Tucked away within a copse of trees off a dusty road in the town of Southvalley is a small cemetery known all around as a place where spirits reside. It is said that the Old Catholic cemetery is populated with the spirits that are buried there. What walks there is anyone’s guess but it is said that if you are lucky enough and brave enough that you would see something appear before your eyes. Like many cemeteries Guernsey Hollow, as it is most commonly known, is mildly spooky during the day but at night it takes on a whole new feeling. A feeling almost of being watched, a feeling like whatever resides there does not want you to enter the wrought iron gate and step into the hallowed ground. It was not until my first year of college that I even heard of this out of the way cemetery that was supposedly haunted. I was introduced to it on one fine dim evening during the summer of 1994. A few of my friends had decided that it would be an interesting time if we visited the cemetery so that we could possibly get spooked.
As we drove down the rural roads past dilapidated farmhouses and dense forest I wondered just what it would be like there. I was scared but I also thought that nothing could possibly happen. However, I was mistaken something did happen and it would change my outlook forever. On this particular evening I was with a few friends like I said, who are not the type to create things to spook others since they were spooked themselves. I, the unbeliever, arrived at the gates of Guernsey expecting nothing since I knew nothing was there. We parked the car at the base of the hill and shone the lights through the gate basking the cross at the very top. The supposed cross that according to legend one must kiss so that they can see the spirits that walk the hallowed grounds. Immediately upon crossing the threshold of the cemetery I noticed a chill in the air, but since it was a very cold night to begin with there was nothing strange about it. I walked to the top of the cemetery and kissed the cross at the behest of my friends. They could not believe I did it but again I thought the whole trip was a lot of hype. It was at this time that I took it upon myself to walk around the graveyard on my own. I left my friends at the top near the cross while they prodded one another to kiss it. As far as I know even with all the chiding no one ever did kiss it save for me.
So there I was twenty to thirty feet farther down the hill on the right side of the cemetery at a tombstone right near the outside fence. Between the car and I was nothing other than the wrought iron gate and a few tombstones. It was then that I heard a soft giggle. A giggle almost like that of a small girl but that could not be possible it was three in the morning and as far as I knew there was no small girl within a few miles of us. And yet I still heard the giggle again much louder this time. It was right about now I started to think something was up but I still thought there must be an explanation, an explanation that did not have to do with the paranormal. I walked a little further down the hill past the tombstone on the right and something caught my eye. It was then that my world changed and my outlook on the paranormal started to take hold of me. On the face of the tombstone, which recently has been broken in tow, was the shadow of a small girl. It was fleeting but I saw it reflected in the light from the car. I looked there was nothing between the car and I but the gate and a few tombstones, none of which were reflected on the face of the stone anyway.
Once I started upon the quest to document paranormal phenomenon in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties I decided to start with Guernsey Hollow Cemetery for various reasons. It was a good place to start since I knew there was something there that I had even seen. The other reason was because of the remoteness of the location I was sure I would not be disturbed in an investigation and would most definitely have no interference with my instruments while I tried to take Electromagnetic Field readings among other things. The location was virtually cut off. In my research I came across many stories that were told about Guernsey about how the place was haunted by a little girl that was stoned to death in the 1800’s, about Black Masses performed at the base of the cross, or about the strange deaths of animals especially the impaling of deer on the wrought iron fence and even a pile of deer carcasses found within the confines of the cemetery. It is apparent that something does walk in those hallowed grounds in the calm of the night but is it paranormal or of the flesh? There is something I do know for sure these stories will persist about a little cemetery tucked in a copse of tress off the beaten path. As long as they do the legend of Guernsey Hollow will never die.
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This story is based on actual events that took place in Dec 2001 to Jan 2002.It was early Dec 2001 when we heard of a cemetery that was suppose to be haunted. We decided we would go there, not expecting anything. Well after the first time at Guernsey Hollow Cemetery I knew without a doubt it was haunted. We sat in the car, parked in front off the path to the cemetery. I could feel the spirits all around us. We had our windows rolled down. All of a sudden I heard someone whispering. I didn’t say anything to my husband. Then I heard it again. I said, ” I want to leave now” As we drove away he told me he heard it too. We went back the next night with our son and daughter. As we walked the path to the cemetery it got colder and colder. I began to hear the voices just after we went into the cemetery. Then I heard a buzzing noise like something passing by me. It slowly came near then passed by and the noise began to fade. My daughter wanted to leave. So we went and got in the car. Then we heard a terrifying scream. We left. I heard the whispers and the screams several more times when we went to the cemetery. One day we went up during the day. I stood between a cross and a head stone. Then I walked about 6 feet. When I looked backed there was a cloudy mist in between the cross and head stone, right where I had stood just minutes before. From that day on I saw and heard unexplained things in my apt. I was sitting in my kitchen, having a cigarette. Out of no where came a black Smokey mist. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. Then the footsteps started, like someone was coming up my stairs. I would go to see who it was and no one was there. As soon as I sat down the foot steps would start again. One day I was at the computer, out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow on the wall. I turned and looked, it looked like a shadow of a person. Then it just disappeared. Even now I hear and see strange things in my apt. This is just a warning if you go to a haunted place be prepared to deal with whatever might be there and may even follow you home.
