Logan’s Weeping Mother

The legend states—

If you say, "weepy woman, weep" the statue will cry . . .

Logan, Utah

Olif and Julia Cronquist lived in Logan, Utah at the turn of the 19th century.

Mr. Cronquist was a respected county commissioner and dairy farmer. His wife, Julia, was a devoted mother.

Tragically, only three of this couples' eight children survived until adulthood.

Within twelve years—between 1889-1901 the couple lost:

Two sets of twins, the first boys and the second girls all died at a young age in separate scarlet fever outbreaks, and the fifth child was stillborn.

Julia also contracted scarlet fever, but despite ongoing health issues connected to this illness, she survived.

Despite her husband's support, Julia was inconsolable. Friends and neighbors often saw her in the city cemetery near her children's graves sobbing.

As a result of her own bout with scarlet fever, Julia grew weaker and weaker. She also tragically died in 1914, of valvular heart disease.

Her obituary stated in part—

"a splendid woman, tender, loving, patient, and true. Bearing a great burden without complaint and always seeking the happiness and comfort of others."

Weeping Mother

In tribute, Olif had an impressive monument placed upon his wife's grave, in 1917.

This statue of a beautiful, sad woman, located at the Logan City Cemetery, is said to be haunted.

Witnesses, over the years since state that this statue is seen weeping—during full moons and on the anniversaries of Julia's children deaths—four of them in March.

Others state this statue is seen moving—looking in the direction of the various children's graves.

Another report involves the statue actually wandering around this cemetery.

One recent report mentions that a mother/daughter witnessed Julia's ghost sitting near this monument crying. She then just disappeared.

Utah State University

This cemetery is near Utah State University. Because of this legend, a sign is posted warning visitors no one is allowed in the cemetery after dark.

Haunted Winter Quarters Mine

Winter Quarters Mine

May 1, 1900, was a bright sunny day Scofield, Utah. This town had been established in 1875 after rich deposits of coal were found in the area.

At 10:28 a.m., the residents of the town heard a deafening explosion. A stray spark had ignited coal dust deep within the mine.

Wives and daughters rushed to the Winter Quarters mine #4 to find only 104 men still alive—seven of them severely injured.

Father and Son killed in
disaster.

Another a hundred and ninety-nine men were killed, one hundred in the initial explosion and ninety-nine were killed by poisonous gases that leaked into the #1 mine.

This was the worst coal mining accident in American history, a hundred and five women were left widowed, and two hundred and seventy children were left without their fathers.

Rubble at the mouth of mine after the explosion.

Men from all over came to help with the rescue efforts. Many of the bodies found were burned beyond recognition or mutilated to the point where they could not be properly identified.

Graveside service after the disaster.

When these bodies were buried in the northwest quadrant of the local cemetery—many were buried under the wrong names.

This mine remained in operation for twenty-eight more years. After this disaster, the Pleasant Valley Mine Company that owned the Winter Quarters mine was plagued with problems.

These troubles all stemmed from the fact, the miners after the 1900 explosion firmly believed the mine and the nearby cemetery was haunted.

This belief was well documented in the newspapers of the time.

Within the first year after this disaster, forty to fifty miners stated that they had seen a ghost in the mine. In this same year, 1901, all the miners at Winter Quarters went out on strike—their reason was the mine was haunted.

The Pleasant Valley Mine Company scrambled to do damage control—they were worried they would not be able to find men willing to work in the mine—so they cited “safety conditions” as the reason for this strike.

But the numerous newspaper reports at the time belied their reason.

In 1901, various articles in the Anaconda Standard, The Salt Lake Herald, Fort Wayne Daily News and the Utah Advocate all mentioned the strange activity these men had seen and heard.

The local miners also felt the nearby cemetery was haunted. They refused to go into this graveyard after dark because strange blue lights had been seen around the mine disaster victim’s headstones.

Scofield Cemetery

But what they saw and heard deep within the mine was more disturbing. Most of this activity was experienced where the deceased had been found.

It occurred everyday oddly between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Even before the strike, many of the men had refused to enter Winter Quarters during these two hours.

