West Branch State Park



The woods at this state park are haunted by a woman who was supposedly killed by fanatical townspeople outside Ravenna. She was accused of being a witch and was killed by being "pressed"--a method which involves laying a wooden slab on the accused and adding stones bit by bit until the body breaks and is crushed beneath the weight. Fittingly, her grave is marked by a mound of stones.

Now the accused witch roams the woods at West Branch. She is sighted from time to time, always clad in a flowing black gown and a black scarf. Over the years the stones on her grave have been scattered, but a layer still remains which cannot be disturbed.

A separate story is attached to the witch's grave, which once had the "As you are now so once was I," poem engraved on it. It used to be a rite of passage for local kids to drive out to the "Witch's Graveyard" at night and chip off a piece of the stone to take home as a souvenir. According to the story, a group went one night, and all but one of them took a piece of the stone. On their way home they died in a car accident at the intersection of 14 and 59--all but the one kid who protested and refused to take a piece of the stone. Ever since then, bad luck has followed anyone who dares to desecrate the witch's graveyard.

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