12th Avenue Vampire – Toowong Queensland
 |
| Statue at Toowong Cemetery - © Allen Tiller 2005 |
Only two cemeteries in the world are alleged to have a vampire that dwells amongst the graves, Highgate Cemetery in London, and
Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane.
It is said that a black shadow with razor-sharp teeth
drifts through the trees on 12th Avenue, a small road lined with
graves within the Toowong Cemetery.
Local legend has it
that two gravediggers were called upon to exhume a body; they were puzzled by
the softness of the ground, which appeared to have been recently disturbed.
Once they had dug down to the coffin, the men were astounded to find the nails
of the coffin had been pushed from the inside outward.
The gravediggers reluctantly removed the coffin lid. They found the woman inside had not decomposed, even after 20 years of internment. It is claimed on the two gravediggers, by far the braver of the two reached into the coffin and touched the face of the corpse. Her head is said to have rolled to one side upon his touch, and as it did, she smiled, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.
The gravediggers reluctantly removed the coffin lid. They found the woman inside had not decomposed, even after 20 years of internment. It is claimed on the two gravediggers, by far the braver of the two reached into the coffin and touched the face of the corpse. Her head is said to have rolled to one side upon his touch, and as it did, she smiled, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.
The gravediggers dumped the coffin back in the grave, backfilled it, and left never to return again.
 |
| Toowong cemetery - © Allen Tiller 2005 |
In more recent
retellings of the story, the Vampire has gained the name of “Lily”. Retellings
now also add an extra element of gore, with claims that her mouth was filled
with shark-like rows of teeth, and thick red gore spilled from her mouth as
she looked up at the gravediggers.
There have also been
reports of Lily the Vampire being seen during the day. One story claims that
she smiled at passers-by around midday one afternoon, revealing her rows of shiny
sharp teeth. The witnesses to this event fled the cemetery, only to find Lily
had somehow beaten them to the gates and now blocked their way out. Lily the
Vampire, then stepped aside gracefully and allowed the witnesses to pass
unharmed.
Have you experienced the Vampire of Toowong Cemetery? Let me know in the comments...
Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019
Bibliography
Oct. 28th, 2007, Hauntings and the Paranormal, (2007)
,https://hauntings.livejournal.com/528101.html
Toowong Cemetery, Abandoned Histories, (2013), http://abandonedhistories.blogspot.com/2013/05/toowong-cemetery.html
Hill, T, Brisbane’s Buried Secrets, Weekend Notes, (2012),
https://www.weekendnotes.com/brisbane-buried-secrets/
Schaumann, D, A Strange Thing Happened At Toowong Cemetery,
(20 Oct 2010) http://schaumann.com.au/2010/10/a-strange-thing-happened-at-toowong-cemetery/
Sweetman, K, Ghost stories are few and far between at
Toowong Cemetery, The Sunday Mail (QLD), ( 15 August 2015), https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/ghost-stories-are-few-and-far-between-at-toowong-cemetery/news-story/0f51bed5a100d0d3223889c5dbc518cc
‘Brisbane’s Necropolis’,
‘Black: Australian Dark Culture’. Magazine, Issue 1, (July 2008)
No comments:
Post a Comment