Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum

Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati is the largest cemetery in the state of Ohio and the third largest in the United States. Chartered in 1845, its founders, the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, drew influence for its design from Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France, and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Photo Credit: Gardens of Greater Cincinnati

Named for the springs and groves found within the rolling hills of the cemetery and, notable graves include Civil War General Joseph Hooker, feminist/abolitionist writer Frances Wright, Kroger founder Bernard Kroger, and both the father and son of President William H. Taft.

Landscape architect Adolph Strauch detailed intricate plans for ornate tone fountains, peaceful lakes, carvings of angels, and beautiful greenery and flowers. The results of his initial design have made the cemetery widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in the nation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Dexter Family Mausoleum
Photo Credit: J. Miles Wolf

REPORTED MANIFESTATIONS

The Dexter Family Mausoleum, shown here, sits off on a more secluded cliffside location. Two teens claimed to have seen ghostly white dogs with blue flaming eyes growling and howling from the mouth of the crypt. It's been said that seeing the dogs is a bad omen.

Workers in the cemetery have also occasionally reported white wolves patrolling the area surrounding the crypt. (For reference, there are absolutely no wild wolves in the Cincinnati area).

There have also been many reports by workers that something or someone grabbed their legs.

I haven't been able to locate any video, photographic, or audio evidence of any of these manifestations to say they happened or to prove they were faked.

I can, however, speak with some authority regarding the bust of Charles Breuer, which sits at the center of a large obelisk above his grave. It is said that the eyes of the bust follow visitors as they walk around, and one visitor reported that one of the eyes came free from the bust, still watching him as it rolled on the ground. It was even rumored by some that the eyes in the bust were actually the real human eyes of Breuer himself.

Grave of Charles Breuer
Photo Credit: A Grave Interest

In actuality, Charles Breuer was a optometrist. He chose to have glass eyes installed in the bust, which is why they look so realistic and seem to follow you as you walk back and forth before the grave stone. There is nothing supernatural about the grave of Charles Breuer.

My overall assessment is that Spring Grove Cemetery likely contains nothing more than the average supernatural energy of any cemetery: it is a peaceful resting place for souls who have crossed over and may occasionally enter our plane to give reassurance to cemetery visitors that they have reached the afterlife.

The stories of hauntings are few, and most likely the result of overactive imagination, such as with the story of the teens seeing dogs guarding the mausoleum doorway. Teens in a cemetery at night? It's easy to see where this story came from.

As always, however, I cannot say with certainty that I believe a place is haunted or not without an investigation or some kind of documentation of the haunting, but the information here can give some background for anyone looking to plan a ghost hunting trip of their own.

Do you have any information or personal experiences to share about this entry? Let us know in the comments, and your contribution could be included in a future update to this entry!