The Little Girl Who Jumped

Out of the Cemetery!

        A lot of people ask me how I knew I had spiritual gifts and could see things others couldn’t? Well… Let’s just say a little girl in a white lace dress jumped out of a cemetery from the side of the road right in front of my car, and then vanished before my eyes! That’s when I had to accept I was different!

          I was driving along on Swailes Road near my home in Troy, Ohio that I drive on each day. I had just picked up my two little kids, both under the age of 7. We were talking and singing songs as I drove up a small hill when I suddenly saw a little girl appear out of nowhere on the side of the road.  The girl looked about the age of 12 and was wearing an old-fashioned Victorian-style white lace dress.

Suddenly, the little girl leaped in front of my car shouting out to me, “I can’t find my parents! Help!” as she looked me straight in the eyes, then vanished under my car. Thinking I would certainly hit her, I stopped the car. I waited for a few second breathing frantically from fear. I noticed something odd; I never heard a thump.

I jumped out of my Honda Pilot, not even concerned that someone might hit me from behind on the busy road, and I ran to the front of my car, but the girl was gone. There was no damage to my car, and nothing unusual. I began to look around everywhere but didn’t see the girl.

          Unexpectedly, I felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness and loneliness come over me. Turning toward my car to look at my kids, I heard someone crying. The cry sounded like a female child. She sounded sad and distressed. I looked around again knowing it wasn’t my kids, because I could see them in the car. I was looking right at them. I knew it must be the little girl in the white-laced dress I was hearing.

          I looked over to the spot where the little girl had jumped from but saw only trees and overgrown brush, and grasses. I didn’t see any signs of footsteps or anything strange. I got into my car again and asked my confused children, “Is anyone hurt?” They shook their heads to say no. “What did you see, Mommy?” my daughter asked frightened.

          “Didn’t you see that little girl jump out in front of our car?” I asked her with distress in my voice. My daughter looked at her younger brother, skeptically. They exchanged odd looks, then the two children looked back at me, “No,” they said.

          Suddenly, I remembered the Thomas Cemetery was behind those trees and brush. The cemetery was far down a little road near us. I remembered an old article in the newspaper, years ago, stating that the original cemetery of the settlers of my hometown, Troy, Ohio; used to be at the intersection up ahead on Swailes and Peters. Years back, they moved the cemetery to make this road, expanding the town.

It was very creepy! We’ve driven through that intersection almost every day of our lives so it was strange to think it used to be a cemetery. The scenery was so pretty, and it had a creek that ran right next to the road.

          The little girl must have been from the Thomas Cemetery. I felt terrible. She must have been calling for help because she couldn’t find her parents! That would explain why I felt sad and lonely, and then heard a female child crying.

          As I realized this, I put the Honda Pilot in drive and made a quick U-turn, driving back to the little road leading to the cemetery. I found the small road and turned down it. My kids looked at each other oddly, as in “what’s going on and what the heck is mom doing?”

          I was curious. I didn’t know if I would see the young girl in the dress again but I just had to look! Would I find her? I thought as my heart pounded and I continued down the small woodsy road.

          I thought, It must be awful to be all alone and not know where your parents are. I felt so sorry for the little girl and I didn’t know if I could help her but I certainly had to see if I could try. She obviously must have appeared to me for a reason. I continued down the long forested road until the woods cleared, revealing the cemetery on a huge hill to the left of the road.

          I stopped the car and stepped out. I walked in front of my Pilot and as soon as I stepped in front of my car, I saw her up on the hill hiding behind a gravestone.

          The little girl giggled as she hid behind the headstones, peeking out at me. I watched her for what seemed hours but could only have been minutes. She emerged from behind a stone then ran as she giggled from stone to stone on the hill. All the while, she smiled back at me as she hid behind the weathered old markers.

          I could tell she was happy to see someone who cared about her and could see her. She certainly loved the attention. I stood still, watching her play. Her old white lace dress looking almost cream-colored and faded with time as it blew behind her in the light winds. Her pale-ashen skin almost coming alive, as the sunshine poured down from the heavens above as she ran gleefully on top of the hill.

