History, Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder at Jamestown Community Library

Each year with the approach of fall, we here at Jamestown Community Library begin to see our patrons’ reading and viewing interests turn to the macabre. Folklore, horror, and crime stories take on renewed interest as the days get shorter and the nights cooler. Following the Jamestown Adult Book Club’s recent selection of Lincoln in the Bardo, a program featuring Dayton’s Woodland Cemetery in early October seemed to be just the ticket. Lincoln in the Bardo is set in the historic Oak Hill Cemetery of Washington, D.C. The novel centers on the ghost and eternal disposition of the recently passed Willie Lincoln, the young son of the president. While not everyone in our group liked the novel, the scenes set in the historic garden cemetery engendered a lively discussion of Victorian burials and funerary practices.

This October 1st, we look forward to History, Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder, presented by Angie Hoschouer, Manager of Development and Marketing for the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum. The event will focus on the stories behind some of the region’s most intriguing and infamous denizens—the criminals (and victims) for whom Woodland is a final resting place.

Angie was a seven-year volunteer before becoming employed at Woodland Cemetery working in several areas including marketing, historical research, and actor portrayal. She has an extensive background in genealogical research and has traced her biological family back to the 1700s in Ireland. She is a founding member of the Randolph Township Historical Society, a member of the Ohio Genealogical Society with status as a First Family of Ohio, First Family of Greene County, and a member of the Society of Civil War Families of Ohio.

So, if you’ve got an appetite for local history, true crime, or would enjoy some chillingly true cemetery tales, come and join us!

Woodland Cemetery also offers this program as a walking tour from May to October. For those of you who like to walk in a cemetery in the broad daylight, you can take the History, Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder tour on a Saturday morning. For those of you who like a full moon, you can take the tour on the nights the cemetery calls Moonlight Madness. And for those of you who like to walk the cemetery at night, they offer a Lantern Tour during the month of October. The Moonlight Madness tours are sold out but there are still tickets available for the Lantern Tours. The cemetery asks for a $5 donation for these on-site tours, which will go to the Woodland Arboretum Foundation that takes care of the arboretum, gardens, trees, and plantings in the cemetery. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Tours and Events page of the Woodland Cemetery website or going to bit.ly/Lanterntour.