Think about it. Who would drive over an hour

to tip headstones? That is a waste of time, not to

mention money, when there are hundreds of cemeteries

to vandalize a mile or so from home (many of which do

get attacked without rumors of ghosts).

Cemetery vandalism is the fault of the vandals

alone. Stop blaming paranormal enthusiasts for the

work of nihilistic youths with no respect for the past. g

Your Letters

Yesterday when me and my parents drove past

the cemetary on the way home we were followed by a

black car. but whenever the headlights of cars going in

the other direction hit the car. you still couldnt see it.

like floating headlights. and i didnt think anything if it

at the time when i saw it but when the guy in this vid

mentioned animal sacrifices and chicken bones i just

want to say that when we made a turn i saw a white

chicken for a split second by the road. but i thought i

just hallucinated.

―Youtube user iloveyouneji, in response

to our video on Cuba Road.

If you are a fan of the Legends and Lore of Illinois, we want

to hear from you! Please e-mail your letters to:

thefallen2@gmail.com

A Short Message From the Author

“The vandals who… have so badly violated the

cemetery, originally came here because they heard the

place was haunted,” Troy Taylor wrote in his

description of Peck Cemetery in Haunted Illinois. Taylor

might be content to blame cemetery vandalism on his

own readers, but I will not. I refuse to be one of those

people who accuse ghost enthusiasts of inviting bad

things to happen to cemeteries.

No one who goes to a cemetery looking for

ghosts is going to vandalize the place. As if we are so

frustrated that we didn’t experience anything that we

are going to start knocking over headstones! The people

who desecrate cemeteries are dregs, plain and simple.

They are local kids with nothing better to do.

Contents From the Author 1 Your Letters 1 A Quick and Dirty Guide 2 The Fallen Investigate 3 Book Review 6 Ghostly Games 7 Trivia 7

Page 1

People who blame fans of ghostlore for cemetery vandalism

give this author a headache…

Blickensderfer wrote that it was rumored the

leader of this Satanic group installed a “devil’s chair” in

the cemetery, on which he would sit during the rituals.

If anyone else sat on the chair, they would die within a

year. There were many of these so-called Devil’s chairs

around central Illinois, and almost every untimely death

of a teenager was accompanied by the rumor that he or

she had dared to sit in the accursed chair.

The chair is no longer at the cemetery. The

county sheriff, angered by what went on there, is

rumored to have destroyed it with a sledgehammer.

Like other monuments, however, it was likely to have

been the victim of nihilistic vandals.

Troy Taylor lists “inexplicable cries,” “whispers

and voices,” “hooded figures,” “eerie lights,” and “the

sound of a woman’s scream” as other phenomenon

experienced at Peck Cemetery (Haunted Illinois (2004),

pg. 170). Cold spots can be added to the list, and car

problems have also been reported.

One woman who grew up in the area told me

that there used to be some kind of cabin or shed at the

end of a long trail that ran through the woods back

behind the cemetery. It appeared as though someone

made campfires at the location.

Peck Cemetery is located north of the towns of

Cerro Gordo and Oakley along Donavan Road. Today

the cemetery is a quiet, peaceful place hidden behind

someone’s house. It took me four years to find it, even

after learning of its exact location. Good luck! g

A Quick and Dirty Guide to Peck Cemetery

Peck Cemetery is yet another of those cemeteries

that developed a bad reputation in the 1970s and has

since been cleaned up. The cemetery itself is of the

typical rural stock, formerly hidden in a wood at the

end of a gravel road in the middle of nowhere. Things

have changed a little in recent years.

People I have talked to who remember when the

cemetery was at the height of its reputation tell me that

the area has been dramatically transformed. Houses dot

the pothole-filled road. The gravel path to the cemetery

is now a driveway. “Beware of dogs” and “no

trespassing” signs are prominently displayed.

Passersby would never guess that Peck Cemetery is

only about fifty yards away.

Troy Taylor has done much to publicize this

place, but stories have circulated the Internet for years.

Christopher D. Blickensderfer, one of these storytellers,

maintains a website that includes his account of a trip to

Peck Cemetery in the early 1980s.

Unlike cemeteries with similar claims, Peck

Cemetery seems to have actually been a location of

Satanic worship in the past. Hidden from view prior to

the 1990s, it would have been the perfect place to hold

nighttime excursions far from any prying eyes. The

evidence of these practices included burnt candles,

graffiti, headless statues covered in red paint, and even

statements from alleged Satanists themselves.

