005 - Swan Point Cemetery Part 2

​We live in a world where often things are not what they appear? Things can look so innocent on the outside. But inside are hiding something much darker. This is something I learned at a young age during my time exploring Swan Point Cemetery. Mother Nature had cleverly hidden from most outsiders, a source of witchcraft and devil worship. But you would never have known it unless you were brave enough to enter what we called 'The Circle'.

I'm Tom Stewart and this is my paranormal story.

Without a doubt, my childhood was not a normal one. I witnessed things that most people never see in their lifetime. Things that many people pretend aren't real. Or simply just don't believe in at all. As a teenager, I was skeptical of everything I experienced. Yet I was curious at the same time. Paranormal activity, witchcraft, devil worshipping, weren't things I necessarily believed in. But I never automatically discounted them either. I just wanted to see for myself and base my beliefs on evidence. And my explorations of Swan Point Cemetery gave me many opportunities. One of the more infamous locations in Swan Point Cemetery not far from H.P. Lovecraft's grave is the Sprague tomb. It's a large family tomb built into the side of a hill. It's quite elaborate with a long white stone staircase leading up to a large heavy black wooden door with a white stone archway around it. A stone wall expands in both directions into the hill. It almost looks like a Roman temple. And above the door on top of the stone archway is the name SPRAGUE. On top of the hill directly above the tomb, once stood a grouping of very tall trees and bushes. A small stone circle was built in the ground and the trees and bushes were aligned with it purposely. The branches of the trees stretched out over the tops of the bushes, forming a large empty space inside. If you were to make your way through the bushes to the center, it was like entering a cave. The thick trees and bushes blocked out most of the sunlight which made it darker and cooler inside. But once inside you quickly realize this was all done by design. This empty space had many nicknames, but the one I always used was 'The Circle'.

The Sprague family who were laid to rest in this tomb were a prominent family in Rhode Island. Amasa Sprague owned a successful textile business and his brother, William Sprague The Third was an influential politician, having served as Governor of Rhode Island as well as a US Representative and a US Senator during the early to mid 1800s. Amasa's son William Sprague The Fourth followed in his uncle's footsteps, also becoming a politician. And he also served as Governor of Rhode Island and a US Senator as well. As the story is told, on New Year's Eve in 1843, Amasa Sprague was murdered while walking home to his mansion in Cranston, Rhode Island. It was the middle of the afternoon on a cold winter New England Day. Amasa had just finished tending to some chores on his farm. He was walking home through the snow on a commonly used footpath. Someone with a hunting rifle suddenly came up to him and shot him. He was found an hour later by one of his farmhands. Less than a mile from his home. Investigators determined that he was shot once in the wrist while attempting to get away from his murderer. A trail of blood was seen zigzagging in the snow for several yards leading up to where his body was found. He was overpowered by his attacker and eventually killed with a heavy object to the head, either a hatchet or a butcher knife. The murder was determined to be a crime of passion since no robbery was committed. Amasa was still wearing his expensive gold watch. The injuries to his head left him almost unrecognizable. He was struck in the head and face many times even after he was already dead. The community was frightened when word got out of this brutal murder. Everyone wanted to know who could do such a thing. Many people started pointing fingers at the Gordon family. The Gordons were an immigrant family from Ireland. Nicholas Gordon first arrived in Rhode Island 10 years earlier and he worked hard to start his own business, a successful Tavern in Cranston. He got a lot of business from the Irish immigrants who were working at Sprague's textile factory. Nicholas was doing so well for himself that he paid for the rest of his family to join him in America. First, his mother. And then his two younger brothers came to live with him, John and William Gordon. They were several years younger and had only been in America for six months when Sprague's murder happened. And the family had had several run-ins with Amasa Sprague over many months. Amasa was upset with the lack of production by his workers because they were all spending too much time getting drunk at Gordon's Tavern. So Amasa, with his family's political connections, had their liquor license revoked, driving Nicholas out of business. Several people testified that they had heard Nicholas vowing to get revenge on Amasa Sprague, which made him a primary suspect. His younger brothers were also implicated too because they were avid hunters and each owned rifles similar to the one that was used in the murder. Investigators had found broken rifle pieces at the scene of the crime. They also claimed that footprints in the snow seemed to point in the direction of the Gordon home. So all three men were arrested for the murder.