Story Submitted by a user 10/8:
We decided to go out to Guernsey Hollow cemetery again and I do not know why we decided to go out there so early, but we did. When we got there we noticed that the trees and foliage had been cleared on one side of the trail leading to the cemetery. When we got in there I was the first to enter the cemetery and I headed up the hill with my digital recorder, and two flashlights and two digital cameras. My son Dana and dil Brittany stayed down and the front area of the cemetery. I sat the small flashlight on a tombstone and unscrewed it so that if you tapped the top of it it would turn on. I started recording and I asked if anyone was with me and if they would turn on the flashlight by tapping the top of it. I started asking another question when the flashlight lite up and then turned back off. Was this paranormal, not sure but it sure surprised me. My son and dil came up to where I was and they had both sat on a stump and ended up getting sticky pitch all over their butts. My dil asked me what my totem was and I told her I did not know, but I always thought maybe it was a wolf. I then asked her why she wasn’t to know. She said they had seen an animal walk in front of me and it looked gray and disappeared. I did not see anything. I then walked over by a grave near the fence and again tried the flashlight thing and was still recording with the digital recorder. All of a sudden I heard leaves rustling about fifteen feet from me. I yelled to Dana and Brittany and asked them if they heard them. They told me no , they were at that time over on the other side of the cemetery. I then asked for it to make that noise again but got nothing. I decided to go down by the front area of the cemetery and Dana and Brittany ended up going where I had heard the rustling leaves. A few minutes later they heard it too . Was this paranormal. I may have been but there was a good chance that it was just an animal. All of a sudden a car went by on the road and then another one. The second car pulled in right behind our car. We did not know if it was someone who was going to call the cops or what so we thought we had better leave. When we got to the car , the car behind ours just sat there. Dana started backing up so the car behind ours had to back up as well. At the end of the road it took a right, so we took a left. We drove towards Frewsburg , went a ways and turned around and headed towards Onoville. I wish I knew who to get permission from to go back out to Guernsey Hollow. We are afraid cops will come and we don’t want that happening. Not sure if we will ever go back out there unless we can get permission. As for any evidence, Brittany caught what sounded like a woman humming. She accidentally deleted all their audio. I got a few EVPs that sounds like whispering, but nothing concrete.
Story Submitted by a user 10/14/11
My son Dana , my dil Brittany and I went out to Guernsey Hollow cemetery in Nov. 2010 around 10:30 pm. It was bitter cold that night so we decided not to stay long. I took shots with my camera and only got an occasional orb. Orbs do not thrill me because I for one think they are just dirt or moisture floating through the air. Dana was cold so he went and stood by the fence where you come into the cemetery. Brittany and I were coming down the hill towards Dana when she stopped and said she heard leaves rustling behind us. I told her it was probably a squirrel or chipmunk running through the leaves. We got to where Dana waited and Brittany asked him if we were leaving and he said I guess so. The whole time we were there I had the digital recorder running, our stay was only 13 minutes due to the cold bitter weather. When i got home I transfered the audio from my recorder to the computer and listened to see if we caught anything. I was shocked that we got three EVPS in the 13 minutes that we were there. The first EVP was right after Brittany stated that she heard leaves rustling behind us and we got what sounded like ” Ahh ” , which we did not hear at the time or we would of tagged it. The second EVP was the clearest one I have ever caught. When Brittany asked Dana if we were leaving and he responded with I guess so, you can clearly hear ” Please don’t leave me ! ” it was either a young child or an adult female, it was hard to tell. As we were walking down the trail back to the car we caught another ” Ahh “. We did not hear any of these 3 EVPS at the time we were there or we would have tagged them.
Reader Submission 5/9/2009
My friends and i went to gurnsey hollow one night. I had been there multiple times and had had some type of experience every time. My friends didn’t believe it was haunted my friend Scotty had said that if there was a spirit in the grave or around it then too either show itself or prove it was there. after about an hour we decided to head home. My friend cassie is sensitive to this stuff as we were walking out she could feel something. Myself, cassie, and jessica were ahead of the guys when we got to my car my car door was open. and we had made sure everything was shut before we went up to the cemetery. There was no one around besides us and we all stayed together, and no wind so it couldn’t blow open and my doors dont bounce back open. this was just one experience that I’ve had at gurnsey. when im there i just get this odd feeling that im being watched
Reader Submission 7/3/2010
Growing up close enough to gurnsey hollow you would always here stories of it being haunted and experiences friends had said they had there. A lot of stories involved the large cross at the back of the cemetery, or the iron gates surrounding.
it and ghosts beyond the back gates of the cemetery, and also the old school house that is supposedly beyond those gates back some ways in the woods (which I’ve never gone beyond the gates so I wouldn’t know if it still exists). So me being the adventurous person I am, I have always been intrigued with things like this and am always looking for new experiences and will do anything once.
