Here's a sample from an early chapter of The Ghosts of Cape Cod. This chapter focuses on the spirits that are said to inhabit Upper Cape Cod. The 150 page book is available on Kindle for the introductory price of 99 cents. Here's the link to the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BL1TP7U
Portion of Chapter one: The Jumbled Graves
From
the Sagamore Cemetery on Route 6A in Bourne, comes this eerie tale of
corpses getting up from mis-labeled graves and trying to enter their
proper coffin!
A
number of the dead in the old burial grounds are said to wander
around unhappily because of the ‘grave’ error made around 1909.
For
hundreds of years people had thought of connecting the various
rivers, lowlands, swamps, and marshes that almost, but not quite,
made Cape Cod an island.
Just
before the 20th
century was one decade old, the final plans for the Cape Cod Canal
became a reality. Among a number of impediments to the massive
project was the matter of the old Bournedale Cemetery.
It
had been the final resting place of choice for the town’s finest
citizens for 105 years. Inside the iron rails and granite posts of
the burial ground, were the memorial stones of the entire Bourne
family, who gave their name to the community.
The
burial ground became a major obstacle to the building of the canal
because it was literally in the middle of the construction path.
After
much debate, it was decided that the entire graveyard would be dug up
and the remains of the dead, would be transferred to the Sagamore
Cemetery, a few miles away.
Local
businessman Isac Keith, who owned a boxcar manufacturing company, was
contracted to construct fresh coffins as a replacement for any that
were too deteriorated to be used in the new location.
That
Keith’s laborers did a fine job on the new coffins, there seems to
be no argument; but there was a big problem.
The
workers got confused when it came time to re-inter the corpses and
jumbled up a number of the bodies and stones; so Smith might have had
Jones’ marker and vice versa.
Isac
Keith’s laborers may have been fortifying themselves with supplies
from the local tavern, or perhaps they felt that it didn’t matter
which century old corpse got whatever hundred year old marker.
Either
way, apparently not much was said about the matter, and the job was
quickly finished. It seemed as though the workers were right; the
dead didn’t seem to mind having the wrong stones over their head -
until something changed.
After
seven long years, in 1916, the canal was fully operational. In a few
more years, two sparkling new automobile bridges would be built from
mainland Massachusetts to the Island of Cape Cod.
A
third bridge was also erected. The 544 foot long Canal Railroad
Bridge, a magnificent vertical lift draw-bridge, was completed in
1935. It had the highest lift of any bridge in the world. As rail
traffic increased because of this new span, so did the business of
Keith’s boxcar company.
Isac
Keith, his customary fuming cigar plugged into the side of his mouth,
was eagerly expanding his business.
Meanwhile,
all was peaceful and serene at the cemetery and Bourne’s finest
were lining up to buy plots in the Sagamore burial grounds. Isac
Keith bought one – and apparently that was a big mistake for the
cigar chomping businessman.
After
Keith died and was put in a grave with the ‘correct’ marker above
it, the dead around him began to rise up in protest
It
seems that those who had been re-buried with the wrong head-stones
blamed Keith for their problems. The keeper of the cemetery is
certain that Keith and a number of other ghosts frequently
materialize and saunter around the graveyard.
He
has related his encounters in a number of newspaper articles. Around
2010, the graveyard and its keeper were featured on the popular
program “Chronicle” produced by Boston’s Channel Five.
The
keeper of the burial ground claims that he has smelled cigar smoke
around Keith’s grave several times, when there has been no one else
anywhere near the tombstone.
Other
visitors to the secluded graveyard say that when they walk through
the rows of ancient weather-beaten old markers, they have been
gripped by icy blasts and have walked through gloomy, cold spots.
Some
people talk about seeing a man in a top hat strolling near the
markers. The man in vintage clothing with the stump of a cigar
screwed into his mouth, disappears if the viewers try to get closer.
The
caretaker was shaken up one morning when he found a heavy monument
lifted from its base and placed nearby. There was no trace of it
being pried off. He called the police who verified that there was no
vandalism or any signs of tampering.
Some
speculate that the dead whose identities were mixed up are angry at
Keith. They chase him through row after row of ancient grave markers.
One
of those doing the pursuing may be Captain Elisha Bourne (1733-1804).
He was driven out of the town that bears his name shortly before the
American Revolution, because he was a Tory (a person who supported
the colonies remaining a part of England).
The
Whigs (Revolutionists) allowed him to come back after the war was
over. His was one of the displaced graves and his marker was one of
those set upon the wrong grave.
Some
locals say that Bourne chases Keith and harangues him about the
mix-up.
The
caretaker apparently feels that anyone who visits his cemetery has a
good chance to be grasped by the cold spots, smell the cigar smoke,
and perhaps even see Captain Bourne pester Isac Keith.
Judging
from a number of reports, at least some visitors to this aged burial
spot have indeed encountered the top hatted business man wandering
around his grave, a thick fog of cigar smoke trailing after him like
a dirty cloud.
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The full 150 page book is available on Kindle for the introductory price of 99 cents. Here's the link to the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BL1TP7U
