The Legend Of Crying Mary At Battle Creek’s Oak Hill Cemetery
According to local legends, this statue in Oak Hill Cemetery, opened in 1844 and located in Battle Creek, cries every night.
According to Michigan's Other Side,
The legend of Crying Mary says that at the stroke of midnight on every Sunday, the statue cries. People have claimed to have seen and felt her tears. Some say she only cries at night and never during the day. The story has been circulating some say, since the 1940’s and continues on.
The statue is actually a Greek Goddess but over the years people began to associate it with the Virgin Mary and that's how it became Crying Mary.
Also, some say Johannes murdered her six children. The fact is that Johannes was a MAN who died in 1910. His wife's name was Ruth, She passed in 1925 and they only had two children. According to The Decker Journey, Lila, the oldest child, died of Scarlet fever. The unnamed child was most likely a stillbirth.
Now, the cemetery closes it's gates at sunset every night and not wanting to get arrested, we chose not to trespass to see if it actually cried at midnight. What we do believe is this, This is a bronze statue that will absorb heat from the sun very quickly. The head if the statue probably contains the least amount of metal so it will cool quicker and as a result, begin to attract condensation. As this happens, it will begin to run and look like tears.
That's my theory, What do you think? Tell us in the comments.