Hello, everybody out there tonight on my friends list who are reading this blog this evening. I am now going to start telling some more stories about Mammoth Cave National Park and of its ghost stories, in continuance of what I had started telling in that last blog that I had started talking about there.
Just to refresh your memories, everybody, I had been talking about Floyd Collins and his premature death back in January of 1925. I have also mentioned the War of 1812, Twinkies and more ghost stories for this new blog. I can tell you that I am going to talk about all of this afore mentioned fun stuff here, but first, I am going to talk about the War of 1812 and what it has to do with Mammoth Cave National Park.
Now, I am sure that you might be aware of the fact that Mammoth Cave has gypsum growing naturally inside of it. Well, the reason why I mention the whole thing about gypsum is that back in the way, (like way back in the day), back when pre-historic people wandered the earth and they went inside of what is now known as “Mammoth cave,” those pre-historic folks actually gathered the gypsum and used it apparently for food (among probably a million of other things as well.) Nobody today knows for 100% sure what exactly those pre-historic people actually used the gypsum for in their daily lives, other than what some folks found inside of the stomach of a mummy of a person that was found inside of Mammoth Cave a while back. What the people found inside of the pre-historic mummy’s tummy was some of the gypsum.
Now, fast forward to the 1800s and America is an up-and-coming country. America is still having some issues with Great Britain not wanting to leave America alone (and independent!) during part of the early 1800s and Great Britain just wants America “Back in the fold, under Great Britain’s rule” once more. What is now the beginning and end part of the “Historical tour” part of the cave itself is where the gypsum mining use to take place back then (in the 1800s.) In fact, there is a guy by the last name of DuPont, (yes, that DuPont!), who came to Kentucky and to Mammoth Cave to help with the chemical processing of the gypsum, the salt peter and all of that other “Fun stuff” that the new American government needed to make gun power back in the 1800s.
What is interesting is that once all of the business of kicking Great Britain’s hiney by America was completely over and done with and making it crystal clear to the monarchy of Great Britain that America did not want to be back under Great Britain’s rule any more, Mister DuPont went back east and starting doing all of that “Chemical stuff” that the DuPont company is now famous for doing nowadays. I just find it amazing that Mister DuPont’s whole chemical beginnings all started here in Kentucky, with doing the gun power stuff for the War of 1812 inside of Mammoth Cave.
Now, for some of the ghost stories that I mentioned earlier at the beginning of this blog. One of the more commonly told ghost stories that is told inside of Mammoth Cave on any of the tours is about some of the ghostly African-American people that “Magically appear” from time to time on parts of the “Historical tour.” This family of African-Americans appear as part of the group, but they typically hold back from the rest of the group, then when the guide approaches this family, the family just disappears in to thin air, right in front of the guide.
It is commonly known that there use to be church services held in Mammoth Cave back in the day and it was held by lantern light. When you go on either the “Historical Tour” or the “Violet City Lantern Tour,” the guides actually mention this detail about the church, because both of these two tours go through a part of the cave typically called “The Methodist Church” or “The Church.”
Here is another example of ghost stories from the cave itself. Back in the 1800s, there was an owner of the cave by the name of Doctor John Croghan. If you will remember, I mentioned Doctor Croghan and his tuberculosis huts in the last blog, when I was talking about Stephen Bishop. As I promised in that previous blog, I am going to talk now about that tour, “The Violet City Lantern Tour,” Doctor Croghan, the doctor’s patients there in the cave, what Stephen Bishop had to do with these poor souls and some ghost stories from this period.
Joe and I went on the “Violet City Lantern Tour” on the morning of June 5, 2009. We actually did have a few children, (who were actually very well behaved, incidentally) on the tour, but those children were not allowed to carry the lanterns on the tour, [as is per safety procedures there at the national park.] I did do a whole lot of learning on that tour and it turns out that the cave that I mentioned that is in Russia that is the second longest cave is actually the third longest cave in the world, with the second longest cave actually being out in Utah, (although Mammoth Cave is still the mother of all caves and the longest cave in the world by any stretch though, folks!!)
I have to tell you all that there is a place on the “Violet City Lantern Tour” that is called “Corpse Rock.” This “Corpse Rock” is where they laid out the unfortunate souls who died of tuberculosis inside of the cave, prior to taking those unlucky souls (now corpses) up to the surface to bury those people in the “Old Guide’s Cemetery,” near where Stephen Bishop is laid to rest on national park property.
There is a story (that I got from a book called Haunted Hikes by Andrea Lankford) that it is said that if you sit on those benches near where the remains of the two tuberculosis huts now stand and you sit quietly there in the dark for a few moments, you might hear somebody coughing there somewhere near you in the dark. I have sat on those very benches in the dark and silence of the great cave, folks, but I have to admit that it’s just creepy to be sitting there with like 34-38 other people in the dark, knowing that like maybe 50 feet from where we are sitting at the time are the remains of the two stone structures that use to be buildings a long time ago and “Corpse Rock” that were used to do the tuberculosis “Experiment” back in the 1800s. What is even creepier to see is when the two guides walk off with the eight lanterns in to the darkness with the lanterns in the guides’ hands and you know that you did not bring a flashlight with you, (because it is not allowed on the tour and neither is a camera, for that matter.) As you sit there in the dark, you start thinking about what it must have been like to have had tuberculosis back then and be stuck inside of that cave, in the dark, trying to see if you will “Magically get better, with the help of the cave’s dry air.”
