December 20, 2005

The Witchcraft Connection: Metaphysical Investigations into the Paranormal

Investigation: Primrose Road - Adams St. Cemetery
By Marcus Foxglove Griffin

Start Date: September 13th 2005. Start Place, Primrose Road, South Bend, Indiana

The tale of Primrose Road is a strange and intriguing one. It is apparent that story after story have blanketed the true origin of this urban legend, and that these stories have masked any factual information concerning real events or encounters. Be that as it may, let's take a look at some of the things that are said to occur on Primrose Road. 

One of the strangest parts of the legend states that if you drive down Primrose Road at less than twenty miles an hour your tires will be slashed. It is said that if you travel over thirty miles an hour, your vehicle will simply die. In either case, you will have to walk to get help. Cell phones are said to be useless as you will be unable to get any signal whatsoever. It is stated that while you are walking you will hear unearthly sounds and that a ghost will appear telling you to go back to your car because there is danger ahead. Another part of the legend states that while you are walking down Primrose Road a phantom farmhouse will appear, but that it won’t appear long enough for you to investigate. It is also rumored that occult rituals have been performed in the area, and that during one of these rituals a woman was sacrificed and her body was deposited in a nearby lake. Witnesses claim to have seen the ghost of the woman reliving the ritual on the anniversary of the night she was sacrificed. It is also reported that near the lake where her body was left that an overpowering sense of sadness can be felt. 

Adam Street Cemetery ties in with Primrose Road, as it is only a few blocks away and is said to have ghostly happenings of its own. Although not nearly as intriguing as the legend of Primrose, Adams Street Cemetery is said to be haunted, and that strange lights and unearthly mists can be seen emanating from the cemetery after nightfall. 

Even though much of the legend of Primrose Road seemed unlikely, the reports of occult rituals being performed in the area was enough to draw the interest of team W.I.S.P. It was decided that Primrose Road and Adams Street Cemetery warranted a formal investigation. 

Since Primrose Road is less than a thirty-minute drive from our base of operations, it was decided that a preliminary scouting-out of the area be performed during daylight hours to assess the lay of the land. Our resident navigator Becca mapped out our course, and with digital camera in hand, we headed to South Bend, Indiana and Primrose Road. We arrived at our destination without incident, but as I turned the van onto Primrose Road, I was immediately disturbed by what I was seeing; Instead of the creepy stretch of haunted road the legend promised, the entire Primrose area was suburban hell. My immediate reaction was that we were on the wrong road, but my teammates encouraged me to drive on. A mile or so down the road, the crowed neighborhoods began to thin, and then disappeared altogether. It was at that point that Primrose’s paved surface changed to a dirt road surrounded by a tunnel-like canopy of trees; a tunnel that was creepy enough even in the daylight. It was at that point that Becca and Sampsun looked at their cell-phones and the legend of Primrose Road began to come to life…

Click here to read part two...

Marcus Foxglove Griffin has been a student and teacher of the occult for over twenty years and is the creator and lead investigator for Witches In Search of the Paranormal (WISP). He is High Priest for the Temple of Aradia located in northern Indiana and teacher in the temple’s school. Under the penname Lord Foxglove, he is the author of Advancing the Witches’ Craft (New Page Books, 2005) and numerous articles in the areas of Witchcraft and metaphysics. "The Witchcraft Connection" is Marcus Foxglove Griffin's monthly column on the metaphysical and paranormal.