Text 3: The third text is about Stepps Cemetery also, but it was collected from a different informant. Larry says “Aw, there is a cemetery called Stepps Cemetery in Morgan Monroe State Forest which is famous for a for a lady who goes around looking for her child and the story is when they decided to turn that area of Monroe, Morgan County National Park they had to move a lady out of
the area which she didn’t want to go so they put…threaten to burn her out and when they set her house on fire she had to go back inside for the child… and when she went back for the child she was burned to death inside, so now people say that you can hear the child crying in the woods and that the old lady is looking for her, her child and all of a sudden you will hear a rocking chair rocking back and forth and the baby will be quiet. People say as you walk
around the cemetery you can hear such things as this.”
Context: At the time of the interview Larry Williams is 18 and male.
The informant Larry has lived in Central Indiana all his life, so he has heard many legends of the area. This interview was conducted outside on a starry night and was tape recorded. One other person was present at the time of the interview besides the collector. He heard this story and many others on a Halloween hay ride to Stepps Cemetery.
Source: Lorne Aubin
Legends
2nd/1983
Elise Withered