Most Haunted Places in America: Union Cemetery
Within Centre County, Pennsylvania lies a small town with a mystifying tale that lurks about the shadowy heart of Union Cemetery. Fact or folklore, we cannot say for sure, but it tells of a bleeding tombstone that has been nestled within Union Cemetery for well over 100 years.
The grave site belongs to one William Musser; the final resting place of a 19th century man whose past is not exactly documented. There are some who believe Mr. Musser was a serial killer; the blood on his tombstone reflecting that of the blood he spilled in life. There is no evidence to support this theory and it likely nothing more than made-up local legend.
Some even say that the mirage of a knife has appeared on the haunted tombstone. This story didn’t travel far and is hardly worth mentioning as no one can personally claim having seen it.
According to descendants of the grave’s occupant, they claim that William Musser was little more than a gentle, small town businessman. They believe that he was an innkeeper, but the exact occupation is not certain.
As the story goes, just shortly after William Mussler’s body was laid to rest in Union Cemetery, an eerie, reddish-brown stain began to appear around the lettering of the man’s name on the tombstone. They say it seems as if the chisel that spelled out his name was cutting into Mussler’s flesh, not just a block of stone, though the blood leaches out at an intensely slow rate.
The oldest living residents of Millheim, PA recollect seeing the stains of the bleeding tombstone in their younger years when visiting Union Cemetery. Unfortunately you can no longer see the phenomenon. It is not that the gravestone of William Mussler has stopped bleeding, if ever it truly did, but rather members of the Mussler family living today sought to cover it up.
First, the Mussler family had the bleeding tombstone of Union Cemetery removed and replaced with an entirely new gravestone. Once more, the reddish-brown stains appeared around the letters of William Mussler’s name. So they had a better, more, permanent idea. Much like one would place a band-aid over a bleeding wound, the Mussler’s – tired of the rumors and speculations of their ancestor’s unsavory past – had an iron plate positioned over the chiseled name.
There are no longer any signs of bleeding on William Mussler’s tombstone in Union Cemetery – at least not any visible signs. The iron plate seems to have done thr trick, and has certainly decreased the number of visitors stopping on the side of the highway to get a glimpse of the ghastly, bleeding tombstone.
Union Cemetery is just off Route 55, narrowly within the town limits of Millheim, Centre County, Pennsylvania. You’ll have no trouble spotting the bleeding tombstone of William Mussler, with or without the stains of seeping blood, due to it being one of the largest tombstones in all of Union Cemetery.
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