Then: The Legend Of Mary Stockum: A Coshocton Ghost Story

Every community has ghost stories, and Coshocton is no different. I discovered the legend of Mary Stockum while surfing the 'net. Not being a local, I found the story to be one worthy of Stephen King.

After speaking with a number of lifelong residents, many of whom spent youthful overnights in the Stockum cemetery (often while drinking alcohol), I found no reports of any headless Mary encounters. In fact, I mostly encounter knowing grins while recollections of wild parties are told.

Nonetheless, the legend tells of Mary's husband, Christopher, murdering their second child. Apparently, Christopher became a guest at a swinging party. A enraged Mary vowed revenge and one-by-one her remaining nine children began dying of fever. After the fifth child died, Mary was burned as a witch. A sixth child died, and the Mary's executioners, dug up her burned body, cut off the head, and buried it outside the cemetery.

Now, Mary haunts the cemetery and surrounding woods. She searches for her children and missing head.

I've read various Mary encounters, including conversations. How does one converse with a headless woman? Tales of broken down cars abound (and if you have ever driven the rutted dirt roads, you understand why). But, as with most legends, substantiating the wild tales means spinning the story to ever wilder proportions.

The family cemetery is located in a remote area. Kind of spooky, I guess. On the day we visited, the dirt road which leads to the cemetery was inaccesible by car. The vandalized cemetery seemed no different than most small family cemeteries. Mary's stone lay toward the front of the cemetery. It's obvious somebody(s) attempted to thieve her stone finding it too heavy to remove.

One more interesting side note. While visiting Coffee Co., I met a relative of Mary Stockum. She professed to know little about Mary other than the legend. But she promised to ask an aged aunt about the Stockum legend and report back to me.