Page 2

The scenic atmosphere of today is a contrast to days of yore.

Some of the older graves rest in the shadow of the forest.

The Fallen Investigation File 020

As The Fallen strolled down the gravel drive

with Emily in tow, Greg walked ahead of the group like

a tour guide, waving his hands in the air excitedly. “So

get this,” he said. “I knew this guy named Jim who met

a freaky girl last summer. She worked at a carnival.

She had a few missing teeth, but when she invited him

back to her trailer, he figured, what the heck, why not?

When he got there, he noticed a few strange

things. First, he noticed that her hallway was filled

with those ‘funny mirrors’ that make you look tall or

short. He also noticed that her bedroom had shelves

and shelves of stuffed animals. That was a little weird,

but before he could ask about it, the girl had his pants

around his ankles.

He screwed the daylights out of her, and when

he was done, he asked how it was. She goes, ‘You can

have anything from the bottom shelf, unless you want

to try again for something from the middle shelf!’”

Davin snickered. “That was bad,” he said.

Emmer gave him the ‘thumbs down’ sign and

made a noise like an angry buzzer.

“Are you done?” Mike asked as he walked

shoulder to shoulder with Aurelia, who was dressed in

camouflage pants and a black wifebeater. Her dark

brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.

“I’m sick of these cemeteries,” Davin whined.

“Sometimes literally. Remember what happened at

Williamsburg Hill? I don’t want to get hypothermia

again in the middle of the summer.”

“Oh, stop complaining,” Aurelia sighed.

“We have serious work to do,” Mike added as

he adjusted his glasses. The group walked past two red

traffic barriers into a brief corridor of trees. A few yards

ahead, they could see a clearing and an old, rusted

fence along the crest of a ridge that ran parallel to the

drive. Mike picked up his pace and arrived at the

cemetery entrance before the others.

“So this is the infamous Peck Cemetery?” he

announced. “It doesn’t look so scary.”

“Yeah, well maybe that’s because it’s so early in

the damn morning,” Emmer yelled. “Tell me again

why the hell we came here at five in the morning? I

barely got any sleep last night.”

Greg fished a miniature powdered doughnut

out of the pocket of his ragged, green shirt and stuffed

it into his mouth. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “What’s the

deal?”

“I wanted to go here before it got too hot,” Mike

replied. “We’ll go to IHOP after we’re done, I promise.

Page 3

It must have taken great tenacity to overturn this stone!

Besides, this is the perfect time for what I have

planned.”

“Oh geez,” Emmer said. “Here we go.”

The group stepped inside the rusted gates and

waited while Mike scanned the area with the gaze of an

experienced investigator. “There.” He pointed at an

empty patch of grass in the middle of the cemetery.

“Aura, do your thing. Davin, I want you to help her.”

Aurelia did what she was instructed, but Davin

couldn’t tear his eyes away from Emily, who wore a

short, plaid skirt and a charcoal-colored blouse that was

matted with sweat. She stood and smiled at him in a

way that no one else could read.

Mike threw Davin an angry glance, and his

friend finally stumbled after Aurelia. Emily followed.

“I don’t get it,” Greg said when the three were

several yards away. “What are we doing here? You

never mentioned this place might be a candidate for the

location of the astral gate.”

Mike grinned. “I know,” he said quietly. “We’ll

see what happens in a few minutes. Maybe nothing.

Hopefully something.”

“I’ll hold my breath and cross my fingers,”

Emmer said sarcastically.

Deep inside the cemetery, Aurelia pulled a dark

blue pouch out of her pocket. She tore it open and

scooped out a handful of salt. Inspecting Emily’s face

for any reaction, she began sprinkling it into the grass

until she produced a circle that was invisible to the

naked eye. She then pulled five quartz crystals out of

her pocket and placed them at even intervals around the

circumference of the circle. She bowed her head and

began muttering in Latin.

“What is she doing?” Greg asked. Annoyance

began to show in his voice. “What’s going on?”

“You remember those Christians that we had so

much trouble with last year?” Mike replied.

“Yeah,” Greg said. “We haven’t seen them

around in a while.”

“One of them wore a necklace with a six pointed

star on it. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, until I

noticed that obese Satanist had one tattooed on his

arm.”

“It’s a common symbol,” Emmer interrupted.

