Erie County Pa has its fair share of paranormal places.
From hauntings , close encounters to UFOs, Bigfoot sightings and Bessie the lake monster, the county is full of high strangeness.
But one of the most mysterious places of supernatural legend in the county is the Vampire's Crypt that lies in The Erie Cemetery between 26th and 19th streets.
Now the cemetery has its share of unique tombs, Erie was a chief industrial town in the 1800s and the wealth of the city is evident in the many lavish personal mausoleums the cemetery holds.
But the Vampire's Crypt stands out from even the most lavish of tombs.
It is not because it is the most ornate, no on the contrary its fairly sparse-it even lacks a family name. But over the doorway is an ornate "V", that has given it its infamous name.
There are many stories of supernatural and odd experiences at the Crypt, and with this entry I am going to try something a little different, an animated video blog.
For more info on the Vampire's Crypt, it's background and other stories about the supernatural occurrences there read this article of mine on the Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/article/what-lurks-the-vampire-s-crypt and the full story in my book "Eerie Erie: Tales of the Unexplained from Northwestern Pennsylania" due August 2011 from The History Press!
Until Next Time,
Pastor Swope
Well done Pastor Swope! This was a creepy story, but I love the way it played out in the video. Very entertaining!
ReplyDeleteits cool...
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Creepy! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to honestly say that I'm a bit dissappointed Pastor Swope, but not because I didn't have a high opinion of the video, just that I couldn't watch it!! LOL. Is it on youtube? I read your blog from work and my company has youtube blocked because the IT folks say that watching youtube videos takes up too much bandwidth and cause company wide internet problems and destroys our speed if many people get on it. So when I read the title of this thread I got really excited, only to be letdown :( .....Ah well, better luck next time I reckon, lol. Thanks for the links though, I guess I'll have to make do with those.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I'd jump out a window if Nosferatu was chasing me!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, the extra info on the Examiner's article was waaay better. It got me thinkin maybe there is something to it.
ReplyDeleteThe video kind of made it "cheesy?", less real in a way.
Has anyone tried to find out who the boy who stole the ring was?
That'd be a good place to start, then maybe find his siblings and their kids? Or his friends and their kids?
Crusader.
Excellent video, Pastor. Really adds pizazz to your already excellent stories. cctheory.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Comments Anonymous, cRaPsHeeT, Darci, Cheryl,cctheory and Crusader!
ReplyDeleteI may from time to time make a video to go along with the story, placing the youtube video here and the full story on my Examiner site.
Cryptid_Hunter the youtube address is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv00Grq4F7E
I love your stories Pastor Swope, and look forward to each and every one of your posts. This one is fantastic and I loved the video. Keep up the good work! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to say good work - but unfortunately can't check video on my work computer. I guess I'll have to do some actual work to pass my time.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to taking a look when I get home though.
Love the video, but...how do they know that the reason the boy jumped was that he saw the vampire? Did he leave a memo? :-)
ReplyDeleteGood story, Swope!!!
ReplyDeleteI love it! theres nothing like a good vampire story.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your views on them Pastor Swope? do you think they exist or are they just one of the worlds oldest horror villains?
On a technical note I'm interested in the program you used to make your animations? Is it a version of the Sims game where you get to direct your own video? It would be something I'd love to get into.(however I understand if you don't want to give away the tricks of your trade)
Great work
Sorry, this one was disappointing. There's nothing particularly paranormal about wild dogs, nor about a floral design that teenagers enjoy misinterpreting. And yellow journalism does not become credible when it becomes old.
ReplyDeleteWhen you talk about events within your own experience, or within the direct experience of those whom you know to be trustworthy, your stories are better.
Not bad. I do have one complaint though. The actual crypt is built into the side of the hill but the one in the animation is standing alone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Sam,
ReplyDeleteI used The Movies! game with the stunts expansion pack. You can do custom camera angles that way.
Sorry to disappoint Howard,
ReplyDeleteBut I have always mixed others stories and folklore tales with my personal experiences.
While some tales of the supernatural do shock or seem tabloid in nature,I really don't consider this yellow journalism. I think it is more bisque.
Great vid, but what is more fascinating then the story is I really want to know how you did the video.
ReplyDeleteCould you reveal the secret? Inquiring minds want to know.
Hi Alan,
ReplyDeleteThe Movies! game with stunts and effects add on! :)
Wow, great video.
ReplyDeleteThe video adds alot to the story. Makes it kind of campy in a good way! I love local legends, they all have their start in the paranormal anyway. I hope you make more.
ReplyDeleteOne of those stories that really gave me chills,because in two cases,this entity is known to follow anyone who provokes it.
ReplyDeleteI am perplexed as to why a widow simply visiting her husbands grave would be chased out.
I think you've hit on a good idea here - reenactments of sighting encounters and video describing paranormal phenomena.
ReplyDeleteI thought the video added to the tale - it was creepier for me to see the video than it would have been to just read the tale.
hi my name is leo and i am very interested in the paranormal and i am going to go to the erie cemetery on halloween and i wana know more myths if you know any and what exactly happens in that myth then please send a coment back i am very interested
ReplyDeletei have had experiences with the paranormal before like once i was little i was about 3 or 4 years old and i saw a blue mist infront of me it called out to me then all of a sudden disappeard. another story is once while we had the whole family over and we had everyone in the same room no one was upstairs or any where else in the house then we all heard a bloody murder scream coming from the attic then all of a sudden a little girl appeared at the top of the stairs and slowly went down the stairs then at the top of the second flight she screamed then she dissapeared at that second the power went out for no reason and if you wana know what happened next and more stories leave me a comment
ReplyDeleteI've lived in erie pa all my life and grew up a half a block away from the cemetary (it was my playground). We heard all the stories at a young age. So of course we tried to find out. As a kid (now 35 and still in erie) i smoked my first cigarette on the roof of that grave, drank beers on that grave, done all kinds of things on that grave. I was always a lil creepy, but i have never seen or heard a damn thing.
ReplyDeleteHi, I used to go into this cemetary as a teenager and write poetry while sitting on the steps. Always had a feeling of being watched but was never attacked. I was just drawn to the gothic beauty of the tomb and never knew its belief until an adult!!
ReplyDelete