The Greenwood Bride
Greenwood cemetery in Decatur, Il. has its own special ghost.
The Greenwood Bride
The story of Greenwood's most famous resident ghost begins around 1930 and concerns a young couple that was engaged to be married. The young man was a reckless fellow, who was greatly disapproved of by his future bride's family. In those days, during the waning years of Prohibition, young men did whatever they could to make their fortune. In this young man's case, he sold illegal whiskey. This was not an uncommon profession in those times and while everyone did not frown upon bootlegging, it could still be dangerous.
One summer night, the couple decided not to wait any longer to get married and made plans to elope. They would meet just after midnight, as soon as the young man could deliver one last shipment of whiskey and have enough money for their wedding trip. Unfortunately, he was delivering the bottles of whiskey when he was murdered. The killers, rival businessmen, dumped his body into the Sangamon River, where two fishermen found it the next morning.
The young woman had gone to the arranged meeting place the night before and she had waited until daybreak for her lover. She was worried when she returned home and devastated when she later learned that he had been killed. She became crazed with grief and began tearing at her hair and clothing. Finally, her parents summoned the family doctor, who gave her a sedative and managed to calm her down.
She disappeared later that night and she was found the next day, floating face down in the river, near where her lover's body had been pulled ashore. She had taken her own life near the place where her fiancée's had been lost, perhaps hoping to find him in eternity.
Her grieving parents searched through her closet in hopes of finding a suitable dress in which their daughter could be buried in and found the wedding gown that she planned to wear hidden away there. They blamed themselves for the tragedy, believing that if they had given their blessing to the union, the young man's life might have been saved ---- and their daughter would still be among the living. As some small measure of atonement, they buried their daughter in the bridal gown that she was never able to wear.
A funeral was held and her body was laid to rest on a hill in Greenwood Cemetery. It has been said however, that she does not rest here in peace. As time has passed, dozens of credible witnesses have reported encountering the "Greenwood Bride" on that hill in the cemetery. They claim the ghost of a woman in a glowing bridal gown has been seen weaving among the tombstones. She walks here with her head down and with a scrap of cloth gripped tightly in her hand. Occasionally, she raises it to her face, as if wiping away tears.
Could this sad young woman still be searching for the spirit of her murdered lover? No record remains as to where this man was laid to rest, so no one knows where his spirit may walk. Perhaps he is out there somewhere, still looking for the young woman that he was supposed to marry many years ago?
The Greenwood Bride
The story of Greenwood's most famous resident ghost begins around 1930 and concerns a young couple that was engaged to be married. The young man was a reckless fellow, who was greatly disapproved of by his future bride's family. In those days, during the waning years of Prohibition, young men did whatever they could to make their fortune. In this young man's case, he sold illegal whiskey. This was not an uncommon profession in those times and while everyone did not frown upon bootlegging, it could still be dangerous.
One summer night, the couple decided not to wait any longer to get married and made plans to elope. They would meet just after midnight, as soon as the young man could deliver one last shipment of whiskey and have enough money for their wedding trip. Unfortunately, he was delivering the bottles of whiskey when he was murdered. The killers, rival businessmen, dumped his body into the Sangamon River, where two fishermen found it the next morning.
The young woman had gone to the arranged meeting place the night before and she had waited until daybreak for her lover. She was worried when she returned home and devastated when she later learned that he had been killed. She became crazed with grief and began tearing at her hair and clothing. Finally, her parents summoned the family doctor, who gave her a sedative and managed to calm her down.
She disappeared later that night and she was found the next day, floating face down in the river, near where her lover's body had been pulled ashore. She had taken her own life near the place where her fiancée's had been lost, perhaps hoping to find him in eternity.
Her grieving parents searched through her closet in hopes of finding a suitable dress in which their daughter could be buried in and found the wedding gown that she planned to wear hidden away there. They blamed themselves for the tragedy, believing that if they had given their blessing to the union, the young man's life might have been saved ---- and their daughter would still be among the living. As some small measure of atonement, they buried their daughter in the bridal gown that she was never able to wear.
A funeral was held and her body was laid to rest on a hill in Greenwood Cemetery. It has been said however, that she does not rest here in peace. As time has passed, dozens of credible witnesses have reported encountering the "Greenwood Bride" on that hill in the cemetery. They claim the ghost of a woman in a glowing bridal gown has been seen weaving among the tombstones. She walks here with her head down and with a scrap of cloth gripped tightly in her hand. Occasionally, she raises it to her face, as if wiping away tears.
Could this sad young woman still be searching for the spirit of her murdered lover? No record remains as to where this man was laid to rest, so no one knows where his spirit may walk. Perhaps he is out there somewhere, still looking for the young woman that he was supposed to marry many years ago?
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