Cemetery X
“Cemetery X” – Clarksdale, IL
By Michael Kleen
“Cemetery X,” the name conjures up images of a foreboding and desolate graveyard―a secretive place known only to an elite cabal of paranormal investigators who made an arrangement with local authorities to keep its location a secret. From then on, only a privileged few would have access to one of the most haunted cemeteries in Illinois.
A romantic story to say the least, but completely absurd even on the surface. “Cemetery X,” or “Graveyard X,” as it is known, is actually Thomas Anderson Cemetery, located south of Taylorville near the tiny town of Clarksdale. Of the long list of cemeteries that claim to be the “most haunted” in Illinois, this is the least likely candidate for the position.
Attempts to keep its identity a secret have been mediocre at best. In Troy Taylor’s book Beyond the Grave (2001), Anderson Cemetery, buoyed by a background story lifted from the pages of a Christian County cemetery record, was featured in a section entitled “Mysteries of the Grave.” (p. 191) That same year, the Field Guide to Illinois Hauntings, published by Taylor’s press, Whitechapel Productions, included an entry for “Graveyard X” with the very same background story.
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Legends and Lore of Illinois Vol. 1 – on Kindle!
Or, order all 12 issues of the Legends and Lore of Illinois from 2007 for only $5.00 in a special Kindle edition. Places covered in Vol. 1: Bachelor’s Grove, Greenwood Cemetery, Devil’s Gate, Chesterville Cemetery, Dug Hill Road, Resurrection Cemetery, “Cemetery X,” Shoe Factory Road, Ridge Cemetery, Cuba Road, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, and St. James-Sag!
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hello there, im from montgomery county which i am not very far at all from where this is, possibly when your down this way we could contact
Do you have to have permission to vist it?
contact me at
pantherblazer94@hotmail.com
Kimberly, you don’t need permission to visit a cemetery. I have links on the main page to Illinois’ cemetery laws – cemeteries are usually open to the public from dawn to dusk.
Absolutely first rate and copper-bottomed, getnlemen!
yes mainly you gatta be family because af all the people going out there at night investigating the place