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Just a note: Stepp Cemetery is a famous spot amongst Hoosiers, and PROOF
has chosen it as a spot for a long term, ongoing project. Over the last year,
PROOF has been there several times, and will continue to do so. We are not
going to have separate pages for each investigation, we will simply put in an
update at the bottom of this page with any interesting findings.
has chosen it as a spot for a long term, ongoing project. Over the last year,
PROOF has been there several times, and will continue to do so. We are not
going to have separate pages for each investigation, we will simply put in an
update at the bottom of this page with any interesting findings.
Stepp Cemetery has a long reputation for being haunted. It is a pioneer
cemetery started in the early 1800s, located just south of Martinsville, IN;
approximately 5 miles deep into the dark and desolate Morgan-Monroe
State Forest. Locals tell the sad story of a woman who tragically lost her
baby son during the mid- 1930's, and had the baby buried in the nearby
Stepp Cemetery. She then became a recluse, spending most of her time at
the cemetery,watching over her baby's grave, and singing to it. She too,
eventually passed on, and that is when the stories and reports began to roll
in.
Around the mid- 1950's, visitors to the cemetery began to report seeing a
woman in black sitting on a tree stump in the cemetery near a baby's
grave. People would witness her, sitting there one second, and being gone
the next. Rangers have reported hearing the cry of a woman in the
woods, and upon inspection, finding nothing. Also, there have been
reports of a black ghost dog , watching over the baby's grave and
protecting it.
Another story concerns two brothers that are said to have dueled to the
death over their fathers inheritance money in these woods. Their spirits are
also said to roam the area. Visitors have reported cars dying on them, and
restarting on their own, without the turn of a key. It may also be of some
interest to note that rumors exist of the cemetery having a connection to a
odd religious cult called the Crabbites. This group supposedly held services
long ago in Stepp that included snake handling, speaking in tongues, and
sex orgies.
So anyway, if you plan on visiting this lonely place named Stepp Cemetery
anytime soon I wouldn't worry too much about encountering any
Crabbites. However, a face to face with a few wayward spirits..... well that's
another thing altogether!
cemetery started in the early 1800s, located just south of Martinsville, IN;
approximately 5 miles deep into the dark and desolate Morgan-Monroe
State Forest. Locals tell the sad story of a woman who tragically lost her
baby son during the mid- 1930's, and had the baby buried in the nearby
Stepp Cemetery. She then became a recluse, spending most of her time at
the cemetery,watching over her baby's grave, and singing to it. She too,
eventually passed on, and that is when the stories and reports began to roll
in.
Around the mid- 1950's, visitors to the cemetery began to report seeing a
woman in black sitting on a tree stump in the cemetery near a baby's
grave. People would witness her, sitting there one second, and being gone
the next. Rangers have reported hearing the cry of a woman in the
woods, and upon inspection, finding nothing. Also, there have been
reports of a black ghost dog , watching over the baby's grave and
protecting it.
Another story concerns two brothers that are said to have dueled to the
death over their fathers inheritance money in these woods. Their spirits are
also said to roam the area. Visitors have reported cars dying on them, and
restarting on their own, without the turn of a key. It may also be of some
interest to note that rumors exist of the cemetery having a connection to a
odd religious cult called the Crabbites. This group supposedly held services
long ago in Stepp that included snake handling, speaking in tongues, and
sex orgies.
So anyway, if you plan on visiting this lonely place named Stepp Cemetery
anytime soon I wouldn't worry too much about encountering any
Crabbites. However, a face to face with a few wayward spirits..... well that's
another thing altogether!
Being five miles back into a huge, dense forest doesn't always make for the
easiest finding of a two century old cemetery. We had seen photos of a
gate in front of the path to the cemetery that threw us off just a bit. There
are actually two gates that are about a quarter mile from each other that
are almost identical, having only very slight differences. So, on our first trip
we ventured down the wrong path, for what I'd say was about a half mile.