I know that I didn’t hear any ghosts coughing back on June 5, but I can guarantee you that if you were to go on the “Violet City Lantern Tour,” folks – it’ll make you think that you’re lucky to be living in the 21st Century, with the benefits of “Modern Medicine” to help defeat diseases, such as tuberculosis, chicken pox and any formerly fatal diseases from way back when. I know that I was grateful to see the two tour guides, coming back down the hill, from the direction of the “Giant’s Coffin” (a spot where the “Historical tour” and the “Violet City Lantern Tour” part ways inside of the cave.) In fact, I think I was the first one to see the guides coming back, because I noticed the light from the lanterns reflecting off of a far wall in the darkness. I know that I wanted desperately to run towards that light, but I did not do so, because I knew that there were several rocks and other protruding things coming from the walls and ground of the cave that made it not safe or wise for me to get up and go towards the guides in the first place.
What is the creepiest part of the cave is where you are in the dark and the guides show you where the prehistoric people threw their lighted reed canes in to the ceiling. Yes, there are still the reed canes from the pre-historic era that are literally still hanging from the ceiling to this very day and I saw them myself on that tour that morning on June 5. I cannot begin to imagine “Lost John” going that far into the cave just to get gypsum to do heaven only knows what with it, once he got outside of the cave. Speaking of “Lost John,” I realize that I have not talked about him just yet. I didn’t forget “Lost John,” here folks, but I was just saving him for last, because even though “Lost John” died back in the day, (like the pre-historic day), “Lost John’s” remains weren’t found inside of Mammoth Cave until the 20th century. What is ironic, folks is that even as Jackie, our one guide pointed out, there is a bit of history involving the “Re-discovery” of “Lost John” here.
What happened, folks is that back in the 1880s, there was a guy with the last name of “Wood” who burned his name in to the ceiling not too terribly far from where “Lost John’s” body laid, undisturbed since he had died 2000 some odd years ago. Nobody actually found “Lost John’s” remains until like 1939-1940 or so, because of some guides who were doing some excavating and drawing of maps for the cave tours that people currently go on nowadays.
How “Lost John’s” remains were found was when some guide had almost slipped off of the rocky area where “John’s” remains were originally located inside of the cave, that guide actually grabbed “John’s” head and the guide then pulled himself back up on to the higher ledge, to safety. When the guide realized that the “Rock” that the guide had grabbed had hair and was actually some poor soul’s head, the guide immediately alerted the people that the guide was with that day to come and help the guide get the rock off of the mummy of the body that became known as “Lost John.”
Well, the rock (actually, it was more like a boulder) that “Lost John” had been stuck under for all of that time was very carefully removed from on top of “Lost John’s” body. Once the rock had been completely removed to where people could safely and easily get under where the rock had been on top of “Lost John’s” body, the people that removed the rock from on top of “Lost John’s” body very carefully removed “Lost John’s” body to study “John’s” body to see what information that “John” could provide them as in to what kind of lifestyle that “John” had back in the day, when “John” was still living.
Once the mummy of “Lost John” reached a place to where people could study “John’s” body successfully, the doctors that were studying “John’s” body at the time discovered that “John” was a guy and that “John” had eaten some gypsum, sunflower seeds and some other nuts and berries. The doctors also discovered that “John’s” last activity, (before “John” managed to get himself crushed under that bolder that “John” was later found under by the guide) was that “John” was scraping some gypsum from underneath that rock, when the rock fell on top him, effectively crushing “John’s” body and then mummifying “John’s” body to be discovered later by that guide.
What happened to “Lost John’s” body next, you might ask. Well, like Floyd Collins and his body, “Lost John’s” body ended up being put on display inside of Mammoth Cave as well. As I mentioned previously with Floyd Collins’ body, when Congress (finally!!) got it right and decided that it was “Just plain wrong to show human remains, American Indian or otherwise inside of a cave,” the good folks that were taking care of Mammoth Cave did the “Right thing” by “Lost John” and took him back somewhere near where “Lost John’s” body was originally discovered inside of the cave and those good folks gave “Lost John” a proper burial. Now, there’s only a handful of people who know “Lost John’s” exact location inside of the cave, and Emily, (one of the 2 guides that was on the “Violet City Lantern Tour” that Joe and I were on back on June 5) said that Emily’s dad, [who is also a guide for the national park] was one of the guys who reburied “Lost John’s” remains. Emily also mentioned that her dad has never told Emily where the location of “Lost John’s” remains are now resting inside of the cave; although you can still see the original rock that “John” was found under inside of the cave. The rock itself has all kinds of metal wiring on it and a cable holding it to the nearby wall, to keep it from “Accidentally crushing some other poor soul,” while on a tour. The rock looks like a tooth from somebody’s mouth that has braces, is the easiest way to describe it to you that “Lost John” was found under folks here, because I cannot really describe it to you, without actually showing you in person.
Any way, folks, I am sorry that it took me so long to actually post this blog. I would have posted this blog sooner here on my page, but I had misplaced the actual memory stick that I have this blog started on for about 3 weeks in my car, because I had taken the memory stick to my parents’ house to show them something off of that memory stick that was easier than e-mailing it to a couple of “Electronically impaired” people.
In closing, I am including (below) a video montage of my vacation with Joe from June 4-7, 2009. I want to also mention that even though I do say in one of the videos that I thought that Joe was going to post a video of a trail called the “Sand Cave Trail,” unfortunately, Joe couldn’t get the freaking video to upload to you tube for some strange reason, so it’s not there, (because Joe got mad and deleted it before I could try it myself on my you tube account last month) fair warning! I hope that you guys enjoy the below video montage. Oh, and when I was talking about that rock with “Lost John” above – I actually explain it in a video in the below video montage that I actually show how the rock looked on the tour in a video of just me talking before the videos that Joe shot of the actual tours and stuff. (For those videos that I am talking about here, please see the blog directly below this one, because those videos are in that blog directly below this one here in blogger.com!!)
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