Greencastle Cemetery

The folklore of Greencastle Cemetery describes several recurring motifs. Visitors claim that when they come at night, the soil beside many of the gravestones looks freshly dug, as though a burial had just taken place, despite the cemetery being long inactive. Tombstones are said to move by themselves. The most distinctive figure in the lore is a young woman dressed in black with long dark hair, described as appearing to be between sixteen and eighteen years old, who is said to appear and talk to young children.

Paranormal researcher and author Chad Lewis — co-author of 'The Iowa Road Guide to Haunted Locations' (Unexplained Research, 2007) and a regular investigator of Iowa folklore — traveled to Greencastle Cemetery specifically to investigate the legend, framing the figure as a 'deadly witch' with a particular fondness for children. Lewis's fieldwork and the resulting video documentation (2022) represent an independent investigation by a named researcher, separate from the Shadowlands-aggregator ecosystem.

Visitors should note that this is a burial ground deserving of respect; the 'witch' framing is folklore embellishment rather than any documented history.