However, the entire forest is rumored haunted, and this trip had some
strange happenings indeed. On our way back towards the beginning of the
path, I began to feel very watched, and glanced into the woods only to see
something slightly illuminated moving about for about a half-second. I
immediately grabbed my camera to shoot a picture, only to watch an
almost fully charged set of batteries drain out on my screen. My camera
shut down, and it was only a matter of a couple minutes before both of our
flashlights began to die out. This is never any good in the middle of the
darkest place I've ever been in, so we decided to hit the road for the night.
easiest finding of a two century old cemetery. We had seen photos of a
gate in front of the path to the cemetery that threw us off just a bit. There
are actually two gates that are about a quarter mile from each other that
are almost identical, having only very slight differences. So, on our first trip
we ventured down the wrong path, for what I'd say was about a half mile.
However, the entire forest is rumored haunted, and this trip had some
strange happenings indeed. On our way back towards the beginning of the
path, I began to feel very watched, and glanced into the woods only to see
something slightly illuminated moving about for about a half-second. I
immediately grabbed my camera to shoot a picture, only to watch an
almost fully charged set of batteries drain out on my screen. My camera
shut down, and it was only a matter of a couple minutes before both of our
flashlights began to die out. This is never any good in the middle of the
darkest place I've ever been in, so we decided to hit the road for the night.
Thankfully, after some long research, and much walking in the woods, we
were able to realize that we were only right down the road from our target.
We found the second gate, and proceeded down the path for about 200
yards or so before we started seeing the first of the stones. History and
possible hauntings put aside, this place was very impressive. A feeling of
walking back into the past is in the air as you walk back into this clearing
deep within the woods. We began to inspect the area, making sure no one
was around, and began to snap off photos of much of the area. These
revealed no evidence, however, but we were left with some interesting
photos of the cemetery you can view anyway, if you are interested.
As we made it to a certain area on the outskirts of the cemetery, three
members of our team reported a lingering cold spot that was pretty much
felt simultaneously amongst us. Keep in mind that we were out walking in
25 degree Fahrenheit weather. This spot was MUCH more cold than its
surroundings, you could literally step in and out of it. Our digital
thermometer had been left behind, as our mentality at the time thought
measuring for cold spots out in the freezing cold would be pointless.
However, this may not have been the case. This could have been a
weather anomaly, but it is notable.
One of our EMF detectors constantly flashed in the 2.5 range, yet the other
one showed nothing. We have no choice but to blame the cold for a
possible malfunction, yet cannot be sure what caused this event. It should
be noted that the EMF did stop at times, only to start up again
unexplainedly.
Overall, this was an interesting trip that will spawn further investigation in
the near future. Keep with us to find out more!! A link to some Stepp
Cemetery pics is available below for those who'd like to check them out.
were able to realize that we were only right down the road from our target.
We found the second gate, and proceeded down the path for about 200
yards or so before we started seeing the first of the stones. History and
possible hauntings put aside, this place was very impressive. A feeling of
walking back into the past is in the air as you walk back into this clearing
deep within the woods. We began to inspect the area, making sure no one
was around, and began to snap off photos of much of the area. These
revealed no evidence, however, but we were left with some interesting
photos of the cemetery you can view anyway, if you are interested.
As we made it to a certain area on the outskirts of the cemetery, three
members of our team reported a lingering cold spot that was pretty much
felt simultaneously amongst us. Keep in mind that we were out walking in
25 degree Fahrenheit weather. This spot was MUCH more cold than its
surroundings, you could literally step in and out of it. Our digital
thermometer had been left behind, as our mentality at the time thought
measuring for cold spots out in the freezing cold would be pointless.
However, this may not have been the case. This could have been a
weather anomaly, but it is notable.
One of our EMF detectors constantly flashed in the 2.5 range, yet the other
one showed nothing. We have no choice but to blame the cold for a
possible malfunction, yet cannot be sure what caused this event. It should
be noted that the EMF did stop at times, only to start up again
unexplainedly.
Overall, this was an interesting trip that will spawn further investigation in
the near future. Keep with us to find out more!! A link to some Stepp
Cemetery pics is available below for those who'd like to check them out.