Re: Dawson cemetery River Baby
RIVER
Posted By: Conni McDaniel Hall (email) In Response To: Dawson cemetery River Baby (Conni McDaniel Hall)
Date: 11/2/2008 at 08:44:56
If anyone else has information and/or can verify the following, please let us know!
From Nunya Bidness:
Well I really think this is probably made up to scare people. I guess I'll tell you what I've been told, but I'm warning you...it sounds ridiculous! I was first taken out to "River Baby" as they all called it when I was a freshman in high school (1997). I played softball and all of the softball girls would take the freshman there to "initiate" them onto the team. There were three cars full of girls and on the way there they told us the story (like I said, probably made up.) First off, I don't know when the last time was that you were at that cemetery but when we used to go the house was still in tact. There was a house in the middle of the cornfield on the other side of the gravel road across from the cemetery. It got take down (I don't remember when exactly but I think it was after the year 2000 as we would continue to go there to take our friends and pass along the "story"). Anyway, they told us the story of an old farm couple that lived in the house (no idea who they were) and that the woman hung herself and the man shot himself. As the story goes, some time later there was a baby found in the creek near the cemetery and no one knows who the baby belonged to. The softball girls would say they heard it was the "odd" couples from the farmhouse and they "got rid" of the baby by putting it in the creek. So they said when the baby was found no one knew who it belonged to and the couple never talked to anyone so they assumed it was theirs. Since they didn't know who it belonged to they named it "River Baby."On our way there we, of course, didn't believe the story but were freaked out at the same time. They showed us the tombstone and then took us into the house which was half burnt down and very old. There was a room in the house, upstairs (though you couldn't go up the stairs as the staircase was so dilapidated). But the wall was knocked down so you could see the staircase wind up the wall and there was, what appeared to be, a blue velvet material around one of the walls. So the softball girls said they heard the baby was a boy and that was the room. This will also sound strange, but the blue wall looked untouched, almost new. And there was no way someone could have put something up as you were only able to peer into the area as there was a huge hole in the middle of the house from it being so old and having had a fire.
The entire concept of the story intrigued me and some of our other friends so we decided to go back in the day time to check everything out. We were only 14 at the time so I guess we kind of believed the story but at the same time we weren't sure. But you know how it is, you're young and something sounds intriguing or scary in a small town so you just go with it. Anyway, many of us continued to take friends there or other teammates for the "initiating" onto the team. We noticed every time we went there was a stack of pennies on the river baby tombstone. It didn't seem weird at first (I mean we had no idea why they were there but it still didn't' seem odd) but they were always there every time we went back. So one time we decided to remove the pennies and went back a week later and there were more pennies. We did this 3 or 4 times and every time we went the pennies would still be there. I have no idea what the significance of this is or if it was someone messing with us. But if you've gone there recently and seen pennies on the grave of River Baby let me know and I'll be sure to steer clear of it as that would be very eerie. (I haven't been there in probably 6 or 7 years). Anyway, like I said, I'm sure this story is completely fabricated but it was always fun to go there as young girls for something to do and to freak ourselves out.
Dallas Queries maintained by Conni McDaniel Hall.
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