The legend of octavia hatcher

One of the saddest Appalachian ghost stories is that of Octavia Hatcher. Mrs. Hatcher had just given birth to her first child, Jacob, when she came down with a mysterious illness in January of 1891. Her little boy died just a short time after being born, and locals believed that Octavia soon began suffering from depression. The depression evolved into something much worse- a coma-like state. The doctors eventually lost their battle with this disease and Octavia died on May 2 of that year, or so they believed. Within several days, many people in town began experiencing a similar illness and also drifted into a sleep-like state. The town's doctor soon realized his mistake in the diagnosis of Octavia, and it dawned on him that she had likely been buried alive.The doctor ordered her body to be exhumed, and she was dug up that day. Much to their horror, those who opened the casket discovered that she had obviously died a terrible death caused by asphyxiation. There were scratch marks in the casket lid where Octavia had tried to escape.

Mrs. Hatcher was re-interred in the same family plot. To this day, there are stories about a misty apparition around the grave. Local residents swear that they hear crying in the area near Octavia's grave site at night. Some say that it sounds like a kitten mewing, but no cats have ever been seen in the cemetery around her grave.