BOO! Halloween is here, the season of ghost stories, tales of otherworldly happenings, and reminders of the places we usually keep away from, like old cemeteries. Here is a small list of legendary haunted cemeteries in Arkansas. If you are brave enough to visit these spooky spots and need a new or preowned vehicle to get you out of there in a hurry, come visit your friends at McLarty Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Bentonville. Let us assist you when you are ready to purchase your new Jeep or Ram truck. Have a safe and fun Halloween!
FORT SMITH NATIONAL CEMETERY
Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas
Close to home is the Fort Smith National Cemetery which is a peaceful and dignified place of final rest… for most. After the fall of Fort Smith to Union forces during the Civil War, the old post burial spot was elevated to the status of a national cemetery in 1867. Some have reported sightings of a ghostly funeral procession, the participants decked out in turn-of-the-century clothing. Throughout the years, disembodied-voices, like a choir, are heard singing old hymnals. Others say at night the ghost of a saddled horse will appear, slowly being led by a phantom Civil War soldier. On some evenings, the sound of wagons resonates throughout the back of the national cemetery.
LIBERTY BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY
Batesville, Independence County, Arkansas
Just outside the city of Batesville is a sleepy country church, Liberty Baptist. Families in the area have been members of this church for years and have been an integral part of the community for decades. Yet many say it is the most haunted area in Independence County, Arkansas. In the older part of the church itself, witnesses have reported seeing an elderly woman in the windows, either gazing out through the glass or rocking in a rocking-chair mid-air. The dirt road entrance into the cemetery is purportedly haunted by the ghost of a young woman who was put to rest in the cemetery a century ago. Yet she still paces up and down the dirt road looking for her kin to visit. Throughout the years, visitors, ghosthunters, and the curious have captured the ghostly image of a young boy in their photos, and the disembodied sounds of a child’s laughter can be heard throughout the cemetery during the fall months.
CHINA GROVE CEMETERY
Alexander, Saline County, Arkansas
China Grove Cemetery is visited by ghost hunters from all over the state. The old cemetery is located on a narrow abandoned dirt road, gated off, just off of South Alexander Road in Saline County. The graveyard has been closed for years, the last burial there was in the early 1970s. China Grove Cemetery does not have the traditional layout. but splintered up into pieces here and there through a dense forest of pine. Claims have been made that as you approach the old metal gate at the end of the dirt road leading to the cemetery, your vehicle headlights will start to flicker. The car radio will go silent or only pick up static. There had been sightings of a white dog with cold blue eyes at the gate, with the dog appearing transparent when the beam of a flashlight hits it. Another legend about the abandoned cemetery is that the headstones dotting the dark woods sometimes glow, and the gravestones follow behind you as you travel throughout the woods. Beware of the distraught phantom woman carrying a crying baby. Some say she will approach, trying to give you her baby. Purportedly, if you take her offering, the bundle is not a baby but a gravestone that automatically weighs you down to the ground, and you cannot get out from under it.
Yikes, these short tales can send a shiver down your spine. Your friends at McLarty Daniel Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Springdale hope you and yours have a safe and Happy Halloween! If you want to leave the spooks behind by driving a new vehicle, come visit us and test drive a 2021 model or one of our quality pre-owned vehicles. Hope to see you soon!