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This is perhaps one of the strangest
tales in all of Utah. The Great Salt Lake covers more than 2300 square
miles in the northern region of Utah and is one of the world's saltiest
bodies of water. It is also a very shallow lake for its size, plunging
to depths of only 27 feet in its deepest parts. While these may be
the facts behind the lake... there is also a legend. It is a story
of a Salt Lake City gravedigger who was exiled to an island on the
lake for his ghoulish crimes. He disappeared on that island without
a trace. Although may claim that his ghost still walks today.....
His name was John Baptiste and he
was one of the first gravediggers ever employed in Salt Lake City.
He was also known to be a hard worker and punctual, always carrying
out his appointed duties at the city cemetery. John was a quiet
fellow though and had few friends, so most people never paid much
attention to him as he went about his work. About three years after
Baptiste went to work for the city, a man died in Salt Lake City
and was, of course, buried by the gravedigger in the |
local cemetery. A short time
later, the man's brother came to Utah from the east. He was not familiar
with the Mormon religion as his brother had been and wished to have his
sibling returned to the east to be buried in the family plot. His wish
was granted and the grave was uncovered. The casket was pried open and
the corpse inside was discovered to be nude and lying in the coffin face
down, as though it had been dumped there. Needless to say, the brother
was outraged and city official began an immediate investigation. The investigation
focused on John Baptiste and several men were assigned to keep him and
the cemetery under surveillance. Soon after another burial, Baptiste was
seen pushing a wheelbarrow from a nearby storage shed to a freshly opened
grave.
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Authorities stopped him and
found a pile of clothing hidden in the bushes. The corpse had been
removed from the grave, his clothing removed, and was now being
moved from the storage shed in the wheelbarrow. Baptiste was arrested
and his home was searched. His house was filled with clothing! He
had used some of it for drapes and furniture covers and in the cellar,
a large vat was placed for boiling the clothing of the dead.
The news spread and local citizens descended
on the cemetery to check on their deceased loved ones. Authorities
believed that he had stolen clothing from more than 350 corpses!
All of the clothing from Baptiste's home was taken to City hall
for identification by relatives. They also went to local pawn shops,
where they learned the gravedigger had sold large amounts of jewelry
for cash. |
And what became of Baptiste? He was tried and convicted
of grave robbery, was branded with a hot iron and exiled to an island
in the Great Salt Lake, northwest of the city. There has been some dispute
as to where he was sent... either barren Fremont Island or the larger
Antelope Island. Regardless, he was put ashore there, never to return
to Salt Lake City again.
But this was not the end.... A few weeks later,
lawmen returned to the island to check on the prisoner, only to discover
that he had vanished. A search discovered the remains of a fire and a
small shelter, but no Baptiste. Some believe that he may have taken his
own life and others that he built a raft and escaped, but no matter, he
was never heard from again..... or was he?
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It has been said that Baptiste
still haunts the shores and beaches of the lake today.
The stories claim that he has been
seen walking long the water's edge, clutching in his hands a bundle
of wet, rotted clothing. He also has a moan that shrieks loudly
along the shoreline in anguish.
The ghost is most often seen by tourists
visiting the island or locals boating on the lake.
The Great Salt Lake is located just northwest
of Salt Lake City. The ghost of John Baptiste is alleged to walk
the shore on the southern edge of the lake. |
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Our first challenge was to
get out to the island itself. The causeway that links the island
to the shore was out, forcing us to chose another means of travel.
We ended up buying a cheap raft from a local Army surplus store
and with our gear securely loaded we started out.
The trip out to the island took us almost
three hours. No real currents and a strong headwind took its toll.
However, the raft did work to our advantage as we were able to head
directly to the southern shore of the island, saving us a strenuous
hike from the roadway if we had driven.
We arrived at 4:00 and set up camp
about 100 yards off the shoreline. The plan was to head out the
next morning, enabling us plenty of time to search for any possible
activity. we searched the shoreline where the ghost is most often
report for several hours. We found nothing of interest during the
entire ghost hunt. one photograph taken by Carl seemed to have an
unusual |
object in it. However we were able to replicate
the photo. the white "orb-like" image in the photo is a reflection
of the flash off the water of the lake.
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Although this location
has a very cool story associated with it, there does not seem to
be much in the way of actual paranormal activity. We did not locate
a single EM field, even a man made one.
Several times during the night we
did hear very unusual shrieks but were able to identify those noises
as coming from some of the local wildlife, namely waterfowl.
Many of the stories seem to be variants,
told over and over in social situations that eventually gave rise
to an urban legend. |
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