Friday, October 17, 2014

Remarkable Lake County -- A-Haunting We Will Go Part III

As All Hallow's Eve draws nearer, we look at another part of local lore that is part of our county ghost stories.  Not as widely known as some county ghost stories, this one nonetheless is a tale worth examining.  Today we share the story of the veiled lady of Kirtland - Hattie Martindale.  Traditionally ghost stories fall into one of two categories, that of the wayward spirit or that of a haunted structure.  Our veiled lady moves between both.

Hattie has been known to frequent the Historic North Cemetery, the former Kirtland Mills Burying Ground (1830's) and a colonial blue-ish home on the top of the ridge near the Rt. 615 hill and corner of Baldwin Rd in Kirtland.  Her sister's old home is nearby the latter site too.  Records are scarce and much of the tale is hearsay at best but some basic facts are documented.  Hattie was born in Massachusetts in 1838 and death records report her passing in 1919.  Her tombstone is located in Plot Section B- Lot 59 #5 in the cemetery.  An 1862 document reveals her membership in the Young Ladies Literary Society of Kirtland.

Local lore has it that Hattie was jilted by her one true love, who may or may not have left her for her sister. Scared by this event, she never marries and lives a melancholy life till the end.  Through the years Kirtland locals and other paranormal visitors have reported seeing a veiled lady wander the cemetery at night near that gravesite.  Down the road in the home mentioned earlier, it is reported that furniture is moved at night and rumbling noises in the home have been heard.  The culprit according to those residents and alleged sitings - the veiled lady of Kirtland aka Hattie Martindale.

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