To most people, Erie may seem like a regular old small town with its lake and local scenery. But to the naked eye, there are a few things that go bump in the night around the Erie area and things that haunt its citizens. There are three urban legends that I have looked into to find crucial evidence to support the paranormal activities that have been proven to be true and things that make you second guess what truly does bump in the night.

The first area I went to take a look at in the Erie Cemetery was the witches’ circle. The witches’ circle is a urban legend that has been around since the 1800s. Rumor around the town has it that Erie was home to a coven of witches, similar to the women who were part of the Salem witch trials. When the final two women who were part of the coven died, there was a bone-chilling end to their earthly lives.

The rumor has it that they were dragged back to hell by the devil in the Erie cemetery, while in the middle of a circled group of gravestones.

What makes this story even more chilling is when visiting the area at the Erie cemetery, you could see a few of the graves with indications they had been burned, and the stones surrounding them have no names. The truth to this rumor is that something or someone had to have vandalized or destroyed the only circle area of graves in the Erie Cemetery.

The next urban legend I bring up, coming from the same cemetery, is the vampire crypt. Also originating in the 1800s, this legend begins with the Goodrich family. Only three of the family are named in the mausoleum, two not having death dates, and the remaining four of the seven bodies are not even named.

The weirdness continues to escalate as the time goes on before the last member was entered into the tomb and it was closed up for good. In the surrounding area around the cemetery, there have been reports of murders around the time it had first been built. The ones who died were found with bite marks on the neck and the blood sucked from their bodies.

Now although there isn’t much evidence to prove this, there have been multiple instance where someone entered or disrespected the area, and paid the ultimate price for it. The first one is about a boy at a party with his friends, partying at the crypt. His night takes a turn for the worse when he decided to mock the tomb.

In the dark of night, the boy felt as if he was shoved off the tomb and gets seriously injured by the fall. He was then taken to a nearby local hospital where matters became worse. The boy was screaming and moving towards the window of his room.

He took his own life that night, petrifying the nurse and doctors watching the scene in person. The next boy to enter the tomb also didn’t make it very long after doing so.

A boy broke into the tomb and stole a ring from one of the members lying inside of the tomb. He showed it to all of his friends, bragging about what he had stolen from the dead. Matters became grave when his friends came to visit him after school.

The boy’s mother found the boy’s body frozen in place, with his ring finger gone, as if it were ripped right from his cold, bare hands.

Both the Vampire Crypt and the Witches Circle are two of the oldest urban legends that Erie has to offer. But the final urban legend I am going to get into is one that is very current and still is haunted until this day, the Haunting of the Brewerie.

The story begins with a little girl named Clara, who was going on a trip with her mom and dad a long time ago when the Brewerie used to be used as only a train station. She went up the stairs of one of the long hallways and was accidentally killed by her father when his luggage hit her, sending he down the long line of stairs.

Many of the workers at the Brewerie do believe that the building is haunted and learned about it through personal experiences. Brewerie hostess and Prep senior Mally Morton recalls an event when she was in the very said hallway in which Clara had been accidentally killed.

“I was walking in the hallway when I felt a chill go down my spine,” she said, “ but the thing is there are no open vents or drifts in the area.”

Mally also went on to tell about another common thing that happens to the workers.

“When walking away from that area,” she said, “ sometimes people feel as if they are getting tripped by something when there is nothing there.”

While taking a tour of the Brewerie, it was brought up multiple times that ghost hunters and paranormal investigators had been there to see what was happening in the Brewerie. There was a report of two things that they caught and found evidence on.

While recording to try and get evidence, a recording had picked up a little girl saying the words, “Help me.” Later on the same night they also caught a little girl giggling and orbs of light going through the hallways on a camera.

Touring the halls of the site, there was so much history within the walls of the area that many people believe the myths of Clara, whether from a personal experience from working there or from experiencing it as a customer. Sometimes urban legends come to life when more and more people believe it is the truth.

The tour guide said something that I will never forget.

“I never believed in the paranormal,” he began, “but working here, I have something weird going on in this place.”

So before you truly section yourself off from the beliefs of ghosts and monsters, remember there are always some truths to these legends. It’s up to you to decided whether or not you believe what information your given. There is always something that goes bump in the night, but the question is, what?

Gallery • 6 Photos

The circle of graves known as the witches' circle