Established in 1844 and over 160 years old, Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek, Michigan has a lot of history. It's the final resting place of famous people such as Sojourner Truth, C.W. Post, W.K. Kellogg, his brother John Harvey Kellogg, Bill Knapp, Ellen & James White, founders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and others. Among the many famous people slumbering within the grounds of Oak Hill, another famous person exists above ground. While Crying Mary may not be a living, breathing person, she does happen to be a beautiful statue of a Greek goddess at the gravesite of Johannes Decker and is well known by the residents of Battle Creek.

The legend of Crying Mary says that at the stroke of midnight on every Sunday, the statue cries. People have claimed to have seen and felt her tears. Some say she only cries at night and never during the day. The story has been circulating some say, since the 1940’s and continues on.

Photo by BKR

 

"I was born and raised in Battle Creek and I have visited the Oakhill Cemetery many times. My great grandparents are buried there and I have witnessed Crying Mary during the day. My parents say it's just condensation on her because she is copper, but there are other weird things that go on in that cemetery. If you drive by at night, you can see a weird man walking through the cemetery. He carries a lantern. I've heard it said that he was the old caretaker who refuses to leave. I don't know, but I can tell you that if you go into the cemetery, you get a creepy feeling like you’re being followed."


-Email submission, January 2009

 

  • *All cemeteries should be entered with respect. Leave them like you found them. Don’t liter, if you smoke, pocket your butts and for the love of every god, don’t vandalize anything or so help me, 10,000 demons will strike you down. If the cemetery has hours posted, respect that as well or find out how to get permission to be in there after hours. Many times a simple phone call to the right person will grant access into a cemetery after hours. If you can’t get access, enjoy the cemetery during open hours. We are firm believers that spirits don’t just come out at night. I think it’s just ghost hunters who only come out at night.