Most Haunted Places in America: Hollywood Cemetery
Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia contains much more than 135 acres of land; it contains a big part of American history as well. Part of Hollywood overlooks the James River near where a wooden cross was erected a few short weeks after the founding of Jamestown.
Some of the most well known that are buried in Hollywood Cemetery are past Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler as well as Jefferson Davis. Novelist Ellen Glasgow and Historians Clifford Dowdy and David J. Mays. George Pickett, J.E.B. Stuart and Fitzhugh Lee also are there along with six Virginia governors, two Supreme Court justices, twenty-three more Confederate generals, and thousands of Confederate soldiers.
The cemetery was opened in 1849 and designed in a rural garden style. Its name is derived from the many Holly trees that are scattered all over the property. Though there are many beautiful sculptures and tributes that have been built to commemorate the lives of those lying in Hollywood cemetery, one of the ones that stick out the most is the 90 foot high pyramid made of granite.
The pyramid was built in 1869 and was designed by Charles H. Dimmock, a Captain in the Corps Engineers of the Confederate Army. The pyramid stands in the Confederate section of the cemetery as was built as a memorial to the 18,000 enlisted troops that are buried there. 11,000 of those are unknown from the battle at Gettysburg.
This is where the paranormal activity starts. There are claims from visitors from early morning as well as dusk that they hear soft moans coming from around and inside the pyramid. Some say it is the soldiers that have not ever been identified trying to make their presence known. There are also cold spots that have been reported around one corner of the pyramid.
A little behind the pyramid is a about a 3 foot high cast iron dog that has been placed by a little grave. The grave belongs to a Rees who’s first name was most likely Bernadine but has been also written about as Florence and Elizabeth. The girl passed aware of Scarlet Fever in 1862 at the age of three. A grounds person told me about seeing the apparition of the little girl playing with the dog at night.
The cast iron dog associated with the grave also has a few stories to it. According to an old Richmond Times Dispatch article, the most likely story according to historians is that Rees’s father moved the dog to the plot to preserve a family treasure well before she died. The Confederate Gov’t was confiscating cast iron during that period for the war. It is claimed however that the dog is guarding the little girl and some claim that it actually moves. Grounds crew and visitors alike claim that they will pass by and it will be pointed one way and when they come back by it will be pointed another. It is also claimed that you can hear it growl when you get close to the girls grave.
Ellen Glasgow upon her death requested that here two beloved dogs be dug up from behind her house and buried with her. Many visitors and grounds crew claim to hear those dogs playing and running around her gravesite at night.
Of course what would a cemetery be without at least one good urban legend? This one belongs to a crypt belonging to an American bookkeeper whose name is W.W. Pool. The legend is that during a tunnel collapse in 1925 that buried a handful of workers alive, a creature emerged covered in blood and jagged teeth and was chased into Hollywood Cemetery, disappearing in the crypt of Mr. Pool who had died a few days earlier.
Thus the legend of the Richmond vampire was born. Unfortunately there is no Richmond vampire. Though history books do teach us of a massive tunnel collapse and a man did crawl from the wreckage, but it was C&O Railway employee, Benjamin F. Mosby. He had teeth broken out and was extremely burned all over his upper body. He was however taken to Grace Hospital where he passed away the next day.
Hollywood Cemetery is a great place in Richmond to visit. It is opened between 8am and 5pm daily (6pm during DST) and Historical Walking Tours can be had Monday through Saturday at 10:00 am (April – October). Please only visit during proper hours.
Related posts:
- Ghosts of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
- Greenwood Cemetery’s Paranormal Activity
- Hollywood Cemetery EVP
- The Green Lady of Burlington Cemetery
- Haunted Places: Marietta City Cemetery & Confederate Cemetery
5 comments ↓
Ive actually been to hollywood cememtery, i didnt think is was all that to be honest.
We have gotten a few EVP’s from there, from around the pyramid, in the Gettysburg section and the Confederate Officers section.
If you’ve been to Hollywod Cemetery and didn’t think it was “all that”…then you truly must have missed a large portion of what there is to see. I’ve been to many cemeteries in MANY different countries. And Hollywood definitely ranks up near the top. The sheer size of the cemetery, the views of the river, the history, the beauty of some of the headstones and monuments. It’s one of the best in the United States.
Trust me they are strange things that happen in Hollywood, I worked there many years as an law enforcement officer I and many under my command have experienced them.
i grew up right there by the entrance of the cemetery on albemarle st.and i seen all kinds of strange things when we use to sneak in there at night,put it this way,i would never go in there alone at night.
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