They heard cries and moans without source, and many saw the apparition of a miner believed to be a Scotsman by the name of Sandy McGovern, whose body was the last to be recovered.

His head blown off in the explosion was never found. So his ghost when seen was headless.

One miner was said to become hysterical after he heard a voice state, “Go back, go back.” He rushed out of the mine and had to be sedated. He refused to return to work after this.

McGovern’s ghost was seen in various shafts. Miners reported looking over their shoulders only to see Sandy’s headless body standing close behind them.

Drivers that led the mule driven coal cars out of the mine reported seeing this headless figure sitting next to them—it would only disappear as they reached the sunlight or entrance to the shaft.

Here is a sample of a newspaper article that appeared in the Utah Advocate in January of 1901.

“Several of them (miners) heard strange and unusual noises, and those favored with a keener vision than their fellow workmen have actually seen a headless man walking about the mine and according to their statements have accosted the ghost and addressed it or he.

At other times the headless man would get aboard the coal cars to which mules and horses are worked and ride with the driver to the mouth of the tunnel when he would mysteriously vanish and again reappear in the mine. Many supposedly intelligent men have claimed this, and some forty have thrown up their jobs in consequence.

These same people and others have seen mysterious lights in the graveyard on the side of the hill where many victims of the explosion of May are buried . . .

Tombstones, where the light appeared, have been blanketed but the light remains clear to the vision of those who watch from town. The ghost of the mine is known among the workmen as ‘Sandy McGovern.’”

Excerpt from Ghost Stories of the Rocky Mountains by Barbara Smith

Historical Museum Ghosts: Caught on Camera?

The following two stories have gotten attention in recent years. The first claims a ghost was caught on museum security cameras in Utah the second was a digital photo taken in a museum in Pennsylvania.

The first capture occurred in October of 2007 at a Pioneer Memorial Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Late one night when the museum was dark security officers noticed what appeared to be a woman’s face on their security video cameras.

When this image moved, they became concerned an intruder was in the building—they called in the Highway Patrol to investigate.

When these officers arrived the image on the screens slowly faded—it had remained on the screens for several minutes. The police found no one in the museum. But this story did not end here.

Three more times over the next seven days various museum employees spotted this female face on the security videos. The camera lenses were cleaned and items where shifted but this image continued to appear.

At the end of this week it was seen for the last time.

Image captured

Some state the image seen was just a reflection in glass that the cameras picked up. But it was recorded in various rooms and even more compelling it changed positions.

So was this a ghost?

The second image was captured in 2014 on a digital camera.

A Civil War re-enactor and his brother were visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum when a friend snapped a photo of them in one room.

He captured a fuzzy out-of-focus figure that looks odd.

It should be noted the three visitors claim they were the only three in the room at the time this photo was taken.

The photographer stated, “The coat the figure wears had an old fashioned rain flap and it is wearing high gloves. There appears to be a sword on the figures left side.”

It was also noted the figure’s feet appeared odd.

This photo has been shared multiple times on reddit and Pinterest.

Click on image to enlarge.

Skeptics state this is just another re-enactor but the visitors insist they were the only three in the room.

So was this a ghost?

Mysterious Call for Help

This past Saturday, four police officers in Utah rushed to a car that had overturned in the icy Spanish Fork River 50 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah.

These officers heard a mysterious voice coming from the car desperately calling for help. But when they reached the car they discovered the 25-year old driver, Lynn Groesbeck was deceased.

The cause of her death was later determined to be drowning.

Her 18-month-year old daughter Lily Groesbeck was hanging up side down unconscious from her car seat. Her head was inches away from the icy water that flowed through the car.

It had been almost 14 hours since the car had hit a stone bridge barrier and careened into the river. The temperature through the night and that morning was close to freezing.

The officers state they cannot explain the “calls for help” they heard. The only two people in the car were the mother and her daughter.

Lynn Groesbeck was returning home to Springville from a visit with her parents in Salem when the accident occurred. It has not been determined what caused the crash but the authorities have ruled out drugs or alcohol.