The Gordon trial is a historic one. There was a strong prejudice against Irish Catholics in Rhode Island at the time, and the judge instructed the jury in the case to give more weight to the prosecution than to the defendants "Because Irish are known to be liars". Nicholas was tried first, but he had an alibi. Many people witnessed seeing him at church at the time of the murder. Although most of those witnesses later recanted their testimony during the trial. But Nicholas was able to present his rifle, which was undamaged. His case ended with a hung jury, and he was eventually let go. William and John were tried next. William also was able to present his unbroken rifle as evidence, so he was found not guilty, which left John as the only suspect, but John couldn't find his rifle. He claimed it had gone missing. While the prosecutors and the jury believed he had disposed of the weapon to hide the evidence. John was found guilty of murder and hung for his crime on Valentine's Day 1845. Not long after, William admitted that it was he who had hid John's rifle. HJe showed it to investigators, and it also wasn't broken. No one could explain why he hid the rifle, perhaps to protect himself. Or maybe it was a different rifle and he was trying to clear his brother's name. Either way, it was clear that the state may or may not have killed an innocent man. It was the last time anyone in Rhode Island has ever been sentenced to death for a crime. Seven years after John Gordon was hung, Rhode Island became the first state to ban capital punishment. And in 2011, Governor Lincoln Chafee pardoned John Gordon. The case remains unsolved and is one that future lawyers and historians still study in colleges today.

It was my friend Freddie and his older half brother Kevin, who first introduced me to the history of the Spragues and 'The Circle'. Kevin was seven or eight years older than us in his 20s. They both came from a big family and Kevin was deeply involved in witchcraft and all things spiritual. He claimed it was because he's a Seventh Son. It wasn't uncommon to see him using Ouija boards, casting spells, or performing seances. He considered himself to be a male witch, a warlock. He was a source of much information as I discovered things in Swan Point Cemetery. And he was the one who showed me 'The Circle'. I couldn't believe I had never seen it before. I'd been all over that cemetery. I knew it like the back of my hand and it was right there in plain sight the whole time. One day we all jumped in Kevin's car and he took us to it. Kevin parked outside of the cemetery so that his car wouldn't raise suspicion with security. And then we walked casually to the tomb. It was Kevin, Freddy, myself and Kevin's dog Rambo. Rambo was a young German shepherd, maybe a year old or so. He was a very happy and playful dog and very obedient. Always by Kevin's side. But once we got to the Sprague tomb and we walked into The Circle, Rambo refused to follow. He was afraid to go in. Like he could sense something wasn't right. Instead he would just run around the circle on the outside of the bushes, barking and whining. As I ducked under the branches and pushed my way through the bushes, I was shocked at what I saw. It was dark and cold, like at least 20 degrees cooler than outside. There were several tall trees aligned in a circle along with the bushes. It made it feel like a cave in the middle. There were four tree trunks from very tall trees and a tree stump where a tree had once stood. It was obvious that the five trees had been placed this way on purpose. They lined up exactly with the five points of a pentagram that had been drawn on the ground using what looked to be burnt ashes. A pentagram is a five-pointed star like symbol that is used quite often in witchcraft and devil worship. And these trees formed that star perfectly. The tree trunks also had no bark on them from probably 6 or 7 feet down and there were hundreds of different carvings and symbols drawn into the trees. Being in the circle gave me a very uneasy feeling. It's hard to explain, but the air just felt different inside. Everything felt lighter yet heavier at the same time. There was an energy around us that I couldn't understand. Kevin explained that the Sprague family secretly practiced witchcraft and they purposely designed the circle so that others could quietly and secretly practice there as well. Unfortunately, there were some who like to use the circle for dark magic and devil worship, and quite often at night these people would be in the circle casting spells and holding rituals and security for the cemetery would have a difficult time keeping them out. This is why one of the trees was only a stump. The owners of the cemetery were so frustrated with the nighttime intruders that they got permission from the Sprague descendants to cut one of the trees down. I guess they figured if one of the points of the pentagram was removed then the circle would lose its energy and its appeal. But it didn't work. Kevin explained that those using the circle would just enlist one person to stand on the stump in a meditative state, forming that fifth important point.

