Crazy Bet

As of today, it has been 109 years since the death of American Civil War Spy Elizabeth “Crazy Bet” Van Lew. During the war, Elizabeth was a young lady living in what had become the capitol city of the Confederate States of America (also known as the Confederacy). She garnered a reputation for being “hysterical” due to her very outspoken support of the Union both before and during the war. Her blatant support for the other side led others to believe her insane – something that Elizabeth Van Lew picked up on and used to her advantage. She purposely let her hair go scraggly and wore unkempt clothing to further the misconception that she was mentally ill, leading to her nickname “Crazy Bet.” Elizabeth wasn't insane, but she was crazy like a fox as they say.

Due to her falsely perceived insanity and the social status of her family, Van Lew was allowed access to Union soldiers captured and imprisoned nearby. She would bring them care packages and books – allowing secret messages to be slipped back and forth by using pins to mark under letters on pages of the books, spelling out information beneficial to the Union. The Confederacy's arrogance in underestimating the intelligence of both African Americans and women added significantly to their downfall. Van Lew's servants (former slaves she'd freed who chose to work for her) were included in her spy ring. Elizabeth even managed to place one servant spy, Mary Bowser, directly into the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. There, Mary risked her life as one of at least two spies posing as slaves in the Davis home (the other was a man named William Jackson). Jefferson Davis so underestimated the intelligence of African American slaves that he left important classified papers laying about and conducted military planning discussions right front of slaves in his household. Davis assumed the slaves were all dull and illiterate. Not only could Mary Bowser read, it was stated in some accounts by those she relayed information to that Mary possessed a photographic memory, enabling her to retain every word in the documents without having to worry about being caught transcribing.

Elizabeth Van Lew and her servants were the first to proudly fly the United States flag once again in Richmond, Virginia when the Union retook the city from the Confederacy.

Pay your respects at Shockhoe Hill Cemetery to learn more about Elizabeth Van Lew and others who are buried there.


-Tom G

The Original Hollywood Celebrity Death

In a year where celebrity deaths have garnered their fair share of the headlines – most notably with Michael Jackson but also including Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Walter Cronkite, David Carradine, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, Patrick McGoohan, John Hughes, and many more – it is worth taking a look back at the fascination and phenomenon of celebrity deaths. Before there ever was a Michael Jackson (and a CNN that still devotes quite a bit of coverage to his death) or an Elvis Presley, there was an Italian actor known as the "Latin Lover," Rudolph Valentino.

The death of Valentino at the young age of 31 following complications of appendicitis was a devastating blow to the film industry and his countless fans. It has been said that there was a growing false sense of security that actors that graced the silver screen were somehow invincible and larger than life. That illusion came crashing down on August 23, 1926 when Valentino passed away in a hospital in New York. His subsequent funeral in that state drew over 100,000 mourners, which caught the organizers completely off guard and unprepared. While the Los Angeles Times ran with the headline, "Scores in Battle to See Valentino Body," the Chicago Tribune perhaps described it best with their headline, "Riot to See Dead Valentino." The NYPD was forced to deploy a large show of force to disrupt the unruly crowds who were unsatisfied with a two-second glimpse at the dead icon.

Things ran smoother when Valentino's body was returned to Los Angeles, California and he was laid to rest in the then-Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery (now known as Hollywood Forever Cemetery). Another crowd of 80,000 mourners witnessed his casket being carried into the Cathedral Mausoleum where he was ultimately interred. The story of Valentino's legacy did not end there though. In fact, the crypt was only meant to be a temporary home, but the plans went awry. Within years, stories of a woman mourner dressed entirely in black making annual visits to his tomb caught on with the press and began the mystery of the "Lady in Black." In fact, the mystery even served as an inspiration to the famous folk tune, The Long Black Veil, which has been popularized by such names as Johnny Cash and The Band.