The officers at the scene state the distinct female voice they heard calling for help will remain a mystery. But they all firmly state they heard this voice coming from the car.

It was this voice that led them and firefighters to rescue Lily.

What mainstream accounts about this rescue omit is the obvious. Either Lynn Groesbeck’s spirit stayed around to help her child or it was a guardian angel.

Haunted Park City, Utah

Both my parents grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

In the 1930s my father and his friends would go to the Wasatch Mountains in Park City to ski. This is before there were ski trails or a lift in the mountains. They skied on wooden skis and, a friend towed them up the slope. 

Today Park City is a ski resort and the home of the Sundance Film Festival. Park City is also haunted.

Park City was initially called Parley’s Park. U.S. soldiers who were posted there to protect mail routes discovered silver in 1868. In 1870 Parley’s Park had 164 residents. 

With the discovery of a large vein of silver in 1874, at what would eventually become the Ontario mine the town was renamed Park City. 

In its heyday, the Ontario mine was considered the most productive silver mine in the world. This mine produced over 50 million dollars in wealth in the years it operated. 

In 1892, the Silver King mine opened, and eventually became the largest producer of silver in Park City. In 1896, when Utah became a state, Park City had over 7,000 residents.

Ontario mine workers

Few benefited from this rich silver strike. By the turn of the century, the mines had made millionaires of 23 men and women. 

In contrast, most of the population were laborers. Hundreds of prospectors dotted the hills by the 1870s, these men would bring their wives and children later to live in Park City. 

These miners came from areas where the mines had already played out in Nevada, Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia. These groups made the area ethnically and religiously diverse, but they also set a caste system in place. 

Within this caste system, the many Chinese who had initially worked on the transcontinental railroad suffered the worst.

By 1947 the mines began to close, Park City's economy dwindled, and the population dropped to less than 1500 people. 

In the 1950s, fewer than 200 miners still worked in the mines, at this point, Park City was designated a “ghost town.” 

To save the town in 1963, several enterprising residents got together and decided to revive the city by opening a ski resort. 

When Sports Illustrated featured Treasure Mountain in 1966, Park City became more and more popular. By the time the last mine closed in 1982, the ski industry was booming. 

The 2002 Winter Olympics further increased the population and popularity of Park City. The town today is ranked second among North American ski resorts.

During the years the mines operated there were several fires and mining accidents in the area. After a particularly bad fire in 1898, caused by canyon winds and still considered Utah’s worst disaster, two-thirds of the town was destroyed.

After this, the residents rebuilt using stone and brick. The town didn’t completely recover until 1920. 

During this time in 1902, a dynamite explosion at one of the mines caused a poisonous gas to spread, and many miners died. Others were blown apart with the initial impact of the blast.

One phenomenon that was observed on several occasions, while the mines were still active, were sightings of a harbinger. 

It is documented that just before several mine accidents occurred a male dressed in a yellow slicker would appear in front of a group of miners. His appearance was feared because he was considered a bad omen. 

The miners dread was not misplaced for bad things always happened after he was seen.

Yet another phenomenon reported by miners was an evil presence that was felt and seen in the mines. 

In the Park City mines, a malicious Tommyknocker was heard knocking on the lower rungs of ladders preventing miners from escaping during emergencies.

Mine tunnel

As the mines closed, they left behind a labyrinth of tunnels that are hundreds of feet below the surface. In recent years tours are given that include the history of these abandoned mines.* 

After the dynamite accident in 1902, several witnesses came forward to report a gruesome sight. What they saw was ghostly miners near where they died looking for their missing body parts.

One specific ghost that is seen is that of a woman. She has long blonde hair and is often spotted riding a horse. 

Her spirit is also seen in one mineshaft at the 200-foot level. It is speculated she was one of the few fortunate millionaires. 

Various other apparitions are seen wandering the tunnels as well.

* There are still ghost tours given in Park City but the tales they share do not always include the traditional ghost mine stories shared above.

The Gravedigger

A retired couple was visiting their son in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since he and their daughter-in-law worked during the day they were left to explore the area on their own. 

