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The Haunting Of Abbott's Tomb

When the Milan Cemetery was officially established in the 1850s, people had already been calling it their final resting place for decades. But it would still be another few years before the cemetery would acquire its most notorious resident; Ben Abbott.

When Benjamin W. Abbott died in 1854, his mausoleum began attracting attention almost as soon as it was erected. For one thing, it was positioned in such a way that it appeared to be facing away from all the other monuments in Milan Cemetery.

The front door to the mausoleum could also only be reached by scurrying down a small embankment and making one's way along a swamp-like body of water. In other words, one could safely assume that Ben Abbott wasn't very interested in having visitors stop by his mausoleum. So of course, it wasn't long before the rumor started that if you went up to the Abbott mausoleum and knocked on the door, Mr. Abbott's ghost would be so angry at being disturbed that he would chase you away. And in some cases, if she was in the mood, Mrs. Abbott's ghost would also join in the chase.

As with most ghost stories and local legends, the specifics of the Abbott story began to change over time. The biggest change involved the addition of Abbott's two young grandchildren into the burial vault. It was said that Ben Abbott snapped one night and brutally murdered both his granddaughters. Upon realizing what he had done, Abbott secretly buried the two bodies in his back yard. It wasn't until years after Abbott's own death that the girls' bodies were discovered. For whatever reason, it was decided that the girls should be interred in the Abbott tomb, right next to the man who had murdered them both. Apparently in an attempt to make up for his horrible crime, Abbott's ghost was said to not only guard his tomb, but the ghosts of the two young girls as well. So that was the real reason his ghost would chase away anyone who might come calling at the tomb.

The two Abbott grandchildren are indeed buried in the tomb. But contrary to popular belief, they did not end up there as a result of their grandfather's hands. Rather, both girls merely succumbed to childhood diseases that were unfortunately prevalent in the 1800s and died of natural causes. Originally, the two girls were buried on the Abbott property, which was not uncommon at the time. However, when new owners bought the property, they did not like the idea of having two young girls buried in their yard and had the bodies exhumed. Both would eventually be moved to the Abbott tomb.

"The Abbotts Aren't In Right Now"

The most interesting aspect of the Abbott legend is that Mr. and Mrs. Abbott are no longer buried inside the tomb. They were relocated to a nearby plot years ago. Today, the only objects inside the tomb are the caskets of the two grandchildren and a small chair, from which Ben Abbott was said to have sat and read the young girls stories.

But does that mean that the Abbotts can't be haunting the tomb since they aren't buried there? Not necessarily. In fact, there are reports of strange lights seen moving throughout Milan Cemetery late at night.

Often, these lights will land on a cross-topped tombstone, causing the cross to glow. Some say that there lights are the spirits of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, making their nightly rounds around the cemetery and making sure no one gets close to their tomb.

So do the Abbotts really haunt their tomb and Milan Cemetery? It's hard to say. But one thing is certain. Based on where the Abbotts chose to place their mausoleum, they weren't expecting a lot of company. So should you choose to go knocking on their door, it might be a good idea to not show up empty-handed.

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