The OES visited Otterbein Cemetery on July 4, 2003. The cemetery is located near Somerset, Ohio and is the location of the infamous Horseshoe Grave. The cemetery was most likely founded sometime in the 1830s or 1840s and was in active use as of our visit. There were many veterans from various wars buried within the cemetery's grounds. A brick church next to the cemetery was probably built around the same time as the cemetery was founded. Services were also still being held in the church when we visited.

The Horseshoe Grave is what this cemetery is known for. As the story goes, a man named James Henry had two women who wanted to marry him, Mary Angle and Rachel Hodge. One night James rode out on his horse to decide which woman he wanted to marry when he fell asleep. When he awoke, he found himself at Mary's house. James took this as a sign and he and Mary were married soon after; Rachel served as a bridesmaid. Mary became pregnant, but sadly she died during childbirth on February 28, 1845. The baby was stillborn. Mary was buried at Otterbein Cemetery. Three years later James decided to marry Rachel Hodge. The wedding took place on December 7, 1848. Rachel wore a black dress at the wedding and the two visited Mary's grave after the wedding. About a week later, the caretaker of the cemetery discovered a mysterious horseshoe had appeared on the back of Mary's tombstone. Reports of strange noises and balls of light being seen in the cemetery began to pour in. The next morning, James went to his barn to do chores. He was gone longer than usual, so Rachel went out to check on him. Rachel found James dead in the horse's stall with the imprint of a horseshoe, identical to the one on Mary's tombstone, on his forehead. The horseshoe on the back of Mary's tombstone cannot be scrubbed off. Locals said that the current stone is a replacement for the original stone and that the horseshoe appeared on the current stone only days after it was erected. It is said that during the night, one can sometimes hear the pounding of horse hooves coming down the road toward the cemetery. Reports of mysterious balls of light and eerie sounds still plague the cemetery.

The night we visited the cemetery, the only sound we heard was the neighbor's dogs barking continuously. We tried to record for electronic voice phenomenon at the cemetery, but did not pick up anything. High electromagnetic fields were detected near Mary Henry's tombstone, as well as a few others. An odd occurrence did take place while we were there. On the way back to our vehicle, we discovered that a plant had been pressed down to the ground, like someone stepped on it and broke it. Only minutes before we had been in this exact location and the plant was perfectly fine. Maybe the horse's spirit came waltzing by and bent the plant to the ground.

UPDATE: We drove past the cemetery in 2005 and there were several new no trespassing signs posted and security cameras were installed to watch over the grounds. While daytime visits should be fine, nighttime trips are discouraged.