The Axe-Waving Ghost at a Haunted Illinois Cemetery
Jocelyne LeBlanc November 15, 2021
Cemeteries are creepy enough without having ghosts roaming around, especially one that is waving an axe. But that is apparently what occurs at one very haunted cemetery in Reading, Illinois.
Moon Point Cemetery was believed to have started out as a small graveyard for Jacob Moon and his family. While it is only a small graveyard, there are quite a few ghost stories associated with the location. In fact, paranormal claims have been reported there for numerous decades – possibly as far back as at least 50 years ago.
The most well known and frightening ghost is that of a woman waving around an axe – she is referred to as the Hatchet Lady. According to the story, a woman lost her boy and eventually her grief turned into anger. She was then said to have gone insane. Some visitors to the cemetery have reported hearing her ghost whispering or yelling at them to “get out”. One man claimed that the female entity was so close to him when she told him to get out that he could feel her breath on his neck.
The Hatchet Lady’s spirit can allegedly be seen running through the cemetery and waving her axe around during every full moon. Others have even claimed that she throws her axe. Interestingly, visitors to the cemetery have seen the apparition of a young boy there as well who is wearing 19th century clothing (perhaps the Hatchet Lady’s son?).
But as with most old legends, there are several versions to the story. Another version claims that the ghostly woman is actually watching over her son’s grave – he apparently died during the Civil War. It has been said that even while she was alive, she protected her son’s grave from those who made fun of him. And after her death, she still watches over it.
Additional paranormal activity include seeing mysterious dancing orbs of red and white lights near and around the cemetery; hearing disembodied laughter from children; and cars that were parked near the site have acted strangely or malfunctioned. Other odd occurrences include what sounds like fists banging on a casket as if someone is attempting to escape; and what sounds like a sarcophagus lid opening up.
Now that’s one creepy cemetery that I would definitely be terrified of visiting, especially alone.
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