They had never seen the Great Salt Lake so they decided to drive north of the city to see it. It was a pretty spring day as they got out of their car and walked hand in hand along its southern shore.

As the sun set to the west a chill took hold of the air around them. Having left their jackets in the car they decided to leave. They had been so wrapped up in the magnificent view that surrounded them that they had walked further down the path then they had originally intended.

It quickly became dark and the air became even colder, the man put his arm around his wife to keep her warm. As they finally neared the spot where they had parked their car a strong blast of cold air hit them. As quickly as the wind came it then stopped. 

The couple wondered at how quiet everything had became. The wife now frightened tugged upon her husbands sleeve urging him to move faster.

All the sounds that had accompanied them on their walk, the birds chirping, the water lapping at the shore, and the breeze through the grass at their feet all now disappeared. It was like a giant glass jar had been placed around them muting all the normal sounds. 

A man appeared in front of them seemingly out of nowhere. He stared at the couple with a look of loathing upon his face and then turned abruptly and walked slowly along the lake.

Startled the couple stood frozen to the spot where the man had first materialized watching him make his way down the path they had moments before walked. Stunned they saw him disappear in mid stride. 

The husband grabbed his wife and stated, these dark shadows must be playing a trick on my old eyes; he seemed to vanish into thin air. The wife her heart beating fast agreed that what they had seen was probably just some sort of optical illusion.

The couple quickly proceeded to their car and drove back to town. At dinner they told their son and his wife about what they had seen and experienced. 

The husband concluded with a detailed description of what the man had held in his hands. He was carrying an old-fashioned dress and a pair of man’s trousers clutched close to his body. They appeared wet and rotting as if he had taken them from a garbage heap. 

His wife chimed in, never mind what he was carrying, did you see the way he looked at us, I thought for a moment he meant us bodily harm. I shutter just at the memory.

When the son heard that the man had just vanished before his parent’s eyes he broke in. I think you saw the ghost of Jean Baptiste he was the grandson of Sacagawea the woman who led the Lewis and Clark expedition. People state that he moved to Salt Lake with his wife seeking anonymity.

He worked as a gravedigger in 1862. It was discovered that he had been stripping bodies of their clothing after they were buried. He would then sale the clothes making a tidy profit. When they searched his house they found clothes from children to the very elderly that he had dug the graves for.

Angry Mormon mobs stood outside the courthouse the day he was convicted of grave robbery. He was first exiled to Antelope Island because they could not guarantee his safety at the prison but it was feared he would wade ashore so they moved him to Fremont Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake where he disappeared and was never seen alive again. 

Since, many people believe his restless spirit haunts the south shore of the lake. You two are the first to have seen him in quite awhile.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

I first heard parts of this story from my father who grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was a ‘gentile’, which is the term Mormons give to people who are not of their faith. 

The story he told me was a brief tale of how some Mormons in southern Utah in the 1800s had slaughtered an entire wagon train of people who were heading west to California. He went on to describe there was an attempted cover-up in which it was said Indians had committed the crime.

I was finishing an undergraduate degree, in history, at the time he told me this story. Thinking back, I am amazed I didn’t probe him for more information. 

Today, I regret I didn’t for the story he told me as it turns out involves one of the most heinous crimes committed in the history of the American frontier.

The Mountain Meadows Massacre happened on September 11, 1857. The victims were a group of emigrants mostly from Arkansas who were traveling by wagon train north to south through Utah on their way to California. 

They were camped near what is the present-day town of Enterprise when they were besieged by what they thought were Indians. They circled their wagons and held their attackers at bay for four days. 

On the fifth day their ammunition, water, and food were almost gone. So when a group of white men approached holding a white flag they were relieved. These men offered to escort them safely past the Indians to Cedar City and persuaded them to surrender their arms.

What these Arkansas emigrants didn’t know is tensions were extremely high in Utah in September of 1857. The Mormons felt that the U.S. Army was preparing to forcefully remove Brigham Young, who was head of the Mormon church, as the Utah territorial governor and impose martial law on Utah. 

One of their members Parley P. Pratt had been killed in Arkansas recently which further fanned the flames of anger. 