Read about it and other stories of Hollywood Forever at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

The Bell Witch in Mississippi

The stories of the Bell Witch haunting and tormenting the Bell family in Adams, Tennessee are well known and documented (see The Bell Witch Historical Marker). However, there is another part of the story that is seldom told. Following the death of John Bell (some say at the hands of the entity), the life of the other focus of the spirit's taunting, Elizabeth “Betsy" Bell, was not much better. Though the “haunting" had seemingly finished for the time being, Betsy continued to suffer a variety of hardships and tragedies. She would live to see the death of five of her children (four at a young age, the fifth died fighting in the Civil War). Her husband, Richard Powell, would suffer a stroke and Betsy (now Elizabeth Powell) would spend 11 years caring for him before his death.

The story of the Bell Witch haunted Betsy for the rest of her life. In 1849, she was forced to threaten a lawsuit against the Saturday Evening Post who had recounted the legend of the entity, but alleged that the paranormal accounts were fiction and that Betsy was actually responsible for the events themselves. The magazine recanted the article and publicly apologized to Betsy.

In her later years, she moved to Mississippi to be closer to her children. She died there July 11, 1888 and was laid to rest at the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley. However, the story was not quite done. There are many that allege that the Bell Witch's torment of Betsy Bell continued until the day she died. In fact, there are many that report strange activity in and around Long Branch Cemetery to this day and that whatever taunted Betsy Bell in life has stayed around her even in death.

Visit the Long Branch Cemetery in Water Valley, Mississippi.

-Casey H.

The Death of a Los Angeles Icon

90 years ago today, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith passed away at the age of 69. Griffith's name will forever be connected to the city of Los Angeles, California for the famous Griffith Park or Griffith Observatory, which were donated to the city by the eccentric industrialist. The park has long been connected with the so-called “Griffith Park Curse," though its roots extend back before his ownership. The legend states that a curse was placed on the land over a real estate dispute following the ownership of Don Antonio Feliz. The reported curse ravaged the finances of subsequent owners and even resulted in some of their untimely ends. Griffith's time was no different as similar misfortunes continued and he even reported seeing ghostly specters haunting the property at night. Reportedly hoping to escape the curse, Griffith donated the land to the city in 1896.

Some allege that it did little good, as Griffith's eccentricities were only exacerbated during his ownership of the property. Only seven years after his donation, Griffith accused his wife Christina of conspiring with the Pope to poison him and shot her in the head. She survived the attack, but Griffith's lawyers were able to use his stature in the community to secure him a short two-year prison sentence. Following his incarceration, Griffith tried to repair his name by donating money for the observatory, an amphitheater, and more at the park, but he was turned down by the city who did not want to associate with a known felon. Only after his death in 1919 did the city relent and accept Griffith's final gifts to the city. Griffith J. Griffith was laid to rest at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Click here to read about more personalities at Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

The Desecration of a General's Grave

Today marks nine years since it was discovered that someone had desecrated the remains of Civil War General Elisha G. Marshall at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY. The dead man's bones were discovered scattered around his place of interment. His skull wasn't discovered among the littered remains and still has not been recovered all these years later. Was the act a misguided and sick prank or was it part of one of a dark ritual; one of the ones said to take place within the confines of the large cemetery from time to time? Odds are that someone out there knows the truth... and the current whereabouts of the missing skull.

The crime isn't the only one to occur inside the cemetery's gates. Wander to the Mt. Hope Cemetery to discover what horrible thing happened there on Halloween night last year.


-Tom G

30 Years Since Darla Left Us

On today's date in 1979, actress/singer Darla Hood unexpectedly passed away at the age of 47 years. Hood, who was primarily known for work she had done as a child actor in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) series of film shorts, had been attempting to organize a reunion of Our Gang actors to take place during the following year. Sadly, her plans and life itself were interrupted when she contracted a fatal hepatitis infection during an apparently routine medical procedure.

Of the child actors who appeared in the Our Gang shorts, one committed suicide, two (including Darla) died at early ages due to medical problems, two died in accidents and three were the victims of homicide. These deaths, along with other cases of misfortune involving the former child stars has led some to believe that there is a curse upon the cast of producer/director Hal Roach's comedy series. There are others who say that statistically the numbers are not extreme for the small sample of the population that the Our Gang actors represent. Either way, there are definitely some dark and tragic tales among the life stories of the Little Rascals.

Pay a visit to Hollywood Forever, where Darla Hood and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer are interred.

