Story written by Eric D. Liddy Sr.

Every year around this time, I take a moment to reflect when I lived in Grayling, Michigan just before deployment to the Army.

Late in the fall of 1985, I was emancipated by the courts as a minor and had moved to Grayling from Milford, Michigan and finished my last semester of High School just before leaving for Basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas.

On Devils Night in 1985, a large amount of us from school went to visit Pere Cheney Cemetery with the intent on scaring me and others. (It didn't work with me.) I had heard tons of stories about the "Ghost Train", the witch and a few other legends and never felt scared one bit...but did much later on.

A friend of mine took the top half of the alleged "witch's" headstone from the cemetery and put it on the floor boards of his early 1970's Chrysler Newport that night. (Hence why I am writing this story as I did indeed have something bad happen to me and I STILL to this day strongly believe that because my friend removed the top of the headstone, we suffered to consequences.)

Several weeks after the top of the headstone was removed, the same group of us that were in his car that night were together and returning from a friend's house on what was a chilly but clear night.

As we were driving down the road, without warning it began to snow. It was a brief and intense squall that seemingly came from nowhere. My friend slowed his speed down as the road became wet. As he continued slowing, he suddenly lost control of his car and slid off of the road into a huge Oak tree head on. Our front seat passenger was severely injured as she became a human air bag for the driver, my friend who sat next to me wound up with 27 stitches in his leg and I, being the only person restrained in the car, ended up with 2 fractured patellas. All three of us that were injured were transported to Grayling Mercy Hospital and two of us were released later that night. The young woman in the front seat was hospitalized for over a week with a fractured sternum, ribs and was having her unborn child monitored. My friend father towed the car back to their house where it sat for several weeks until repairs could be made.

Weeks after the accident, the four of us met back at my friend’s house who had been the driver to view the damage from our freak car accident. I lifted the tarp off of his car to peer inside of the wreck and noticed the 80+ pound top of the headstone neatly sitting under the gas and brake pedals. We immediately came to the conclusion that as we were spinning out of control, the head stone slide forward from under the seat and jammed itself under the gas and brake pedals making it impossible for the driver to regain control of his car.

That night, we returned to Pere Cheney and returned the headstone to its rightful place and did so for fear of more bad things to come.I t's been many years since I have been there, but her grave site was located to the far right hand side of the cemetery. The center of her headstone contained thick, lead based glass on both sides of it that more than likely contained her ashes.

I have rarely ever mentioned this story to anyone over the years and just thought I would share my story of "Something bad" happening associated with the Pere Cheney Cemetery.

Eric D. Liddy Sr. is also the author of "The E.R. Loading Dock."

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  • *All cemeteries should be entered with respect. Leave them like you found them. Don’t liter, if you smoke, pocket your butts and for the love of every god, don’t vandalize anything or so help me, 10,000 demons will strike you down. If the cemetery has hours posted, respect that as well or find out how to get permission to be in there after hours. Many times a simple phone call to the right person will grant access into a cemetery after hours. If you can’t get access, enjoy the cemetery during open hours. We are firm believers that spirits don’t just come out at night. I think it’s just ghost hunters who only come out at night.