What I can tell you, I gleaned over the years I worked at the Piatt Castles, and because it’s memory work, I’m afraid it’ll be fuzzy. I don’t think it was the oldest church in Ohio; what it was was the first Catholic church in that area. The Piatts were Catholics from Cincinnati, and they eventually got tired of not having anywhere to worship when they relocated to Logan County. They were able to get the church built and they cared for it for many years. Margaret Piatt, direct descendant of the Abram Piatt buried in the cemetery and present owner of the Piatt Castles, told me that her family eventually dismantled what was left of the vandalized church because of the damage done to it and also the disrespectful things that were going on.

Unfortunately that’s all I know about it. If you visit the Piatt Castles, they may be able to tell you more.

Kat Klockow’s Haunted Hoosier Halls Indiana University describes her experiences with some paranormal investigators in this cemetery. Also in her front material she describes a number of Indiana teams, including Indiana Ghost Trackers (www.indianaghosts.org), the Shadows of Indiana (www.shadowsofindiana.com), and some other groups. If you contact one of these groups, you’d be able to find out from them what their typical procedure is. Some groups do not get permission at all, and sneak into cemeteries after hours, which is something I recommend avoiding because it can lead to a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Speaking of unnecessary trouble, I also do not personally recommend getting involved in this kind of stuff. Cemeteries are cool, and exploring them and investigating their history is a fun hobby that leads to many intriguing finds. However, paranormal investigating is something else entirely. At the risk of spurring controversy, I’ll state straight up that people, once dead, do not come back to communicate with anyone, let alone random strangers late at night in cemeteries. The entities who make contact with paranormal investigators are malevolent and the realm is a dangerous one to get caught up in.

PS, I’m really sorry neither I nor my fellow ‘stoner were able to get back to you in a more timely fashion. This last year was just a tough one for working on the blog. Do keep reading!

The problem was not that the directions didn’t get us to the cemetery; they did in fact do that. However, we were there in February, the off-season, if you will, and the gate your directions led us to was bolted shut. In fact, as I said in the post, just about all of the gates were closed and locked. The entrance I attempted to describe in my directions seems to be the main one and the one which is always open, though the one in your directions is far more impressive for a first look at the place.

The ghost story itself is not one I find very impressive: apart from “the murderer’s tombstone glows”*, the legend just says that female motorists whose cars break down on the surrounding county roads (especially around 2 AM) may be visited by the angry woman-hating spirit of Andrew Hellman, who will brandish a hatchet and frighten them. Having driven all over these roads at all hours, I’ve never seen the spirit. I do admit that we never broke down, though–but since I don’t think Andrew Hellman is even buried here, I don’t think his ghost is nearby either.

* The bright white stone the innocent Andrew Hellman’s marker is made from will reflect headlights, and especially around twilight emits an unnaturally bright glow as a result. Pretty obvious, and not all that mysterious. I’ve yet to encounter a legitimate “glowing headstone” claim.

PS–Super sorry for not getting back to you right away! This last semester at grad school was more work than I was prepared for! Thanks for reading the site!

Also, I’m going to have to get myself out to this cemetery, that’s really interesting.