When Cyril and I finally located the isolated cemetery, a stone's throw from the Connecticut border, we immediately realized that it was an ongoing destination for legend trippers. Aside from beer bottles and other debris, we noted that Laura's gravestone has been destroyed, stolen by vandals, or removed for safe keeping, because only the base of a stone can be seen in the small graveyard that is built on a embankment supported by a fieldstone wall. Word-of-mouth history has it that a man named Clark Sherman and his three wives, including Laura, are buried in this cemetery (Burrillville Historic Cemetery #1). According to the Rhode Island cemeteries database, this graveyard is indeed called the Sherman Lot and is supposed to contain four burials. The database notes, "This cemetery has been recorded but not checked." Where are the stones? Is Laura's restless spirit that of a jealous wife unwilling to accept interment with the other two wives of Clark Sherman?

Text © Dr. Michael Bell