The Haunting of 13 Stairs Cemetery

Pleasant Ridge Cemetery (aka 13 Stairs Cemetery), located a few miles north of Palo, Iowa (42.061ºN, 91.789ºW, see map, overlooking Lewis Bottoms) is a well-known local site of paranormal investigation. And it keeps on growing in ghost hunting lore.

Published stories about the site have several themes. One theme is that the hill top cemetery is a source of EVP ghostly voices. Another theme is that of nighttime sightings of a red-eye growling dog. Still others concern floating orbs of light.

Evidence of past paranormal investigations sometimes litter the property with spent batteries and melted candle stumps. Years ago authorities restricted access to the road directly in front of the cemetery. Reports of patrols near Halloween also help preserve the intended nature of the graveyard from the curious. Web traffic to this blog post also increases each year near the end of October. Investigate the site yourself to determine if these haunting claims are true.

One unique headstone in the cemetery is that of Thankful Blackburn (some say she was a self-proclaimed witch) who died in 1862. Her now flat laying marker provides a folksy warning to the rest of us:

"Remember friends as you pass by

What you are now so once was I

What I am now so you must be

Prepare in life to follow me."

Hmm, how haunting. Check it out for yourself. Know that.

EVP From Mt Vernon Iowa Cemetery Haunting

EVP stands for electronic voice phenomena. This definition is a standard for anyone who watches the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters. It refers to the ability to hear ghostly sounds that are usually unheard by human ears at the time of an audio recording. Interesting. So off to the Mt. Vernon - Lisbon, Iowa's cemetery with our team to see if we could get EVPs on our first attempt. Though it was mid-afternoon (not nighttime) one day last summer we walked the cemetery with a voice recorder in hand asking questions and listening.

Listen to or download the file here.

Upon review of the recording we distinctly heard the following:

Investigator: "Is there anything that you wish to say?"
EVP: "No" or another interpretation is "Get Out" which may start before the question audio ends.

Listen closely to hear the soft response to the first question. Our follow-up question and the none response is included for you to hear the background noise as a comparison. We don't know what we captured but it certainly was quite the find for first time ghost hunters. We plan to check the site out again. Read more about the account here. Know that.