Gurnsey Hollow Expedition...
Yesterday Logan, Amili, Rob, Larry, and I made our journey to the outskirts of Frewsburg (Drew you were right) to find and explore the run down and decrepit remains of the Gurnsey Hollow Cemetery. Gurnsey Hollow is an old Irish cemetery, with graves dating far back into the 1800's, with the most recent stone being from 1998. While checking it out, I noticed numerous stones with "Laughlin" and "Murphy" on them, so I think that this was more of a small family cemetery than anything.
It was far smaller than any of us had imagined, but it was still really cool. We eventually found the road that is also labled "Gurnsey Hollow" and drove up to where the two big boulders are outside of the 30-40 yard path to the entrance of the cemetery. After parking our cars on the side of the road and climbing up the boulders, we headed up the path. It was very muddy, and I think we all regretted wearing sneakers on this adventure.
Walking in, we noticed that the gate to the iron rod fence was ripped off and on the ground in the mud. Looking around the cemetery, nearly all of the headstones and monuments had been vandalized: knocked over or broken in some way. I was extremely upset to see such destruction and disrespect for the dead, so I started going around and picking up pieces of the grave stones and began putting them back together as best as possible. I can't believe that people would take pride in desecrating someone's grave, it just makes me sick to my stomach. We noticed that it was far colder in the cemetary than it actually was on the road where we had our cars parked, and I was happy that I had brought a second light jacket just in case. At first it wasn't too cold in there, but the longer we were there, and the darker it got, the temperature just seemed to drop. Don't think that I'm not considering the fact that it was getting dark, but we noted that the temperature was warmer after we walked out of the cemetery hours later.
What also bugged me was the fact that the huge crucifix was missing the Jesus. That's been gone for years according to other people who have investigated this place, but it's just really sad to think that kids would be willing to deface religious objects and symbols as well. There was red candle wax on the top of cross, which indicated that someone had been here not too long ago conducting some kind of ritual with the cross. Rumors are that people come into the cemetery to conduct satanic ceremonies and place slaughtered animals on the hooks of the cross. There were some interesting stains on the cross when I examined it, so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the rumors were true. The place is also home to local highschool parties, as evident by the beer bottles, caps, and cigarette butts located in and around the cemetery.
I couldn't help but feel sad while I was there. It makes me wonder if after I'm dead and gone if my stone will be tipped over or smashed by some asshole kids (I plan on being buried when I die). I know that if I had any family there I would be extremely upset to see that stone defaced or destroyed. I guess I'm just saying that people should have far more respect for hallowed ground. It makes me question where our society is going with my generation, and things like that don't show me too much promise.
While I was fixing the headstones as best as I could, we all were taking pictures of the cemetery. I can't wait to go and take my photos from my regular camera to get developed, they should come out really cool. I'll be able to see what some of the really worn headstones had written on them, so it should be pretty cool. I have the pictures that Logan had taken with his digital camera, and for the sake of orginality and lack of repetition, I plan on posting different pictures than he did in his LJ. To see his post and pictures click here: yogs .
Here are some different pictures:
This is one of the many overturned stones, oh and you can see my ass while I'm taking pictures of another stone in the background.
This is actually what I was taking a picture of at the time of the above photo. I tried to put the pieces of the broken stone back together as best as I could.
This is a close-up of the stone in the previous picture. Notice how weird the surrounding woods appear in the background.
I liked this stone, I thought that it looked cool, but look at how damaged it is. It's among the few stones in "good" condition.
It was nice to see this amidst all of the destruction within this cemetery. Someone was here recently and placed some flowers on this grave. At least someone has some respect for the dead.
These last few photos are really interesting. Look at the top of the headstone and see if you can find the skull-like engraving in it.
I played with it a little bit, maybe you can see it better in this one:
Here's a shot from further away:
And heres a bit of color play again with this photo:
Ok, don't criticize me for my crappy picture editing skills. But I just wanted to try and get other people to see it.
Once night fell, Rob and Larry left, leaving Logan, Amili, and I there to fend for ourselves. We stuck around for quite a while afterwards, and we started hearing some really odd stuff coming from the surrounding woods. It sounded like two voices, but then it sounded like a radio...who knows what it was. There were several times when Logan and I were looking towards the entrance of the cemetary that we swore we saw white things moving around close to the ground. It started getting colder, and the creepy factor started to rise. After snapping a few more shots of the cemetary in the darkness, we decided that it was best for us to leave. While we were on our way out, another group of kids were on their way it. It would have been priceless to creep back into the cemetary under the cover of darkness and scare the shit out of them, but there was no way we could make it back up that path without flashlights without slipping in the mud and blowing our cover. I wonder if those kids saw or heard anything weird...who knows.
If you want to learn more about Gurnsey Hollow or just to see some other pictures, click on the links in Logan's LJ, or the following:
http://community.webshots.com/album/318052639RqcngC
All in all, it was a good trip, and I've wanted to visit that place for a very long time. I'd go back there again sometime, when the weather's a bit better and it's not as muddy out there. When I get my film developed, I'll post some more pictures on the above link, and I'll make note of it in my LJ.