-Tom G

No Justice in the Death of George Wythe

On this date in 1806, the so-called "Father of American Jurisprudence" passed away from arsenic poisoning. Wythe earned that moniker as the first professor of law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, but he has other historical accomplishments as well. In addition to being one of the Virginia delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence, he was also one of three to draw up the rules and procedures for the Constitutional Convention.

Later in his life, Wythe became an abolitionist and followed through by freeing his slaves. Taken his new viewpoint one step further, Wythe amended his will to provide for his former slaves, Lydia Broadnax and her son, Michael Brown - today there is speculation that she was his lover and the boy was his son. The news did not set well with his grandnephew, George Wythe Sweeney, and other heir to his fortune, who decided to take the matter into his own hands and devised a plan to poison them with arsenic. Wythe and Brown received a fatal dosage of arsenic, while Broadnax survived. Due to bigoted laws that forbade testimony of blacks against whites, Sweeney was acquitted of the crime. However, Wythe had survived the poisoning long enough to write his grandnephew completely out of his will - administering the only justice they would receive.

Wythe is buried in the cemetery at the St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia - the historical site of Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech. Wythe is one of many historical figures buried there, including the mother of famed horror author, Edgar Allan Poe.

Read more stories of the Richmond St. John's Episcopal Church.

-Casey H.

The Legacy of Peter Lorre

45 years ago on this date, actor Peter Lorre died of a stroke in his apartment in West Hollywood, California. Lorre was often typecast into the role of the villain, a role that he appeared to be built for with his distinctively creepy, yet often soft, voice and bulging eyes, which he described as "two soft-boiled eggs." Lorre catapulted on to the scene in 1931 in the role of a child killer with a knack for whistling "The Hall of the Mountain King" from the Peer Gynt Suite in the classic Fritz Lang thriller, M. In 1934, he was cast as a criminal ringleader by Alfred Hitchcock in The Man Who Knew Too Much and delivered his lines phonetically, not yet able to speak the English language.

He made his Hollywood debut in the 1935 horror film, Mad Love and his tenure in the genre was secured. Aside from appearing in such horror films as Beast with Five Fingers (1946), Tales of Terror (1962), The Raven (1963), Lorre is also well known for playing the Japanese detective, Mr. Moto, in a series of films. In addition, Lorre had memorable roles in such Hollywood classics as The Maltese Falcoln (1941) and Casablanca (1942). He even managed the distinct honor of being the first actor to portray a James Bond villain with his appearance as Le Chiffre in the television adaptation of Casino Royale for an episode of the CBS series, Climax!.

In his later years, Lorre's health had been declining due to a combination of weight problems, diabetes, and an addiction to morphine. His body was cremated and his ashes interred at what is now Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He was 59 at the time of his death.

Read more of the many stories of Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

The Jack Bauer of the American Revolution

March 15 is known as Peter Francisco Day in the states of Virginia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Who is Peter Francisco, you ask? Have you ever heard that joke that emerged following the popularity 24, that goes something like - "Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas when he goes to bed"? Well, if half of the stories of Francisco are true, both of those icons might want to rethink their nightly attire. A basic checklist of Francisco's accomplishments might look something like this:

Arrive in America in a shroud of mystery and be taken in by an affluent family - Check.

Attend Patrick Henry's famous "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" speech - Check.

Join the Colonial Army and fight battles in Brandywine, Germantown, Fort Mifflin, and Monmouth - Check.

Be injured multiple times in above battles and bounce right back - Check.

Survive the harsh winter at Valley Forge - Check.

Get surrounded by the British militia at the Battle of Camden, spear a British soldier, steal his horse, break through enemy lines, give said horse to his injured commanding officer, and carry an 1,100 pound cannon on his shoulders to assure it did not fall in enemy hands - Check.

Encounter nine to eleven British soldiers in a Virginia tavern and single-handily fight them off in what is now known as "Francisco's Fight" - Check.

Witness the British surrender at Yorktown - Check.

Be called a "One-Man-Army" by General George Washington - Check.

