THIS CACHE IS UP FOR ADOPTION, FOR PERSONAL REASONS, I WILL NO LONGER BE MAINTAINING THE CACHE'S, SO PLEASE ADOPT THIS TO KEEP IT GOING. CONTACT ME TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP
There are a number cemeteries in southern Vermilion County, Illinois that predate the Civil War, a majority of which are considered to be haunted. Among those, Niccum Cemetery is one of the most notoriously haunted graveyards in the region. Originally a family burial ground in the McKendrie Township, there are records of burials that date back as far as 1818, with the interment of William Low. It also just so happens that William Low's son, John Low, owned the property adjacent to the north and east of the plot that is now Niccum Cemetery.
As expected, there is a fair number of the Niccum family buried in the cemetery, along with several other surnames of people who married into or were otherwise affiliated with the Niccum family. Records indicate, however, that the land upon which Niccum Cemetery was established belonged originally to a man by the name of George Zinn, who eventually passed away in 1851 and is buried within the cemetery.
Niccum Cemetery was established as a public burial ground in 1853 and to date has approximately 543 bodies buried there. It is situated upon a mound comprised of about an acre of land. A majority of the dates of death of those buried at Niccum fall between the mid to late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, though there were several burials during the 1960’s and at least one as recently as 2001.
So what about the hauntings? Some witnesses have reported being overcome by an oppressive force upon entering the bounds of the cemetery. There have been reports over the years of apparitions, strange sounds and ghost lights, all of which are said to manifest at all times of the day and night.
The identity of the ghosts that roam the grounds of Niccum Cemetery have never been established. It is often assumed that whatever ghosts may lurk theses grounds must belong to those who were buried within the confines of the cemetery. If so, then why?
It is generally assumed that ghosts tend to haunt places where they died or had an emotional attachment to. If this is true, then why would any spirit haunt a cemetery? What kind of attachment would the soul of a deceased person have with any sort of burial ground? Perhaps there's some type of unfinished business with the living. Maybe the spirit is still anchored to his or her earthly body. There's the possibility that the deceased lay in wait hoping a loved one will come by for a visit. It could also be possible that the spirits which haunt a burial ground were never buried at that geographical location in the first place.
What about those spirits that are trapped in our plane of existence, seeking the worldly bodies of their loved ones? Take the case of Thomas J Largely for example. Thomas was born in Nelson County, Kentucky on February 22, 1828. He married Jane Hand on April 23, 1848, and died as a fairly young man twenty years later. He was buried in a portion of Gordon Cemetery that was located in the now extinct town of Denmark, Illinois, a small community that had existed northwest of Danville.
Denmark had been known as a place where liquor flowed handily and where prostitution, gambling and fist fighting in the streets were the norm. The town burned itself out fast, however, and the population began to diminish. In 1925 the powers that be in Vermilion county decided to flood the area of Denmark, thus creating what is now known as Lake Vermilion. The flooding caused most of the graves in Gordon Cemetery to be lost.
Jane Hand lived on for another five decades, never to remarry. She passed away in 1898 at the age of 73, and was buried in Niccum Cemetery. It makes one ponder the possibility that the ghost of lovelorn Thomas Largely is among the spirits believed to haunt Niccum Cemetery, seeking out his long deceased bride.
Please respect the surroundings for this cache.
A small note from the owner of this cache: I personally dont believe in ghosts, however, I've been at this cemetery several times, and had this un-nerving feeling that someone was watching me, and I should leave, really got under my skin being here, so you decide, haunted or not, I vote on haunted. Several times, I was actually very frightened by this place.