The white men who offered their help to these innocent Arkansas emigrants were motivated by inflammatory sermons given by their Mormon leaders so they actually resented these ‘gentile’ travelers.

This motivation, plus the fact that the wagon train led by John Baker and Alexander Fancher was relatively affluent drove the Mormons to attack. 

The emigrants' wealth was apparent for they had a large herd of cattle-- estimated to be around a thousand head. There were also many other animals: work oxen, horses, mules, etc. Besides these animals, there was thirty to forty wagons and equipment, and individual members cash. It was estimated that the train was worth at least ten thousand dollars.

The Mormons disguised as Indians first ambushed the train on September 7^th with the assistance of the “usually peaceful” Paiute Indians. These Indians assisted because they were promised all of the Fancher cattle at a pow-wow held by Brigham Young in early September. 

The proceeding statement is denied by the Mormon Church--they deny their leaderships’ role in the massacre. They state it was done by a group of Mormons without the sanction of the church. The Mormon Church does state that the Arkansas victims’ deaths were unjustified.

John D. Lee, a Mormon militiaman, led the men who approached the wagon train holding the white flag. 

Under the false guise of a truce the emigrants surrendered their weapons and were told to leave all their possessions behind, all the wounded were piled into wagons, the women and children were gathered together, and each of the Arkansas men was accompanied by a Mormon. 

At the signal, “do your duty” all the men were shot point blank by the Mormon walking next to them. Then the Mormons, still wearing war paint, with the assistance of the Indians killed all the women and all the children above the age of seven. Mostly, Mormon militiamen carried out this slaughter.

The bodies were stripped and left unburied where their bones were found later. There were chew marks left from scavenging wolves and coyotes. 

Afterward, travelers in this area saw the remaining hair of the victims tangled in the trees and brush nearby. 

Of the 140 people who made up the Baker/Fancher wagon train, most were women and children; only 17 children were spared because they were “too young to tell tales". These children were given into the care of various Mormon families.

The bones of the victims were not interred until two years later when a troop detachment was sent out from Camp Floyd. 

The surviving 17 children, ages two months to seven years, were found by the summer of 1858. They were returned to Arkansas to be raised by their Methodist and Presbyterian extended families. The U.S. Congress appropriated $10,000 for their recovery and restoration.

Originally, the Mormons covered up the massacre by blaming the Indians. But when it was discovered that a group of Mormons had returned to Cedar City with spoil and that the Indians were complaining that they had been treated unfairly in the division of the booty, U.S. officials stepped in and spent over a year procuring evidence. 

When Brigham Young was asked why he had not investigated the massacre he stated that another governor had been appointed and he did not feel it was his place.

It was not until 1859 that a trial was held, hampered all along by a very tight-knit Mormon society, the investigators had a hard time finding evidence to charge anyone with murder. 

So most involved were never charged. But John D. Lee was tried and found guilty. Lee at his own request was shot. 

Bitter that he was used as a scapegoat he did tell the truth at his trial, his accounts and the accounts given by the descendants of the Mormons who participated in the Massacre are the reason we know the truth today. 

The descendants of the surviving children of the Baker/Fancher Party worked for many years to get the truth told.

Of the Mormons involved, several opposed the plan to kill the Fancher Party. One Mormon descendant tells the story of how her relative was shot when he tried to assist a girl during the slaughter. 

But many of them being young men, and being apart of the Mormon community were bound to follow their leaders' commands. Which to a Mormon back then was the ultimate authority. 

The irony here is all these men before the slaughter and after led decent law-abiding lives. 

Some say years of persecution of the Mormons caused the Mountain Meadows Massacre. But greed was obviously also a part of this motivation.

In June of 2011 this high Mountain Meadow was designated a National Historic Landmark. This landscape holds untold sorrow. Some have caught EVP evidence here. But I feel it is best to leave these victims in peace.

Today, ‘The Mountain Meadows Association” have members that are descendants from both sides; they have come together to promote understanding and forgiveness. Their mission is to preserve the memory of the victims.

The following video is a good summary of what happened.