Of course, Bauer and Superman are fictional heroes, while Francisco was the real-deal, as is witnessed by his tombstone at Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia - After finally being struck down of appendicitis while in his 70s. The above are only a few of the miraculous accounts of the heroics of Peter Francisco, which few historians have attempted to shoot down. It is enough to make one wonder why Hollywood hasn't turned his life story into a feature film just yet. With that in mind, read more of the stories of Francisco's feats at the link below and feel free to play a casting agent here and let us know who should play Francisco on the big screen when the time comes.

Pay a visit to Francisco's grave at Shockoe Hill Cemetery.

-Casey H.

Today is the third anniversary of the death of actor Darren McGavin. Many know him from his role as Ralphie's dad in the holiday classic A Christmas Story. He appeared in a number of horror shows and movies as well, including his role as Carl Kolchak in the films The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler as well as the TV series Kolchack: The Night Stalker. It is for this latter role that I personally remember Darren McGavin the most fondly.

While some young boys had heroes like Superman or Luke Skywalker, my first hero was a wise-cracking, clumsy reporter with poor fashion sense and a knack for finding horrific things. I guess I've followed in his footsteps in a few ways. As far as fictional role models go, Kolchak isn't a bad one. He never gave up despite the odds always being against him. He always sought to expose the truth where he could and always stepped up to save the day with not much more than his wits and ability to research. He was far from perfect, but he had set ethics he didn't waver from.

Even though he died in 2006, McGavin's final film, Still Waters Burn, wasn't released until last year. It was his first film role since appearing on The X Files back in 1999. I just recently found out about the film and even though it isn't a horror film, I'm enough of a McGavin fan that I'll definitely be checking it out. Today, however I think I'll remember him by watching a few episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker (I've actually already started) and perhaps follow it by watching the 1988 film Dead Heat (which also features another of my favorite actors, Vincent Price).

Pay your respects at Darren McGavin's grave.

-Tom G

The Haunted Tombstones of Mount Holly Cemetery

Tucked away in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas is a 20-acre cemetery that has often been called the "Westminster Abbey of Arkansas." The cemetery was established on this day in 1843 and is now the home to countless historical individuals that played a major role either on the state or the federal level - giving it that distinguished nickname. Mount Hope Cemetery holds no less than six U.S. Senators, 10 Governors, four Confederate Generals, 14 State Supreme Court Justices, 21 Mayors of Little Rock, and the Arkansas Boy Martyr of the Confederacy - David Owen Dodd.

The cemetery is gaining a reputation for an entirely different reason as well. Visitors to the grounds have reported a wide range of strange activity. If you believe the stories, various tombstones have mysteriously shown up on the lawns of neighboring houses in the middle of the night. Who or what moved them is a matter of speculation. Of course, if you couple it with the reports of those very statues and tombs startling a guest to the grounds by slightly moving, one has to wonder. Other reports include apparitions in period clothing and the echoing calls of a flute playing when no one else is around. Tricks of the mind or is something far stranger going on in Mount Holly Cemetery?

Look into the stories of Mount Holly Cemetery.

-Casey H.

The Donner Party Legacy

On this date in 1922, 78-year-old Eliza Poor Houghton succumbed to heart disease. Although she led a distinguished life as a published author and wife of California Congressman, Sherman Otis Houghton, she is probably best remembered for the tragic winter she lived through, though she was only three years old at the time.

She was born Eliza Poor Donner to George and Tamzene Donner in March of 1843. At the time, thousands of families were immigrating to the west, spurned on by hard financial times and outbreaks of cholera and malaria. The Donner family was no exception and on April 14, 1846, the families of Donner and his two brothers left Springfield, Illinois. As the group moved west, they joined up with other trains, their numbers grew, and Eliza's father was elected captain of what is known today as the Donner Party. By the time they hit the Sierra Nevada in October, the weather blocked their path and they were forced to camp with little food. By the time it was all over, only 48 of the original 87 pioneers were left and many of them had resulted to cannibalism in order to survive.

Eliza, her sister, and some cousins were a few of the survivors, but her parents were not so lucky. Eliza would eventually become known as one the most famous of all of the survivors through her efforts to defend her family name. After her death, she was buried in the historic Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California in her husband's plot, which is marked only by his name. However, her private accounts (aided greatly by the memories of her sister and surviving cousins) of that fatal winter helped provide the foundation for future Donner Party studies.

