The oldest public cemetery in Tallahassee is worth checking out from a historic vantage point, but many visitors do not know the spooky tale that lurks behind this final resting place. You can take a self-guided tour to learn all about this cemetery if you’re brave enough, but the truth behind the witch that was buried here only makes the visit that much more fascinating. Real hauntings in Florida don't get much better than this.
The Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida has a unique history that most visitors are unaware of.
After being acquired by the city in 1840, this cemetery became Tallahassee’s only public burying ground during the 19th century, which means that buried there were store clerks, war veterans, governors, farmers, and...a witch…
…that’s right, as the tale goes, a witch is buried within this cemetery and the story is as surprising and confusing as it gets.
Elizabeth Budd-Graham (Bessie) was only 23 years old when she passed in 1889, leaving behind two small children and a husband.
But what makes the story curious is Bessie’s tombstone—a towering ornate obelisk which happens to be the most visited grave in the entire cemetery.
Bessie’s tomb was one of the most elaborate and expensive in Tallahassee in the 1880s, surrounded by a stone wall, large granite vases, sculptured feathers, and a cross inside of a crown.
As legend goes, Bessies bewitched a wealthy man into marrying her and he chose to commemorate her in the most elaborate way possible when she passed.
But what was even stranger about Bessie’s tomb is the strange epitaph chiseled on the front which historians have translated to have many dark, witch references throughout.
While some have claimed Bessie was a "good witch" others are not so sure when they feel the energy that they attribute to the grave itself.
Take a self-guided walking tour when you visit The Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee...
…and see for yourself whether or not you feel anything when you visit the presumed witch’s grave.
Here is the epitaph written on the front of Bessie’s grave, which is a passage from Edgar Allan Poe’s Lenore:
"Ah! Broken is the golden bowl.
The spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll! A saintly soul
Floats on the Stygian River;
Come let the burial rite be read
The funeral song be sung;
An anthem for the queenliest dead
That died so young
A dirge for her the doubly dead
In that she died so young."
Address: 400 W Park Ave, Tallahassee, FL 32301-1416
So, what do you think? Brave enough to visit this witch's gravestone in Tallahassee? Share with us your thoughts on whether or not Bessie was a witch in the comments below!
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