Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series exploring the ghost stories and urban legends of Athens.
Doctor Who fans are familiar with the villains known as the “weeping angels” who kill by sending people back in time.
And though Athens has its own weeping angel, the only experience residents might face would be a fluttering of wings or a stream of tears.
The “weeping angel” statue stands at the entrance of the West State Street Cemetery at the intersection of West State and Cemetery streets.
The haunted stories of the West State Street Cemetery started because of the soldiers buried there, but the most famous legend is that of the weeping angel, said Patrick Quackenbush, the author of Haunted Hocking.
“The reputation started around that cemetery of dead soldiers walking around, but it’s mostly known for the giant angel that stands at the front,” he said. “People say they’ll go up around certain times and see it weeping or crying for the soldiers buried in the cemetery.”
While walking home on a rainy evening about a week ago, Caiti McLaughlin, a senior studying Spanish education, had an experience with the angel statue that she wasn’t prepared for.
“It was just around sunset and the gate to the cemetery was still open so I went in to check out the statue, since it’s a thing that people do,” she said. “And even though it was raining — really raining — the statue was totally dry.”
The situation was bizarre because the angel was supposed to be a weeping angel, but even amid pouring rain, she remained dry, McLaughlin said.
“After walking around her a couple of times, I got this really unsettled feeling, so I walked away and didn’t really look back,” she added.
Although she’s never seen the statue up close, Katie Trombetti, a member of the Ohio University Doctor Who Club and a junior studying strategic communications, drives by the statue multiple times a day and has heard the stories.
The weeping angel statue similarly resembles the murderous creatures on Doctor Who, except for the covering of the face, which the angels do to prevent themselves from turning into stone when someone is looking at them. It’s the resemblance that creeps Trombetti out more than the actual legend.
“It’s a really beautiful statue, but because of the show, the episodes they are in are so freaky and ones that you don’t want to watch alone in the dark, so you see it and think of that,” Trombetti said.
Regardless if you believe the stories or not, Quackenbush said to remember to follow the rules when going ghost hunting.
“We as ghost hunters encourage other folks to get into it and have fun, but they have to play by the rules,” he said. “You don’t have to go into (the cemetery) after dark; you can stand on the sidewalk and watch her from the outside, and that way, you aren’t violating rules.”
McLaughlin said she strongly believes in ghost stories and encounters with spirits.
“I believe for sure that the human spirit is strong enough to survive corporeal death,” she said.
“There are spirits, ghosts, etc. of all kinds — some good, some neutral, some bad -— and I think it’s really neat when you get the chance to interact with them.”
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