Pay a visit to Eliza Poor Houghton (Donner)'s grave at Angelus-Rosedale.

-Casey H.

The Death of Idaho's Lady Bluebeard

On this date in 1958, a woman in Salt Lake City, Utah suffered a heart attack and died. Her body was brought back to her home state of Idaho and buried in the Sunset Memorial Park in Twin Falls under the name of "Anna E. Shaw." On the surface, this was a fairly normal story. However, this woman was far from ordinary.

She was better known as Lyda Southard, who was convicted of murdering her husband Edward Meyer and sentenced to 20 years in the Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise (see Old Idaho Penitentiary). Of course, that was the murder she was convicted of. The authorities were convinced that she was responsible for five more, including the death of her daughter and a brother-in-law. Like Meyer, the other three bodies were those of Lyda's three husbands. The motive was plain and simple - insurance money. The method - Boiling flypaper and extracting the arsenic, which she then fed to them in their meals (known colorfully today as Lyda Southard's Famous Apple Pie).

Lyda Southard married a total of seven times. What happened to the other husbands? Well, none of them attended her funeral.

Read more about Lyda and Sunset Memorial Park on Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

"But where, O where is her head?"

Today marks the 112th anniversary of the discovery of the body of Pearl Bryan. The murder victim's headless corpse was discovered in a farmer's field by one of the farm's hired hands on February 1, 1896 (see our article on the murder of Pearl Bryan). It was discovered that the dead woman was five months pregnant and that her stomach contents included a large deal of cocaine (a legal substance at that time). Evidence led to the arrest of Bryan's former lover Scott Jackson and his friend Alonzo Walling.
It was determined that the two men had attempted to poison the pregnant woman by mixing cocaine into a drink given to her. When she didn't immediately die, they apparently transported her across state lines from Ohio to Kentucky where she was beheaded. The crossing of state lines at two different stages of the murder led to later complications over where the men's trial should be held. This in turn further sensationalized the crime, leading to a murder ballad being written about Pearl's murder, in which the singer laments, "But where, O where is her head?" Jackson and Walling were found guilty and were executed, still professing their innocence as they stood side by side on the scaffold (see our article on the Campbell County Courthouse).

Pearl Bryan's head was never found. Some are said to have seen the spirit of Pearl Bryan wandering about the graveyard in Indiana in which most of her remains were buried. It is said that the apparition sometimes appears with her head and at other times without. If the spirit of Pearl Bryan is lingering in the cemetery, what is it seeking?

Pay a visit to the grave of Pearl Bryan.

-Tom G

The Shooting of Alfalfa

Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of actor Carl Switzer. Switzer is primarily known for playing the role of Alfalfa in the Our Gang series of films (AKA: The Little Rascals). The former child actor continued in the profession as an adult, but most of his work was mostly in low-budget productions that didn't pay him well. He supplemented his income by breeding hunting dogs and guiding hunting trips for celebrities such as Jimmy Stewart.

On the evening of January 21, 1959, Switzer and his friend Jack Piott arrived at the home of Moses "Bud" Stiltz. Switzer and Piott are said to have been drinking prior to paying Stiltz a visit. Switzer was angry over $50 he felt Stiltz owed him. Switzer had lost one of Stiltz's dogs that he'd borrowed. Switzer paid a $35 reward to the man who returned the dog as well as buying the man $15 in drinks at a bar. Despite the dog's loss having been the fault of Carl Switzer, he felt that Moses Stiltz should have to reimburse him for the money. There was apparently a scuffle and Switzer was shot in the groin by Stiltz. Switzer bled to death at the scene.

Also present at the scene of the shooting was Stiltz's wife, Stiltz's stepdaughters and stepson, Thomas Corrigan. Corrigan, Piott and Stiltz all gave differing accounts of the incident. One thing that both Piott and Corrigan's statements about the incident agreed upon was that Stiltz murdered Switzer with little provocation. Corrigan was never called upon to testify in court however, and Stiltz was found not guilty of murder for reason of self-defense. A closed penknife had been found under the body of Switzer by investigators at the scene of the shooting.

Switzer is one of two Little Rascals buried at Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles.

