I had an experience once when out in the heavy woods. My Great Great Grandfather is buried in an old civil war cemetery that has not been kept up for years, About 5 miles out in the woods from the nearest maintained road. So - one fine day about 10 years ago I got the brilliant idea of cleaning it up. I headed out - alone - to the spot and started cutting down the trees and picking up trash. It started getting dark on me, but I had that "feeling" I was not alone. Well - I was alone actually, but it sure didn't feel like it. Last tree to cut (an old stump with suckers growing on it). I hit the suckers with my chain saw when there it was. A coiled up Copperhead snake in the center of the old stump (laying in the rotted out center). Instinct took hold and without thinking, I hit the thing with my chain saw. Well - I didn't even think about what would happen next. When I hit him with my saw, the blade grabbed hold of him and threw him right up into my chest. I didn't get bit - but talk about scaring the bejeebers out of me!!!! The snake was around 5 feet long and 2 inches wide.
I threw my stuff in my truck and headed home. When I went back out to finish things up (two weeks later), I brought a friend along. Sad part of it - I went back last year to visit the old grave and noticed someone had tried to dig up my Great Great Grandpa's grave. About a two foot hole in the center of his grave. My Grandfather told me (he is gone now) that his Great grand dad was buried in his Civil War uniform (which was the norm back then, as most people didn't have anything dressy to get buried in except maybe an old war uniform). His grave was predominantly marked with his old civil war outfit (he was a yank). I guess someone was thinking of getting to his old uniform or something. I filled it back in. Funny - My Great Great Grandfather on the other side of the family is also buried in the same cemetery and was a confederate. Also - lots of grave stones were broken, turned over, and missing. It's also really grown over again, lots of empty beer cans, drug paraphernalia, and other trash laying about. One marker had a pentagram spray painted on it. One note - back in those days, many graves were never marked or just had a rock to mark the spot. So - even if you think you are not detecting where their might be graves - you may be right on top of one. Lots of baby markers in those old grave yards too (back during the time when the pox and such things was rampet). I still get creepy feelings whenever I visit that grave yard. It's too far gone now to even think of cleaning back up again....and too creepy.
