result of having been tended to, by the "Lady in Black." Well, that was all very interesting, but we were . A path leads through the woods to the cemetery. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. The urban legends and stories from this location are legendary The main story one hears about this location is of the lady in white, the mother of Baby Lester, allegedly buried in a makeshift. Adkins said to have donated cemetery in early 1800s. This baby is perhaps the cemeterys most well-known resident, Baby Lester, who died a few days after he was born in the 1930s. Activating the following button will add more search options to the page. You get the recipe for one of the most haunted locations in the State of Indiana Stepp Cemetery. The stones have been findings in Stepp with data collected on extraterrestrial sightings. Only 32 people are in Stepp, according to a (Reporter Times, 10/31/2011) Stepp and relatives buried in cemetery. restoration projects out of their own pockets. Failed to report flower. Change). Try again. He wanted to No votes so far! Land occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years prior to Euro-American settlement in 1800s. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. tree at the north end of the cemetery. Sticks Many anxious feet have crossed the grounds that Stepp Cemetery rests upon. invited guests to someones home, said Taylor. One such story involved a woman in black. The cousin of one of the locals who accompanied us had apparently ventured to the clearing at the appointed time. out of Monroe County, said Harp. Martinsville, Morgan County, Indiana, USA, Drag images here or select from your computer, Added by:Shelly Couvrette on 11 Apr 2010, Oops, we were unable to send the email. One of 300 burial grounds in Monroe County alone, the Stepp Cemetery has come under the purview of the Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project. This caused me to search the internet to see what was being said about Stepp Cemetary these days. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Baldwin said is ready to begin its study. found outside of the cemetery and on various hiking trails. Perhaps because of the Stepps notoriety, it has become a destination of sorts for those seeking dark thrills. organization is more interested in the natural energies produced by the This infant was the child of O'Leatha Pryor Lester (Walls) and Harley Lester. The graveyard has been strewn with debris; its headstones vandalized and removed. Starting in the 1950s, visitors to the burial ground began reporting sightings of a lady shrouded in black, hovering on a chair-like tree stump above a stone simply marked Baby Lester. Some claimed it was the ghost of a local woman whod lost her infant son twenty years earlier. In 1972 article The Legend of Stepp Cemetery, (Clements and Lightfoot), 27 legend variants cited: generally involve elements of woman (as living, disfigured, witch or ghost) dressed in black visiting grave of husband, daughter, infant or combination; woman seated on stump near entrance; stump curse (below); deaths and mutilations, frequently of German shepherd dog, cited as proof of stumps potency. It reads, Baby You can always change this later in your Account settings. Adkins and wife Anna, as well as relatives, buried in cemetery. Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be reduced. O'Leatha, the mother of the stillborn child, married James Walls after the death of the baby's father. It is not clear to Taylors organization why they It is Oct. 6, 2001 reputation of Stepp. The grassroots effort was started in 1997 to identify and preserve just such neglected historic sites. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. If you visit, leave a coin on a small grave marked "Baby Lester" to ensure good feelings while there. Project, which works to protect abandoned cemeteries built before 1832. husband and daughter to tragic accidents. Cheryl Ann Lester Lansing, MI God sent for one of His Angels on February 27th, 2013. Variant Baby Lester died after hit by car/accident, which relatives refuted. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Observer of human nature. scrap metal. Meeting Place green, stadium cup. The Cemetery Taylor believes some type of ceremony was held in the cemetery that on October 6. cemeteries and haunted houses. She could be observed humming to a baby. The Hacker family, consisting of Sir Malcolm Dunbar Hacker and his wife Ann had eight children during their marriage. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Some people claim to have seen her walking among UFO sightings (Southside Times, 7/4/2019), https://paraholics.com/2021/02/18/stepp-cemetery-halloween-2020/, https://paraholics.com/2020/08/12/my-own-hellier-in-two-hours-or-less/, https://paraholics.com/2015/08/09/startling-echovox-session-at-stepp-cemetery/, great job! A spectral Lady in Black is said to lurk in the Stepp Cemetery, located deep within the Morgan Monroe State Forest, south of Martinsville. A Requiem For Baby Lester The Hauntings of Stepp Cemetery by PARAHOLICS on July 30, 2020 October 19, 2021 What do you get when you mix a forest, UFO sightings, snake handling, a square earth, a cult, ghost-lore, orgies, exorcisms, punks, animal sacrifices, the occult, Bigfoot, resurrections, magic ceremonies, Jesus under an apple tree, and . There are various other reports of ghostly figures and other unexplained phenomenon associated with the cemetery, mainly pertaining to the surrounding area. During our visit, we did not observe anything that would be considered paranormal or supernatural. Scientific Theories Klingenberg am Main, Landkreis Miltenberg, Bavaria (Bayern), Germany . This baby is perhaps the cemetery's most well-known resident, Baby Lester, who died a few days after he was born in the . Five found guilty of riot after interfering with burial of woman at Gose Creek Cemetery: Imbued with the belief that they are possessed of power by which they can raise the dead, fifty (Crabbites) succeeded for a time in preventing the burial of Mrs. George Hatley, who at one time had been baptized in the faith. Deceaseds father struck at one They, however, do not believe they can be hurt in that manner, asserting that their faith will protect them from all harm from blows; also claimed to know through revelation guilt of another member of the funeral party, claiming he was guilty of destroying their church with dynamite months earlier. Many of the tombstones in this small cemetery actually belong to children, sadly. She Variant of old cemetery caretaker who used to sit on stump after rounds killed when log flew off logging truck and crushing him on stump, which he haunted. Taylor began this organization after he became unsatisfied with a group Plan for member of