Pay a visit to the cemetery to find out the identity of the other Little Rascal buried there.

-Tom G

A Virtual Drive through Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery

As many of you know, Dark Destinations incorporates Google Maps as part of the site to help pinpoint our destinations geographically and assist in planning trips. The technology is made available through a Web developer API, which is not necessarily the same as the main Google Maps site itself. One of the main differences is a relatively new feature that is available on their main site, but not to us developers just yet - Street View.

This new technology allows us all to take a virtual drive down countless roads that have been mapped and filmed by specially equipped vehicles to get a true 360 degrees look at the surrounding area. Not surprisingly, not all roads have been given the "Street View" treatment just yet. Major roads are pretty well represented, but the company is still working on the various side streets of even some of the major metropolitan areas. With so many public roads yet to be catalogued and represented, it is a rarity to find a place like Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. While it is not a surprise to see that the various public roads around the grounds represented in "Street View," it is quite astonishing to find the roads inside the grounds covered as well.

Angelus-Rosedale is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angles, having been found when the population in the city was still in the tens of thousands. It is the home to the first crematory west of the Rockies and reportedly only the second crematory in the entire nation. It is also the final resting place of various influential pioneers of the area, and given its proximity to Hollywood, even features more than a few movie personalities. The colorful collection of characters include everyone from Dracula (1931) director Tod Browning and Oscar winning actress Hattie McDaniel, to a famed Tombstone doctor (whose offbeat wit was evident on various coroner reports), a Donner Party survivor, famed magician Harry Kellar, an infamous California serial killer, and even the murder victim (not connected to the serial killer) in a controversial crime that was later adapted to film. Finally, the grounds made an appearance in various episodes of the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as such shows as Charmed and Six Feet Under.

So if you are interested in taking a "Sunday drive" from the comfort of your computer, we invite you to take a look at our write-up on Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery. Once you have a feeling for the place and the personalities buried there, click on the link below that to take your own "virtual tour" of the cemetery through the "Street View" option on Google Maps main site. You can experience the early history of Los Angeles, while also being amazed at just how far technology has come.

Read the tales of Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery on Dark Destinations.
Take a virtual tour of the grounds on Google Maps Street View. (Give it a chance to load and it should work on most browsers)

-Casey H.

The Demise of Chang and Eng

It was on this date in 1874, that Chang and Eng Bunker passed away. The conjoined twins originally came from Thailand (then known as Siam). Their fame in show business led to conjoined twins in general to be mistakenly referred to as "Siamese twins." After leaving show business, the twins settled in North Carolina in the United States. They married a pair of sisters and father 21 children between the two of them.

In 1874, Chang's health had been failing for years. A known alcoholic (his brother Eng refused to drink alcohol), Chang had also suffered a stroke years earlier. Poor Eng woke up on this chilly January morning in 1874, to find his twin dead. Horrified, he called to his family to fetch a doctor to separate him from the corpse. He lay there for hours, connected by his flesh to the cooling body of Chang. The family was unable to reach a doctor in time. After two and half hours of terror, Eng himself passed away.

While some have attributed Eng's death to sepsis resulting from having the congealing blood of a corpse slowly making its way into his body, it is generally believed that Eng died from shock resulting from the fear he was experiencing that dreadful January morning.

That was not the end of Chang and Eng's story however. They were to buried and reburied on multiple occasions and not all of them made it back to the grave. Part of them is in Pennsylvania and the rest lies in North Carolina.

Pay a visit to Chang and Eng in White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery in North Carolina or at the Mutter Museum in Pennsylvania.

-Tom G

A Visit to the Catacombs of Palermo

Today's blog entry takes us to the Italian city of Palermo on the island of Sicily and a rather unique tourist attraction. The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (sometimes called King Capuchin Catacombs) are quite literally a city of the dead. Around 8,000 corpses line the various halls of the underworld and consist of all ages and both males and females. Though initially intended for friars of the local monastery, the idea took off with the local population that began to donate money to have their own relatives interred.

Starting in 1599 and lasting through the 1920s, corpses were put on display for their grieving loved ones to come and pray and mourn their passing. The halls were even categorized for convenience sake and bodies were moved according to the categorizations: men, women, children, priests, and even a spot for virgins. Even more unusual was the special requests of the entombed before their death that their clothes were changed at frequent intervals.