I didn’t experience a whole lot but what I did was enough for me. The first time I had went was with a group of my friends, 5 of us girls left right before dark, hoping to get there with some daylight left, by the time we got there it was pitch black out, not expecting that we did not bring flashlights so when we pulled up to the big boulders off the side of the road, a few of us got out and walked up toward the entrance, but with no light decided to turn around and go back to the car. We were a lil freaked out just being there, just girls, so we kinda ran to the car hopped in n were ready to leave, until we tried starting the car and it wouldn’t start, then we got it to start twice and both time we put it in gear to leave and it stalled out! This car was a pretty new car and had never had any problems, no dead battery, nothing, whatever or whoever did not want us leaving! We finally got it started and got outa there, and never had a problem with the car after that.
Later that night me and my friend and our boyfriends went back with flashlights, nothing really weird happened this time but we also weren’t there for more than prob ten fifteen min. But another time a year or so later me and a couple friends went there again, we didn’t stay long because as soon as we walked through the cemetery and were checking things out we seen a deer that looked like it had tried to jump over the steel fencing surrounding the cemetery, and was dead on the fence with the posts up through the deer as if it didn’t make the jump, or as if someone had put it up there! Also one other thing was that it was still kinda cold toward end of winter and frost on the ground yet there was one little patch of these pretty red flowers as if it was summer and they had bloomed. Maybe none of this means anything but it was enough to make me get outa there n not wanna go back anytime soon!
I have and will never go past the back gates out toward the woods where the school house supposedly is it’s said that’s the scariest place at gurnsey!
Guernsey Hollow
I am intrigued with what I have heard about Guernsey Hollow Cemetery. My wife, son, his girlfriend, and myself took a day trip there today to check it out. What we experienced there was amazing. When we were at the upper right hand corner I experienced the strangest feeling. The only way I can describe it is like the feeling of vertigo you get when looking off the top of a tall building. Later on, my wife returned to that corner, alone, and experienced a voice in her subconscious stating,”I need to tell you that there are slaves here, beyond the fence, and no one knows. We are unmarked and forgotten.”, or something to that extent. She also felt a tugging on her arm begging, “Please come”. We are both sensitive to paranormal phenomena. When we returned home, I did some research on the Internet and found your website. To my shock and astonishment, I read the account of the September 27, 2001 trip. It was eerie to see that others felt something in that corner of the cemetery…and…the burials beyond the fence! Can you direct us to any information on the history of that area and the burial ground/foundation.
Please let me know what happened there.
hey i was wondering when the pictures where taken i just recently visited and would like to know, im looking at all of your pictures and in them there are some things….missing, when i went there was another grave…the rocks where no longer blocking the entrance, just the gate, and there is now a sign by the gate that has a new name…
Sometime between 2000 and 2003. Things have changed a lot over the years. I would love to hear more about your experiences at Guernsey.
Just last this past weekend a group of my friends and myself drove up to guernsey and when we got there it was around 3 am. They always close up the gates by 8:30pm and everything was opened and unlocked. We all thought nothing of it and as we walked in we started to hear strange noises in the woods. I wanted to leave because I know of the poor girl thought to be a witch who was stoned to death there. My friends wanted me to kiss the grave but I wouldn’t dare do that. As me and my sister walked up the path something on the ground caught our eyes. We looked down to see a fully bloomed red rose in the middle of the night. That’s when we left because that doesn’t happen. Then on our way home there is a road sign that is supposed to say hill or slope, something along those lines but the letters were changed to say hell. It’s a freaky place and I can’t wait to be back.
My friends and I have reoccuringly visited Geurnsey a couple times in the last two weeks. My two friends who are very into this stuff went four nights in a row and then again last night. The first night they went up without me they got recordings of a scream from the woods that reoccurred three times. The scream is not a scared scream but more of a chilling “get out” scream. We’re all a bunch of teenagers so we find this fun. Well the third night they saw lights in the woods. I went with them and my boyfriend the forth night and the feeling of the place is just scary in general. We asked it to throw a stone and a stone flew through the woods, we asked again and it happened a second time. I’m figuring not much happened because I preyed before I entered the graveyard and my boyfriend prayed that god bless the place itself. I feel like Leo is on the ground when I’ve gone. That night something pulled on my sweatpants and one of my hands got extremely cold. Last night we visited and not much happened but I prayed again when i got scared so I’m not sure if my religious vibe had something to do with it. But we heard mummbling and walking near us and then howling to the left, this sounded like either a man yelling or a high pitched coyote. Not quite sure. Well my friend randomly passed out and can’t explain it. Three of us went back to the car while my boyfriend and friend decided to scope the place out a little more. I think it’s definitely haunted but I haven’t expirienced too much. We went at 1 and 11.
So one night me and my friends megan kc and brittany returned to Guernsey hollow. we are very interested in the paranormal and like the thrill of it. this time though we did not pass through the gates due to an off feeling about it all, keep in mind we have passed through those gates more than 15 Times before. kc was taking pictures while we were looking around for anything. all of a sudden of told us to head to the car. all of the flashlights were off and she snapped one last picture before heading out. when we were on the road McCain looked at the last photo and showed it to all of us. sure enough there was a demonic whit face going straight towards us. You could ssee the trail showing that it was moving (I guess floating) rather fast. freaky stuff. we did just go back tonight and sadly could not enter because it is now under video surveillance.