          Then the young girl stopped, looking directly at me with a beautiful smile. She stared at me for a moment taking me in. I felt a sudden wave of happiness and delight come over me, as if the little girl was thanking me for stopping. Thanking me for caring.         

          I felt her emotions spread throughout my body. And tears rolled down my cheeks. I knew the little girl in white was saying ‘goodbye.’ The young girl raised her right hand and waved to me, as she vanished into the afternoon sun on the hill.

 

©Rosella C. Rowe

For more check out my blog: MyHauntedTravelBlog.blogpsot.com & my podcast: https://anchor.fm/ahauntinggoodtime

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                My Visit to the Hall:

        If you haven’t heard of Octagon Hall in Franklin, Kentucky you will certainly want to look it up after reading this article and plan your visit!

           My good friend and buddy, Barry Gaunt; who is a Ghost Hunter and Shaman, happens to be a volunteer and paranormal event planner at the historical Octagon Hall & Museum.  Barry had invited me down for a visit and today I was on my way. It was a hot day in July as I drove up the grassy driveway which winds around the historical southern- property near the small octagon home.  

          Our friend Melvin (another Ghost Hunter) who lived nearby and the Museum’s volunteer, Deb both greeted me at my car. They had been waiting for me.

          As we all waited for Barry, they briefly spoke to me about the house and land. Then they took me inside and began talking to me about the history as well as some wonderful ghost stories, and experiences they both have experienced. 

          As I listened, I took out my paranormal gear, turned it on, then placed it in front of myself on the large table in the dining room area of the house. Then I picked up my pen and note pad to take notes when my EMF-reader lit up and began making noise. Trying to see why it lit up, we later found that it only went did when Deb asked me questions. Deb, who has had many experiences in the museum, then told me, that it was defiantly Mr. Caldwell, who was the past owner of the Octagon Hall. She thought that he must be trying to interact with me. Perhaps he was checking out my notes for my article.

          I learned from Deb that the property was built in 1847 by Andre Jackson Caldwell (who had just interacted with me via my EMF) who wanted a house for his family but he didn’t want a simple house. No, he wanted his house to be distinct, so he created an octagon shaped home.

          All was well until 1862 when two forts, Henry and Donelson fell and the Confederate forces evacuated Bowling Green area in Kentucky and sought refuge at the Hall. Deb informed me that there was an estimate of eight to even ten thousand Confederate soldiers camped out on the Hall’s property.  Days later, the Union army came and took occupation of Octagon Hall. These awful events left the poor Caldwell’s tortured for years by the war and the Union.

          Barry arrived at the Hall and began telling me about the property. He has been a volunteer at the Octagon Hall for 11 years. He and Melvin are friends and ghost hunters with the same ghost hunting team in the south.

          They both took me outside to the back of the property away from the house to show me a Slave Cemetery where 17 dead slaves were buried. I noticed that some graves were marked and others weren’t. “We know were some unmarked are and some we don’t,” Barry stated and simply shrugged his shoulders. You could really tell he cared for the land and those who had come before his time to the Hall and its property. He had a real passion along with Melvin, for history and the Civil War.  

          The cemetery also has 2 soldiers buried there. These were men had died tragically on the property while trying to seek refuge in the house during the raging-war. Octagon Hall was known as a safe home for soldiers seeking refuge from the enemy but some had died trying to escape. One soldier ran to the house from the railroad on a wounded foot trying to get help. The family put him upstairs in the attic to hide him while they dealt with the enemy soldier at their front door looking for him.  Tragically; the poor solider died waiting in the attic from his wounds.     

          The second solider was found at the front door of the home one morning who had tried knocking on the door trying to attempting to wake the family in the night for help, but sadly died in the process.

          Barry also told me that there were several mass graves of soldiers on the property.  The house is just a beacon for paranormal activity and I was told many stories about people’s interesting experiences; as well as their volunteers, but one story really stuck out!