Though it stopped accepting new interments in the 1920s, the catacombs have continued to be a popular tourist destination in Palermo and even serve as something of a historical record of the area. Some of the interred have even become well known in death, such as two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo. One of the last corpses admitted in the catacombs, Rosalia is a unique addition considering the excellent preservation state of her body. Though her mummification is credited to Dr. Alfredo Salafia, no one is quite sure what techniques he used to achieve such dramatic results and it is believed that he never shared his knowledge with others. Today, Rosalia is encased in a glass coffin and aside from an unnatural skin tone, generally looks as if she is only resting which has led to her being dubbed "Sleeping Beauty."

A special thanks to Dark Destinations contributor Dementia for adding The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo to our database and bringing this rather unique location to our attention!

Visit her article on The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo.

-Casey H.

Remembering Leo Gordon

On December 26, 2000, Leo Gordon passed away in Los Angeles, California from heart failure following a brief illness. Gordon was a prolific actor, screenwriter, and novelist who was often cast in the role of a antagonist due to his impressive size and deep voice. Though he is known for his work (both acting and writing) in the Western genre, he also made several significant contributions to the horror genre.

Gordon appeared in such films as The Haunted Palace (1963), The Lucifer Complex (1978), and Bog (1983) but his was his work with American International Pictures (AIP) that he made the biggest impact in the genre. James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff founded the company that specialized in independent, low-budget movies often produced (and sometimes directed) by none other than Roger Corman. Gordon was tapped early on as a screenwriter for the firm and even appeared in several AIP films, including some he had written. Among his horror credits are the films Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959), The Wasp Woman (1959), Tower of London (1962), and The Terror (1963).

In 2004, Gordon was joined in eternal rest by his longtime wife, Lynn Cartwright, who was also bitten by the acting bug and even appeared in a few of her husband's films. They are both currently interred in the Chapel columbarium of Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Pay your respects at Hollywood Forever.

-Casey H.

The Bell Witch and the Death of John Bell

188 years ago on this day, the family of John Bell awoke to find the family patriarch had passed away in the night. The previous evening, on December 19, Bell had reportedly drunk from a vial that supposedly contained medication that had been prescribed by a local doctor. According to some accounts, the family grew suspicious that the medicine no longer looked the same as when the doctor had given it to him and decided to give a small sample to their cat. It promptly died.

For over three years, John and daughter, Elizabeth (Betsy) had been tormented by an unseen entity that they knew as "Kate," though is more commonly known today as the Bell Witch. In addition to the taunts and sometimes-physical abuse it unleashed on the family, it reportedly made constant threats that it would continue until John Bell was dead. Those that attended Bell's funeral even reported hearing the Bell Witch sing and laugh throughout the service in celebration. Because of the length and public notoriety, John Bell's death is considered among many to be the only documented case of someone dying by the unseen hands of a supernatural entity.

Bell was buried on his family plot, which is private property today and closed off from the public. In 1957, Bell-descendant Leslie Covington designed and built the Bellwood Cemetery in the Bell's hometown of Adams, Tennessee. While some descendants of John Bell were exhumed and re-interred in the new cemetery (including Charles Bailey Bell who documented his family's travails in the 1934 book, The Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit), the body of John Bell, his wife, and son were left in the original family plot. Betsy Bell was buried in Water Valley, Mississippi where she had moved later in life. However, the Bellwood Cemetery includes an obelisk honoring the Bell family and their contributions to the early history of Adams, Tennessee.

As with many things indirectly or directly associated with the Bell Witch, the Bellwood Cemetery is also home to various reports of paranormal activity that some believe is associated with the entity. Strange lights have been reported at night, guests sense the presence of being watched, and anomalies have shown up on photographs taken on the grounds. It is hardly alone in the strange phenomena - activity has been reported at the nearby popular landmark, The Bell Witch Cave, and some have attributed the tragic death of the curator of the Adams Museum at the Old Bell School to the entity.

Visit the Bellwood Cemetery in Adams, Tennessee - Home of the Bell Witch.

-Casey H.