Spooky Stuff: Blood Cemetery

Want to get creeped out on Halloween? No problem - NH is full of haunted places.

October 23, 2012

Barbara Coles,

Blood Cemetery, aka Pine Hill

Photo by Susan Laughlin

They call it Blood Cemetery. Not because of any bloody incident on the grounds, but because of Abel Blood, who has been buried there since 1867. Over the years – probably because of the pointing finger – he’s become the Hollis graveyard’s most famous ghost.

People who have wandered there – for thrills or for paranormal research – swear that the finger carved on Blood’s headstone points heavenward during daylight hours and then turns toward the ground at night.

Protocol for a Cemetery Visit
Paranormal researcher Fiona Broome cautions, if you visit a cemetery, be respectful and follow its rules.”It’s important to remember that cemeteries are a final resting place and there are people in the community who care deeply about relatives whose remains are there.”

She says it’s not appropriate to behave in a way that doesn’t leave the cemetery “better than how you found it. Don’t leave trash, don’t disturb the grave sites in any way.” And abide by the hours designated for visitors; some are closed from dusk to dawn.

If you see anything that indicates vandalism or the opportunity for it, report it to the police. “I always do that,” she says.

Fiona Broome, a NH paranormal researcher, author and what she calls a “blip analyst,” says a man she trusts witnessed the two finger positions in two visits to Blood, aka Pine Hill, Cemetery. (Note: The Abel Blood headstone is no longer there because it was broken by vandals. Because of the vandalism police keep a watchful eye on the cemetery, especially on Halloween night.)

After she left, she stopped down the road at a traffic light and once again tried the camera.

Broome herself one time found she could not take a picture in the cemetery: “I pushed the button and nothing happened. No flash, just the film advancing.” She tried it a dozen more times. Still nothing.

Click. No problem.

“There has to be some sort of electromagnetic field around the cemetery,” she says, and further evidence of that are the many reports she’s gotten of car radios switching to dirge music as they drive by and gas gauges being affected.

If Blood Cemetery doesn’t provide a sufficient jolt of heebie-jeebies, a short distance away is Nashua’s Gilson Road Cemetery. “That’s the one that scares the daylights out of people,” Broome says. “Hands down, there are more reports of activity there than at any other NH cemetery. And these come from people I respect; they’re not the type to jump at shadows.”

The reports include a green, glowy effect above Joseph Gilson’s grave, a high number of orbs, cold spots and physical phenomena.

“You feel like you’re walking through molasses there,” Broome says. “You almost can’t move your legs.”

There are other cemeteries in the state that Broome says are haunted. You can find out more at hauntedcemeteriesbook.com

Categories: Halloween and Haunted NH