![]() This abandoned village may not appear on any modern maps, but at one time it was a thriving community. Near the town of Arcola in south east Douglas county, sits the old Amish town of Chesterville. Every dollar spent helps fund Paranormal Study! We now have t-shirts, tarot decks, ESP cards, coffee mugs, face masks, and much more merchandise available for purchase. There were other witch hunts, even in my home state of Illinois. The Salem witch trials, as we call them today, was not an isolated incident on the shores of the new world. In Scotland and Germany, superstition and hysteria claimed the lives of countless women, men and even children. Looking back on this disgraceful time, I am sure all would agree it was a black stain on American history.Īllegations of witchcraft and accusations of devil worship were common throughout the history of western Christendom. Not quite a year after the first allegations and the accusations stopped, 19 people were executed and over a dozen more languished in dank prison cells. To the good people of Salem, the only possible explanation was these girls were bewitched and if nothing were done, all of Salem would fall under the spell of untold wickedness. When the accused were brought before judges, the group of girls began to howl in anguish and writhed on the floor as if they were possessed. It was feared that anyone could be in league with Lucifer. Paranoia ran high as fingers were pointed and trust was eroded. And these servants of the prince of darkness were not strangers to their village, but rather their neighbors and friends. The panic was touched off when a group of impressionable young girls made the claim that the devil’s handmaidens, witches, were in their midst. I’ll let you know if I meet her.In 1692, fear of the dark unknown and mass hysteria laid hold of the small English settlement of Salem, Massachusetts. Perhaps I will go tomorrow night on All Hallow’s Eve to see if the witch will show herself. Some people who have visited the grave have reported that they have felt anger and loneliness when they approached the tree but after they left the cemetery they felt normal again.Īccording to The Illinois Road Guide To Haunted Locations there is a dare that says if you go to the cemetery and touch the tree at midnight, the witch will show herself. A woman has been reported by the grave that will disappear when approached. When the woman passed away, her father planted the tree on her grave to preserve her spirit.ĭespite who might be buried under the tree, there are claims of paranormal activity in the cemetery. In this legend, the young girl is someone who is known for her healing abilities and was thought to be able to control humans and animals. The other legend regarding this grave is of another young woman whose name has been lost in the retellings of the legend. In the Chesterville Cemetery, there is a very large tree towards the back near the Kaskaskia River. ![]() ![]() The area around Chesterville is known for its Amish and Mennonite residents. closer to Champaign, just outside of Arcola, is a tiny town by the name of Chesterville. Perhaps I will bring my own crystal ball to see if that helps trigger something to appear.Ī little. I visited this cemetery during the day but I plan to go back at night sometime to see if I can see any of the phantom lights or the crystal ball glowing. Modern day witches feel drawn to this grave and have been reported to have been seen performing rituals on the grave. Ghost hunters and curious folks have reported orbs showing up in pictures, phantom lights wondering around the cemetery at night, and the crystal ball on top of the pyre glowing mysteriously. Just because the legend probably isn’t true doesn’t mean that there aren’t whispers of hauntings at the cemetery. By the time the error was found, it would have cost too much to fix the headstone so the unlikely death date stayed. The date was carved by accident with her real death date being either February 26th or February 28th, 1882. Caroline passed away the next year from pneumonia. Caroline’s husband, Marcus Barnes, passed away after an accident at the local sawmill. There is, however, information about the Barnes family. Unfortunately, there is no information to back up these legends. To protect their town, the villagers carved the wrong date into the headstone so Caroline won’t know the day she died. ![]() Before she died, Caroline claimed to come back on the 100th anniversary of her death to terrorize the town. Depending on who you ask, Caroline was either hung or burned to death after the villagers thought she would bring something evil to their town. According to legend, Caroline Barnes was a witch that was killed shortly after the death of her husband.
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