Batson Cemetery, the Thirteen Graves

Indiana · United States · Cemetery

Thirteen unmarked graves off Willow Road in Indiana, and the claim that counting them backwards leaves you with twelve.

The old Batson cemetery lies off Willow Road near State Road 3 in Indiana, and nobody has been buried there since the late 1960s. It holds thirteen unmarked graves, and no record survives of who is in them.

The test everyone repeats is simple. Count them and you get thirteen. Turn and count them backwards and one is gone. A competing and more prosaic explanation has circulated for years, that what people are counting is the remnant of an old limestone walkway rather than graves at all. That version can at least be checked: photographs of the cemetery taken in the early 1930s are held at the Huntington library.

Two other claims attach to the site. One particular grave is said to glow at night, visible from the road as you drive past. And visitors have described an old and ragged man they take for the caretaker. The listing appeared twice for years, once under Wells County and once under Warren, which a correction in January 2006 sorted out.

FAQ

Where is Batson Cemetery, the Thirteen Graves located?

Batson Cemetery, the Thirteen Graves is in Indiana, United States.