When you're driving through Cuttingsville, a village in Shrewsbury, you can't help but notice the huge mausoleum on the side of the road. To make this site even creepier, there is a life-sized statue of a man outside the tomb who appears anguished. When the light hits this stone man just right, it will chill you to the bone. Are you ready to hear the story behind this roadside mausoleum in VT?
Along Route 103 in Cuttingsville you'll find the Laurel Glen Cemetery.
Standing tall is an ornate mausoleum built by a local tanning magnate John Porter Bowman.
The mausoleum was built to hold Porter's daughters and wife.
His first daughter, Addie, died when she was a few months old. His second daughter, Ella, died when she was 19 and his wife passed away just a few months later.
The crown jewel here is the life sized sculpture of himself he had created to watch over his family.
In his hands he holds a key to the family tomb, as well as a mourning cloak, gloves and a funeral wreath.
The look of despair clearly etched on his face.
The mausoleum took a year to create and is made of 750 tons of granite and 50 tons of marble. It took 100 men to construct and cost a whopping $75,000, which was a fortune back in 1880.
About a year after the mausoleum was built, construction started on the grand home across the street which was called Laurel Hall.
Porter built this as a summer home across from the cemetery and later retired here.
An adamant believer in reincarnation, he left money in his will to have the house ready and waiting for their return after his death in 1891.
$50,000 was left with the instructions for upkeep to the mausoleum and the house.
Along with opening the mausoleum for tours, clocks were to be wound, fires lit, and hot meals waiting.
The funds for upkeep dried up in 1953 and many of the home's furnishings were sold at auction.
And after that... strange things started to occur.
Those who occupied Laurel Hall after 1953 claim that the house is haunted.
Footsteps, noises and lights flickering are among the common claims, while others have heard the cries from an infant, although none had ever lived there. The mausoleum also has chilling accounts of strange occurrences there at night. Perhaps John Porter Bowman came back from the dead after all...
This roadside mausoleum in VT is one of many places that are said to be haunted. Click here to check out the crazy story behind this haunted restaurant in Vermont.
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