Welcome to Livermore

First off, Mods - Do your stuff! (This thread may be in the wrong place, apologies)

OK, with that out of the way, welcome to Livermore, Pennsylvania. A place relatively close to where I live, but still not quite in my back yard. I just thought I'd share with you the interesting history of this place which is also said to be extremely haunted.

If you look up Livermore, PA on Google you will find a lot of information about a flood that happened there in the early 1900's. The flood (The Great St. Patrick's Day Flood) wiped out a bridge and fourteen buildings. It is said to have caused at least one fatality. Source Which leads me to another landmark, which is closely related to that area, the Livermore Cemetery. The grave markers sits atop a hill, and is possibly the highest area of Livermore. The cemetery is also said to be the place where Night of the Living Dead was filmed, but was later proved to be wrong where as it was actually filmed in Evans City, Pennsylvania. Even without the cult horror movie being filmed there, it is still said to be extremely haunted.

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Which really led me to wonder, why is it so haunted? I didn't understand since the flood apparently only killed one person - What could have made Livermore so "haunted"? Well, I read a while back that it could have been caused by the need to move the graves from the original cemetery when the buildings and grounds were damaged by the floods. On top of that though...the real fun began. This is what grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into the fascinating place that is Livermore.

Being amused in the stories I'd heard so far, and having been there already...I needed to ask around and get as much info on the place as I could. Aside from the packs of wild dogs running loose through the surrounding woods, the cemetery being private property, and the guy who owns it will shoot at you if he sees you, I started getting some useful info. First off, it is rumored (then eventually confirmed) that large numbers of people go there to practice witchcraft (at least during October, but probably more often than that). There are tunnels that have been blasted shut which used to be paths through the hills for rail carts and minors in the late 1800's and early 1900's. As I said, they'd been blasted shut for safety purposes and gated so that no one could enter. Until, that is, someone cut one of the bars of the gate and people started going into this tunnel (as far back as possible until the rubble stopped them maybe fifty yards in) to perform witchcraft.

I always thought that was interesting, until I heard the mother load of all myths about the place. Sadly, that's exactly what it is...a myth. No one that I've found can actually prove this happened but for the same argument...nobody could disprove the claim either. Apparently, maybe a century (or longer) before the Great St. Patrick's Day Flood, a witch lived in the small town of Livermore. It was said that she was tried in Livermore, found guilty of witchcraft, then ultimately burnt at the stake. Before she died though, it is said that she cursed the area and every so often a major flood rips through the area and claims at least one person's life. The first flood that was a product of her curse wiped out that whole community (her original community which destroyed her), and to this day you can see the area where-out of the top of the water-sticks out the chimneys and even the belfry of an old church from that exact town.

Unfortunately, you probably won't find too much information on that witch incident online. I've looked around and never found too much, but if you ask around Livermore and Latrobe, PA...it's a somewhat popular myth and there are a TON of people who have been there. I've heard at least three stories about the place from people who have also explored there. I, too, have been there and witnessed a few weird happenings to share as well.

Website Explaining a bit about Livermore

Wikipedia Page for Livermore (explains some of the documented History, and the same link as the source link above)

Long List of Haunted Places (Livermore included) (crazy-long list of haunted places in PA. Livermore is listed under "L", instead of listing the County it's in)

So there you have it - Just some of what Livermore has to offer. I will include the stories I've heard about it in a post after this one. If you're in the area, I definitely suggest you check it out and since it's along a bike trail...You can bring a bike and just enjoy the view while looking for the sunken town.

IMPORTANT:
If you decide to visit the cemetery, it is private property. Enter and explore at your own risk. Also, the bike trails are closed at night...fines or worse are a possibility of caught at night. Also, there are wild packs of dogs running around the area.

reply to post by philosearcher


Very interesting read, wish I could vsit for myself

what kind of odd happening did you experiance?

Ok, so now for the few stories I've heard from some locals who took their chance there. I'll start off with the story from a guy I worked with. He said that his dad and a bunch of his friends (when they were in high school on the football team) took a "nerd" there and practically tortured the poor guy. Now, this claim might not be entirely plausible since it involves narcotics (not sure which ones) but that's kind of just a warning incase some flags start popping up that this story is fake. So, basically, they tied this guy naked to a tree and gave him some sort of drugs. When he was found the next day - He was so messed up that he had to go to the mental hospital and has never been released. He claimed he saw things that no one should ever have to see. Anything from full-bodied apparitions to glowing eyes, and hearing noises that sounded like they came straight from the mouth of Hell. Whether it's real or not - It's kind of creepy.

Second Story comes from another kid I worked with (roughly 24 years old) who claims to have relatively strong psychic powers. He had been there many times and each time he had something strange happen to him. First time, he crossed the train tracks (which you encounter right before the bike trail) and the flashlights he and the group he was with had went dead. All at the same time with fresh batteries. Another time he'd gone there, he felt someone grab his arm...but none of his friends did. There were actually markings on his arm from the force of the grab. He mentioned one time the car they were in when they tried to go there but it stalled right on the tracks and started several minutes later. They apparently heard a train coming, and saw a light from a train but nothing ever came. Finally, he said that at one point, him and his girlfriend went and as soon as they got to the bike trail and started walking it, a terrible feeling came over his girlfriend. She couldn't go any further, and as soon as they left the feeling went away.

Ok, so that was interesting. Then came a closer friend of mine (we'll call him Jeremy) who, big surprise here...I worked with for a few months, also with some psychic interests. We decided to finally go to the place and see what the big deal was. I was astonished at what I found. First off, I will go ahead and say that we couldn't find the tops of the houses coming out of the water. It's there though, I believe the bunch of people who claim they're there. Some other odd stuff happened though while we explored. First off, I kept hearing about every five hundred feet or so what sounded like a little girl saying "help." Secondly, he often claimed to sense someone following us. Now, his skill of psychic powers is wishy-washy, so that might have been a fluke, but still interesting.

Another time, when I went there with a different friend, we looked at the tunnel that was blasted shut. I was too, umm...shall I say..."hefty" to get in through the bars, but he got through and even standing outside I could feel a crazy strong energy resonating from inside. He said that he felt really uncomfortable inside. It was a strange thing to feel.

Then finally, I saved my weirdest story for last. This happened when I was walking the trails with Jeremy. We were walking along a bridge (which is part of the cycling path) and we decided to find a branch (each of us) that was about the same size and shape and toss it into the river below. No big deal, we found two almost identical branches and tossed them over the bridge. We tossed them over the same side and with about the same force used to throw each one. We moved on and walked another mile or two. On our way back we looked for our branches. One had floated downriver one way, and the other drifted downriver...THE OTHER WAY. Maybe I'm just not too smart when it comes to how rivers work...but the last time I checked...rivers flow one way. I still don't know what to think of this. It was awesome and kind of funny.

So those are my stories, and I have met people who claimed to see the buildings popping up out of the water. So, like I said...I do believe it's there but I couldn't find it myself.