A peculiar fence surrounds a grave in Marion, Kentucky, fueling eerie legends of witchcraft and revenge. But the real story of Mary Evelyn Ford is far more heartbreaking.

Urban Legends and Local Folklore

I'm one of those people who, if you say you have a ghost story, I'm going to sit down and listen. I love learning about tales of spooky legends and folklore as much as the next person.  I think it's fascinating to learn about local places that have a creepy lore surrounding them, because often that lore starts with a kernel of truth, but not always.

It's important to remember that urban legends are just that, legends.  The dictionary defines a legend as "a story coming down from the past, especially: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable."   Sometimes the ghost stories that people pass down year after year eventually take on a life of their own to the point that they are no longer recognizable.  This seems to be the case with a very popular grave in Kentucky.  

The Kentucky Grave With a Peculiar Fence Around It

Located in Marion, Kentucky is Pilot Knob Cemetery.  Let's be honest from the start, the name Pilot Knob Cemetery does have a bit of an eerie ring to it, so I can see where people would immediately feel intrigued about this particular cemetery.   In the cemetery, there is a grave that has a fence around it that has piqued people's curiosity for decades

Over the years, this grave has taken on a life of its own, as it now has its own creepy legend that surrounds it.  However, the legend is not true, and the real story behind this grave is tragic enough without the added pagentry.

The Kentucky Witch Child Legend is Completely False

The grave at the center of this legend is the grave of Mary Evelyn Ford, who passed away at the age of only five years old.  The legend says that Mary and her mother were believed to be witches by the local townsfolk and were burned to death.

According to the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society, the legend goes on to say that the fence around the grave was because people believed the little girl's spirit would return to take revenge, so she was buried in a steel-lined grave, and her grave was surrounded by a fence made of crosses so her spirit couldn't cross the gate. Obviously this entire story is made up, and categorically false.  The truth behind this grave isn't scary at all; in reality, it's a devastating story of a life that was cut way too short.

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The True Story of the Grave of Mary Evelyn Ford at Pilot Knob Cemetery

Mary was born in 1911 and died in 1916 shortly after her 5th birthday.  According to Find A Grave, she was the youngest of six children, and her cause of death is listed as peritonitis.  Peritonitis is inflammation of the tissue in your abdomen that can become deadly without treatment.

According to Find A Grave, her mother was Rebecca Ford, and she lived to be 85 years old and passed away in 1955, nearly 40 years after losing her youngest daughter. This proves the legend cannot be true.  The photo on Find A Grave is of Rebecca standing at her daughter's grave.  Below is a photo of little Mary's parents' grave, which is right next to hers.

I can't even imagine the heartache she must have felt after losing her youngest child.  As a parent myself, it makes me sick to my stomach, so my heart truly goes out to Rebecca, and I hope that somewhere she and Mary are together and both at peace.

Relatives of Mary Ford Speak Out

In 2009, the Crittenden Press interviewed Rita Riley, who is related to Mary Ford.  I believe Mary Ford was her great-aunt based on information in the article, and she talked about how the legend surrounding this grave has caused much heartache for her family. They just want to let their family member, who passed away tragically more than a century ago, be allowed to rest in peace.  You can read her full interview here.