Post by MoMo on Mar 11, 2012 0:13:01 GMT -6
If people were asked where one of the gates to hell might be located, very few would say Kansas, but according to local lore, it just may be.
The place is Stull, KS, the cemetery is called Stull Cemetery.
The small town of Stull was settled in 1862, and named for the Postmaster of the time, Silvester Stull.
At first sight, the cemetery appears very normal.Roughly 100 graves, an old tree, and a burnt out church pretty much make the scene, but as always, there is more lingering right under the surface.
In 1995, Time Magazine asked Pope John Paul 2nd why he ordered his plane to fly around Kansas, and his response..."I don't want to fly over unholy ground..."
Some of the hype may come from the fact that Stull Cemetery is located in the Topeka zip code prefix of "666", or perhaps even that the road leading up to the cemetery, was literally named Devil's Lane up until 1905.
In 1974, the University of Kansas college newspaper did a report on Stull Cemetery, which sites the legend being over 100 years old.The elders of the small town believe that Stull Cemetery is one of the alleged 7 gateways to hell, allowing Satan to allegedly manifest on earth through a supernatural portal..
This legend comes from a handful of local rumors, one being that Satan's unholy son is buried within the walls of Stull, and that on the Spring Equinox, and on midnight of Halloween, the Prince of Darkness comes to earth to visit the tomb of his son.
The exact location of the gateway to hell is unknown, but most of the controversey centers around the burnt out church in the cemetery.The church was build in 1867, and was swept over by the mysterious fire in the early 1900's.Some say that the religious communtiy destroyed the church in an attempt to seal the gateway to hell.Although the church has no roof, it is said that no rain will ever fall within the church.
Another secret to the Stull mystery revolves around the pine tree that was mentioned above.It is reported that witches were hung from this tree during the Spring Equinox Sabbat years ago, and that a town man was reported missing for some time, only to be found later hanging from this very tree.
Modern covens did indeed visit this cemetery to pay homage to those witches that died there, up until 1998, when the caretakers had the tree cut down and removed.
Halloween night of 1999, media from Lawrence Journal World and Sunflower Cable Station Channel 6 News were at the cemetery by permission of the Sheriff.At 11:30pm, only 30 minutes before the alleged gate to hell would be cast open, an unknown representative of the cemetery caretakers appeared, and requested the Sheriff to remove the reporters.The media left peacefully, mere moments before the stroke of midnight.
Below are lyrics from a song written just for Stull Cemetery by the band Urge Overkill:
"Forty miles west of Kansas City, down a county road like a lonely soul, I see Sharon and I see Jack. It's me and Roman dressed all in black. Tell my bride to bury me in Stull....don't be afraid....don't be afraid....it's great."