          Deb, who has been a volunteer at the Hall for some time, told me about a ghost hunt her team had on the property one night. She said she wanted to go out-front and investigate a certain part of the property near the front door of the house. Barry described to me how she had asked him about it for weeks leading up to the event. However, Barry who is a sensitive and Shaman, warned Deb not to investigate the area. He said he had a bad feeling about the land and how he had seen a dark shadow-figure there one night while leaving by himself. Barry warned Deb that he felt it was something evil he had seen that night and wanted her to stay away from that part of the land on the property but Barry says that Deb was, “set on it.” Deb asked him again to come with them but Barry told her he wouldn’t go and investigate with her group. Instead, he would wait for them on the on back porch.

          Deb walked to the front of the property and got out her ghost box out and began asking, “Who are you?” However, she didn’t get the reply she thought she would get. Instead a spirit with a strange and bitter voice said, “Deb.” To which she answered back, “Yes, that is my name. What do you want?” The reply got even worse, saying: “Blood!” Then according to her fellow investigators who screamed for Barry, Deb was jumped! She suddenly didn’t know who she was. In addition, she was speaking in another language they couldn’t make out or recognize. Barry says her fellow investigators described the voice like so, low and dark, it had a demon-like tone that you might hear in a movie. The investigators took Deb to Barry who was on the back porch. Barry says Deb tried standing up and balancing herself near a tree but couldn’t and then he heard the voice himself and knew what he had to do.

          Barry quickly ran inside and got his Rosary which had a long cross on it and walked outside to his friend Deb in need. He knew she was possessed and had been taken over by a bad spirit on the property. Holding the cross to Deb’s forehead she screamed at him as he said prayers to banish the spirit. As he did this, the cross burned into the skin of Deb’s forehead and she screamed in pain. Barry, who has experienced this before, continued to pray and banish the evil- demonic spirit from his friend until it left.

          While interviewing Barry, he informed me that he knew how to get rid of it and it wasn’t his first rodeo. He also told me it wanted Deb and that’s why she wanted to investigate that area of the property because the spirit had been working on her for weeks leading up to that night. Barry and Deb believe that it wanted to posses Deb, to get into the house. Why?!  They don’t know but also don’t care to find out! Barry told me as he laughed-whole heartedly, while making his statement.

          The important thing is, Deb is safe and Barry helped a friend, doing what he does best!

          I also had an interesting experience with Barry on the property! While in the basement with Barry and Melvin, and fellow visiting Ghost Hunters from ESP: Explorers of Spirit Phenomena, Leaders; Tracy Watts and Terri Rohde; we thought we heard Barry (who was sitting at the time, right beside me) say, “I got my gun,” really loud.

          Terri and I looked at each other oddly. Then we asked him why he had said that? Barry looked at us quizzically and asked, “Said what?”

          We told him what we heard him clearly say. I even pointed out how he was right next to me and I heard him. However, he insisted he didn’t say anything at all. Terri, who had been recording the whole time then stopped her tape, rewound it, and began to play it back for us all to hear.

          To our amazement, you heard Barry speak right before it, then another voice which sounded really close to his say, “I got my gun,” in a gruff-tone, but clear as day! However, the sentence spoken hadn’t been from Barry. He was right, it wasn’t him!

          Later we all went to the 2^nd floor of the house and walked into the Master Bedroom. Tracy and Terri set their REM-Pod down on the king bed in the room, which instantly went off but wouldn’t stop. In fact, the spirit blew up the battery inside the REM-Pod!  Tracy got out the old battery and replaced it quickly, then placed the device back on the bed where it had been and same thing happened again!  The device turned on right away and wouldn’t stop and it was loud.  

          A minute later, Barry called downstairs to his friend and longtime investigator familiar with the situation, Billy Sims. Billy came running in the room and shouted to the entity (who he seemed to know well), “Please turn it off, Hon!  Don’t blow up these nice girls battery.”  No kidding, as soon as Billy said that, the spirit must have stepped away because the REM-Pod stopped and from then on, only came on at Billy’s command. 

          So does the Octagon Hall have paranormal activity? Yes, it surely does! So make sure to plan you visit to the Hall! And be sure to say hello to Barry for me!

 

    ©Rosella C. Rowe