congregation to be selected to remove lid from box and which time snake expected to strike. Gallery: Baby Lester grave at allegedly haunted Stepp Cemetery set on fire, Gallery: Inaugural B-Town Hot Summer Nights Festival, Bloomington police officers injured while detaining man having mental health crisis Sunday, City of Bloomington, Indiana sends press release with list of 82 places where drivers cant turn right on a red light, Press Release: Statewide Tornado Drill on March 14th at 10:15 AM, Press release: Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Post Trooper Struck and Killed in the Line of Duty, PRESS RELEASE: March Brings Spring Break Fun; Kittens Needing Care, and Car Seat Safety, Press release: Tzedakah Initiative, a special project of Beth Shalom Synagogue in Bloomington, Indiana, announces $5,000 donation to New Hope for Families. Baby Lester, 1937. exist, but they think that these energies are somehow linked to the "The LEGENDS of Stepp Cemetery" because of all the variations in the story. The series is a production of WFIU Public Radio in partnership with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations (IPBS). Several demonstrations had previously been held with one or two members of congregation having been bit, but skeptics declared the poison fangs had been removed. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Harp recalls the legend of Baby Lester, It was said that the mother of Baby The cemetery is in the woods just north of the main forest road about center of the forest. Take a second to support The Bloomingtonian on Patreon! Search for an exact birth/death year or select a range, before or after. Stepp Cemetery. stories. In 1967, droves of young people would congregate in the cemetery to await her (Lady in Blacks) arrival. (Daily Journal, 10/29/1975), Conservation officer said a woman had identified herself to him as the mystery lady reported to have a child buried in the cemetery whom she visited nightly; admitted having child buried there but denied returning to grave at night to mourn; said received numerous harassing phone calls. She haunts the cemetery mourning the death of her newborn child. Located deep within Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Stepp Cemetery is not one of Indianas larger cemeteries. buried in these cemeteries. As a result of learning about all these various bits of folklore, I decided to visit Stepp Cemetery with a friend on the night of Friday September 4. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Wax from candles burning down on gravestones. Stepp Cemetery is located in the center of Morgan-Monroe State Forest just north of the main forest road. She, like Mrs. Lester, traveled Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. place to cherish those whose lives have shaped the present. The baby died just a few days after its birth and is buried on the east side of the cemetery under a tombstone that has the name Baby Lester etched into it. Saved. Approximately 114 graves; oldest believed to be of Isaac Hartsock (1793-1851), veteran of War of 1812. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Benton Township, Monroe County, This obscure religious sect is said to have used the cemetery and the immediate vicinity around it, for their bizarre religious practices over 100 years ago. There was only one other sibling, Pauline Pryor. and she still haunts the cemetery. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Variant of woman whose daughter and husband had died killed in crash with a new boyfriend; buried at cemetery and sits on tree stump (below). cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. (Brown County Democrat, 1/6/2016), Indiana Bigfoot Reports site received eight reports of creature resembling Big Foot-like creature in forest in 2015. Stepp Cemeterys claims to fame are the varied ghost stories, mostly centering around the lady in black who some claim to see in the cemetery and the grave of baby Lester. We continued to walk towards the east end of the cemetery and Considered the most haunted place in Indiana. she mourned the loss of her child. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. The when they use cemeteries as a worshiping ground. A system error has occurred. Added by: Tom "Homer" W. on 08 Mar 2009. Today, the grounds are tucked away five miles inside the dark Morgan-Monroe State Forest. heritage and deserves to be respected. Taylor described two different types of energy that surround But I also have an update on the vandalism Ive reported at Stepp. the scientific. Unfortunately, someone had apparently vandalized the entry stone for the cemetery with a sledgehammer earlier that week. There was a problem getting your location. Baldwin. entered. sacred territory stirs emotions you can only experience once you have (Reporter Times, 5/31/2003), Variant of Lady in Black committing suicide on stump over grief at infants death. Fly and Local Ghouls Lurk Please enter your email and password to sign in. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Baby Lester (17246514)? The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation . Burial place of Civil War and World War I and II veterans. Variant of Lady in Black ghost sitting on old stone bench chiseled to look like hollowed log. Highest number reported in an Indiana county is eight sightings in Monroe County (wthr.com). Upon seeing him, these individuals began to hiss at him. driveway. Required fields are marked *. We have set your language to He said LLC. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. 2021 PocketSights, LLC. (Hoosier Folk Legends, Baker)). Ron Baldwin, a Monroe County historian, said there are good reasons why They wanted to sit around and tell ghost Hundreds of stars hover above the secluded meadow. Please try again later. Special characters are not allowed. This cemetery currently has no description. Most are interested in the legends. Then she The spreadsheet upload feature is disabled during this preview version of Find a Grave. In fact, we encountered two locals who had also decided to venture to the cemetery that evening and were very familiar with the stories associated with the place. Drag images here or select from your computer for Baby Lester memorial. Other stories of spirit called Anna, who would weave among the headstones mourning the accidental deaths of her husband and teenage daughter. What started as a small-scale experiment between friends (and colleagues) has evolved into something much larger. I think weve got a live one here. Please enter at least 2 characters. . Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Two men named Kent and Rush from a distance inaugurated strange belief in the community but not long before one of converts William Crabb became leader with his people.