“The Chicago flag has several.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Mike said. “But is it a

coincidence that both of those groups carry that symbol,

and that both of them are trying to find the astral gate

before we do? Something is up, and I’m going to get to

the bottom of it.” He tore his glasses off his face and

wiped them clean with the hem of his black t-shirt.

About a dozen yards away, Aurelia had

completed her preparations and was eyeing Davin and

Emily contemptuously. The two hovered around each

other like birds. Since they became acquainted at

Airtight Bridge, they had spent every waking moment

together. Aurelia was worried about what Davin had

been telling Emily for all those months. He already had

a tendency to disappear for weeks on end; she

Page 4

Most of the cemetery possesses a park-like atmosphere.

Evidence of past vandalism.

right earlier. The only people I told about this place

were Aura and Davin. There was no way those

Satanists could have known unless Davin told Emily

and Emily told them. She’s been playing the innocent

victim this whole time, all to get at one of us and break

us up.”

“Divide and conquer,” Emmer said. “Clever.”

“Not quite,” Mike replied.

In defiance of her instincts to immediately go on

the attack, Aurelia reluctantly joined Mike, Greg, and

Emmer near the cemetery gate.

“It looks like they brought guns,” Aurelia said.

“Actual, damned guns. What do you want to do?”

“What a bunch of scumbags,” Mike said with a

smirk. “It looks like there’s nothing we can do.”

By this time, the two Satanists, along with

Davin and Emily, stood inside the circle Aurelia had

made minutes earlier. The Satanists pointed their

pistols menacingly at The Fallen. “You know what we

want,” the obese man demanded.

“I think… Are those BB guns?” Emmer

whispered.

Mike produced a scroll out of the pocket of his

shorts and tossed it to the Satanists, making sure that it

fell short so they would have to bend over to get it.

“Just read this out loud and you should be able

to open the portal,” Mike yelled. “I hate to say it, but

you really screwed us. We’ll get out of your way.”

The obese man made Davin retrieve the scroll

and hand it to him. He licked his lips in anticipation as

The Fallen backed out of the cemetery gates and

retreated down the gravel drive.

As they passed beyond the far corner of the

cemetery, Greg, Aurelia, Emmer, and Mike heard

chanting coming from beyond the rusted fence, then

nothing. Moments later, curses broke the silence and

The Fallen ran toward their car.

Slamming the door, Mike made sure everyone

was inside before he threw their Toyota Corolla into

reverse.

“What did you give them?” Greg asked through

ragged gasps for breath.

“It was a spell to attract ants,” Mike said. “They

should be covered with thousands of them by now!”

Emmer and Greg broke out into laughter.

“This is far from over,” Aurelia reminded them,

but of that, everyone was already aware. g

questioned his reliability.

No sooner had she signaled to Mike that the

preparations were finished, two figures emerged from

the nearby forest through a gap in the fence. One was

wide and pot bellied, the other, tall and thin. It was the

Satanists. The rising sun caught two metal objects in

their hands.

“Son of a—“ Emmer began, but Mike cut him

off.

“Aura, get over here!” he shouted.

Aurelia snarled, but before she could move,

Emily tripped her and shoved her to the ground. It was

only the element of surprise that protected Emily from

an immediate reprisal.

Davin looked confused, but Emily grabbed his

hand and pulled him toward the interlopers.

“Where is he going?” Greg demanded.

“Haven’t you noticed that those guys show up

every time we investigate a place we suspect might be

the location of the astral gate?” Mike whispered.

“Do you think—?” his friend began.

Mike nodded. “Davin sold us out. You were

Page 5

Some of the monuments have withstood the test of time.

His description of our therapeutic culture is

dead on, beginning with Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump, a

movie that rewarded sweet and innocent ignorance,

was, ultimately, our answer to Nightmare on Elm Street.

“Forrest Gump played large in America because it

worked as a vacation, a few hours away from more

pressing Gothic fears,” he explained. (pg. 76) In a

culture so saturated with death, destruction, and fear,

Forrest Gump reassured baby boomers that despite all

the tumult, everything would work out in the end, as

long as you viewed everything through a detached,

sentimental lens.

In his third section, Edmundson proposed that

naked sadomasochism is what results when the culture

of Gothic goes uncontested. “At the core of every

Gothic plot is the S&M scenario: victim, victimizer,

terrible place, torment,” he wrote. (pg. 133) The growth

of S&M culture in America is therefore the direct result

of our inability to effectively counter the Gothic.

