One Sunny afternoon in September, NESSS members Sue, Rob, Chris and I stopped by the Center Cemetery in Palmer, Massachusetts, often called the “hidden” cemetery due to it’s relative invisibility from the road. Chris and I had been there several times before to photograph the unique stones in the old section; we had heard the rumors of activity, but never personally experienced anything unusual there. We decided to bring Sue and Rob with us to see what we could find.

HISTORY:

The town of Palmer, Massachusetts was incorporated in 1775, and some of the earliest burials in the town’s history were in the Center Cemetery. The oldest graves present date back to the 1700s, and range all the way up to the 1990s.

CLAIMS of ACTIVITY:

Reports of paranormal occurrences in the Palmer Center Cemetery can be found all over the internet. The obligatory couple of sentences can be found at The Shadowlands, and Spirit Signs. More in-depth reports can be found at Texas Haunts and SERT.

Growing up one town over, I had heard stories of a man with a lantern who wandered the cemetery after dark, and I had friends who had experienced things there. I had always chalked these stories up to the suggestibility of teenagers, and the type of legends passed on in small towns all over the world.

OUR INVESTIGATION:

The four of us began by walking through, beginning in the older section and working our way up to the newer end. We took pictures and observed, noting time, temperature and baseline EMF readings.

We split up into two groups. Rob and I continued to photograph our surroundings while Sue and Chris set up for a communications session in the older section. They used two different digital voice recorders and the K-II meter during this session, and asked questions of the usual type. They prompted anyone present to make themselves known, either verbally or by lighting the K-II.

Rob and I joined Sue and Chris for a second session in the center of the cemetery, under a tree. We again used both recorders and the K-II and asked the usual questions.

Nothing out of the ordinary was recorded on either recorder or captured in any of the pictures. We did not note any significant EMF fluctuations.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES:

Except for the fact that I’ve lost not one but two lens caps in this particular cemetery, and find it to be a challenge to photograph properly every time I visit, neither I nor the rest of our small group experienced anything out of the ordinary. We noted that the cemetery on that particular day felt peaceful and quiet, with no trace of the apparitions experienced by others in years past.

CONCLUSION:

We did not come away from our two hours at Palmer Center Cemetery with any indication that it is haunted, perhaps because we visited during the day, or perhaps because whatever was once there has since moved on. Because the cemetery is posted against trespassing after dark, we were not able to visit at night, and don’t recommend any of our readers do so either since the cemetery is closely watched by neighbors. However if the opportunity should arise for us to obtain permission to investigate after dark, we would jump at the chance. And we would certainly update our investigation report accordingly.

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