The Haunted Tree
A Barb Huyser Investigation
Click on thumbnail to view picture.
In October, 1997 I visited Sugar Tree Grove Cemetery. This small cemetery is located outside of Monmouth, Illinois deep in the country. Using a thermal scanner to locate cold spots, I obtained my first ever photo of orbs.
This photo is highly unusual in that the orbs are very solid in appearance and are floating right next to each other. It is clear in the photo that they are separate orbs. Unfortunately, the person who took me to the cemetery was really creeped out by the photo and would never go back there. It took me two years to find that cemetery again. In September, 1999 I rediscovered the cemetery's location. Naturally, I went back to the tree and took a number of photos there in the course of the evening. Three out of five photos of the tree showed orbs in them.
Other photos taken that evening in other parts of the cemetery also showed orbs.
One photos shows an orb in the area where Civil War music was playing on a tape player.
The cemetery does not have a reputation for being haunted, but is so isolated that all kinds of paranormal activity could be going on there without any witnesses. The cemetery dates back to the 1840's. It is still currently in use with a few new burials taking place each year. In the oldest area of the cemetery are the graves of several Civil War veterans and their wives. In a distant corner of the cemetery is a marker showing the resting place of an unknown Native American. It is also reported that at least one person who was a slave is buried in the cembetery. There is no historical information available that would explain why the cemetery might be haunted.
There has been speculation among paranormal researchers that the more dense the appearance of an orb, the longer it may have been in the spirit state. Based on the brightness and density of the orbs in the photographs taken two years apart and a lack of historical information indicating violence or sudden death associated with the cemetery, I have a hunch that there may be some earthbound spirits in the area that predate the time of the cemetery was developed. A psychic who visited the cemetery with me in October didn't pick up anything and nothing was in the photos that night. This may actually confirm my impression that the spiritis are attached to the land in the area and not specifically to the cemetery. This area was inhabited by Native American's before the land was usurped by settlers. It is possible that the haunting goes back to that era. We will be doing future investigations in this location.
Back To Barb's Classification Page
All Rights Reserved © 1999 Barb Huyser