We didn't visit the circle for long with Rambo running around and barking. Security was surely going to kick us out, but before leaving Kevin took us down the hill to the door of the Sprague tomb. It was a big black door. Old and wooden and heavy looking. And it was secured by two metal bars going across that were locked, each with padlocks. He told us that inside the tomb it was set up like a church. There were stained glass windows in the walls. And the Sprague family members were all laid to rest in the same positions that pews would be in at a church. And Amasa was at the front where the altar would be. It seemed a bit far fetched, but many years later I had the pleasure of investigating Sprague Mansion where the Sprague family lived and the caretaker of the mansion confirmed to me that this was all true. He'd been in that tomb and even showed me photos from inside. Confirming the legend that had intrigued me all those years. And I promise that in a future podcast, I'll tell you all about the Haunted Sprague Mansion and the family's history.

The day after I first visited The Circle, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I quickly became obsessed. I found myself going to it all the time. Sometimes with Freddy or with other friends, but many times alone. The energy inside The Circle had some sort of a spell over me. It was as if it was calling out to me. I would even sneak out of my house at night and walk all the way there just to visit. But I always felt safe doing it. And I always followed Kevin's one rule. He said always enter the circle from the eastern entrance. It had something to do with which side of the pentagram you were entering from. The good side was on the east and the bad side was on the West. And those were the only two ways, in or out. One afternoon, curiosity got the better of Me and I decided to enter through the West entrance. Right away, it felt different. It was like walking in there for the very first time. And suddenly I felt something strange on my chest was like a light burning sensation and it was coming from the cross I used to wear. I wasn't a religious person at all, but my grandmother was. And one year for my birthday she bought me a gold cross on a chain and asked me to always wear it and for a very long time I did. While I was in the circle that day, that cross was getting hot. I grabbed it with my hand. I just couldn't explain it, but there was heat coming from it. I slowly backed out the way I came in. And the cross slowly began to cool, but not before it left a small red mark on my chest, a minor burn and irritation that went away after a day or two. But I chose never to enter the circle that way again. Years later, as an adult, I continued to visit The Circle, especially when things in life weren't going well. I don't know. It had this way of making me feel better. I would enter and it was as if I could see all my problems from a different perspective Like they were someone else's problems. I would sit on that tree stump and just think to myself for a while. And suddenly the answers to all my questions would become easier to see. It was almost like having an out of body experience. The energy was positive and helpful and it truly got me through some rough times and led me to some very important decisions in my life.

To this day, I'm still drawn to The Circle from time to time. I probably visit once a year or so. Unfortunately though, it's gone. The trees, the bushes, all of it's gone. There were just too many incidents over the years between worshippers and security. The owners eventually got permission from the family to just remove all of it. The trees, The bushes, were all completely uprooted. There was no more pentagram, no more stump, no more energy either. All that remains there now is a tiny cement circle and a plane of grass. The tomb has been sealed up for good too. The big wooden door is now encased in a thick sheet of concrete, never to be opened again. I still visit though from time to time as if paying respects to an old friend. And even though the trees and bushes are all gone and the energy is no longer, I still make it a point to go into the circle. And I still enter from the east.

In my third and final podcast about Swan Point Cemetery, I'll take you into the spooky backwoods along the river and the witches circles that I accidentally found there one day. That's next week on My Paranormal Story. As I always say, please do not trespass at Swan Point Cemetery or any other location when investigating the paranormal, please obey all rules and laws and be respectful of the people both living and dead. My Paranormal Story is written, produced and narrated by me, Tom Stewart. Music from this episode, courtesy of Kevin Macleod at incompetech.com. My Paranormal Story is based on real life events experienced by me. So please subscribe or follow me for updates on Facebook or Instagram. Just search for My Paranormal Story. Please feel free to leave feedback or comments about any of my stories or if you want, tell me your story, I'd love to hear it. You can e-mail me at [email protected]. Thanks for listening. I'm Tom Stewart and this is My Paranormal Story.