Edmundson concludes on a down note, with no

proposition regarding how to counter the Gothic, other

than that Forrest Gump and religion won’t do. He left it

to his readers to discover a culturally redeeming art

form. As a fan of the Gothic, I hope he has to wait for a

long time. g

Book Review

For someone who begins by insulting horror

fans as “losers,” Mark Edmundson has produced a

work that is surprisingly as insightful as it is

presumptive. Nightmare on Main Street is essentially a

long essay, broken into three inter-related sections. His

premise is bold: that we live in a culture saturated by

the Gothic. The problem with his argument is glaring:

his definition of “Gothic” is extremely broad.

“America is a nation of extremes,” he wrote,

where the pessimistic and the optimistic, in equally

unrealistic forms, constantly battle over the hearts and

minds of the American public. On one hand stands A

Nightmare on Elm Street and Oprah, and on the other

side stands Forrest Gump.

It might surprise you to find Oprah Winfrey and

Freddy Krueger in the same category, but apparently it

shouldn’t. According to Mark Edmundson, the single

most important aspect of the Gothic is the hero-villain

who does wrong, but is, in the end, internally

conflicted. Since the guests on the Oprah Winfrey Show

often satisfy that description, Oprah joined the ranks of

the Gothic. So did news stories about the O.J. Simpson

case, for that matter.

Therein lies the problem with Nightmare on Main

Street. Edmundson considers any portrayal of a duel

nature in humanity to be Gothic. Never mind the

elements of setting, mood, or the supernatural that

make Gothic literature and film so unique. Those are

all pushed aside in favor of the broadest possible

characterization.

This problem seems so glaring I am surprised

that neither Richard Rorty nor Michael Pollan, two

scholars who I greatly respect and who Edmundson

credited for helping to shape his argument, didn’t catch

it right away. Just because something shares an aspect

with Gothic literature and film doesn’t make it Gothic

as well.

Aside from that, Nightmare on Main Street is an

entertaining and engaging work. Edmundson’s

observations occasionally made me laugh out loud.

Describing Scar, the main villain of the popular ‘90s

cartoon The Lion King, he wrote, “Scar’s voice, courtesy

of Jeremy Irons, is that of a cultivated, world-weary,

gay man. He sounds like Gore Vidal with a significant

hangover.” (pg. 45)

Mark

Edmundson,

Nightmare on

Main Street:

Angels,

Sadomasochism,

and the Culture

of Gothic. Non-

Fiction.

ISBN-10: 0-

674-62463-7.

(Cambridge:

Harvard

University

Press, 1997,

1999.)

Page 6

Ghostly Games

This section is designed to put fun back into the craft of

“ghost investigation.” Most of these ideas will have nothing to

do with poking around with an EMF detector and thinking

you’ve detected a ghost when you’re really just standing under a

power line.

Game #8: Fake ghost photography contest!

Many people claim dust, moisture, or other

natural objects captured on film are ghosts. This is your

chance to compete to see which one of you can produce

the best ‘homemade’ spirit photograph!

Ingredients

1 digital or film camera.

A piece of hair, camera strap, reflective material,

dry ice, Photoshop, or any other creative prop or

computer program.

Instructions

Use your props to try and manufacture a

convincing ghost photograph! You have until

September 20 to send them in. The best photograph will

be displayed in our October issue!

E-mail digital photos to: thefallen2@gmail.com.

Send hard copies of photos to: Black Oak Media

Attn: Ghost Contest PO Box 138 Cherry Valley, IL

61016.

Good luck! g

Trivia

Tough questions will be asked in this section. It is up to

you to uncover the clues and determine the solutions.

Sometimes you will find the answers buried in the current

issue; other times you will need to go to the location itself.

The answers to this month’s questions will be posted in next

month’s issue.

1. In what decade did the height of activity at Peck

Cemetery occur?

2. After which prominent Cerro Gordo family was

the cemetery named?

3. In what year did Anton LaVey publish his

infamous book The Satanic Bible?

4. What is the folk name for small cemetery

monuments shaped like chairs?

5. In what county is Peck cemetery located?

6. In what year was the town of Cerro Gordo

founded?

7. Roughly how many miles is Peck Cemetery

from the town of Oakley?

Go out and explore, and good luck!

Answers to last month’s questions:

1. Lakey, Leaky, and Leakey. 2. 1820. 3. “The Searching

Amputee.” 4. Hamilton County. 5. 1952. 6. An ax. 7. His son-

in-law.

Page 7

A lonely road leads back behind the cemetery…

This iron fence has failed to keep out trespassers.