HGB Ep. 523 - Cedar Grove Mansion

Moment in Oddity - Owl Quidditch (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)

We all know the saying, 'If it's too good to be true then it probably isn't'. However, in this particular story it IS true. Around a year ago there was a video that went viral. Most of us know what a child's stick horse looks like because it's been known as a child's toy since the 16th century. Now-a-days, stick horses typically come with a full plush head and of course, the attached stick. Some people may argue that a plushie could be mistaken for a real animal, but most would suggest that if you think a plushie looks alive then you need glasses. As powerful as birds-of-prey eyes are, one would think that they would not make this same error. However, a Great Horned Owl did just that and may need its own pair of spectacles. Apparently, the flawed focus of the feathered friend thought a plushie child's stick horse was something he could consume. OR, he just knew how famous he would get by flying through the skies carrying the toy. Photos of the owl look very much like a witch flying on a broomstick or perhaps he's playing Quidditch. Either one in our books makes him AMAZING! Regardless, an owl flying around with a child's stick horse, certainly makes him odd.

This Month in History - First Publication of The Reader's Digest

In the month of February, on the 5th, in 1922, the first Reader's Digest magazine was published. The founders, DeWitt Wallace and his wife Lila created the condensed selection of articles that were of topical interest and entertainment news.  The magazine was pocket sized and appealed to readers of the time despite being rejected by many magazine publishers. Eventually Wallace began to create commissioned articles. He offered the articles to other publications and once they were published, Wallace would reprint them in Reader's Digest and pay the other magazine a 'reprinting' fee. Slowly the magazine began printing its original articles. Many editors disliked this practice by Wallace. The Digest was also proposed as an impartial journal but was sometimes denounced for the publishers' often conservative point of view. By the late 20th century, Reader's Digest was producing thirty-nine editions around the globe in fifteen different languages and is still a popular magazine today.

Cedar Grove Mansion (Suggested by: Amy Martinez)

The city of Vicksburg was indelibly marked by the Civil War. After it surrendered, rumors claimed that the Union pillaged the city. Many of the historic locations there have a spiritual residue because of that fact. One of these places is the Cedar Grove Inn. The inn was not only a residence, but it eventually served as a Civil War hospital and morgue and has had infant deaths and accidental shootings connected to it. The stories of haunting activity at this location are plentiful. Join us as we explore the history and hauntings of the Cedar Grove Inn! 

Vicksburg sits high on a series of bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River and was part of the Choctaw Nation until the United States purchased it in 1801. Before that, the French had built a fort here and were later attacked by the Natchez tribe that lived throughout the region. The Choctaw helped the French defeat the Natchez and that was why the Choctaw owned the land. The city of Vicksburg was founded in 1811 and incorporated in 1825. Methodist minister Newitt Vick founded a mission here and so the town was named for him. The Murrell Excitement took place in 1835 and this involved a mob of residents who were tired of the gambling element in their city. Some of these gamblers had shot and killed a local doctor, so they expelled all but five of the gamblers from Vicksburg. The five remaining gamblers were hanged. The Cedar Grove Mansion started out as a personal residence built by jeweler and banker John Alexander Klein. He was born in 1812 in Virginia and moved to Vicksburg in 1836. John married Elizabeth Bartley Day in 1842 and they had ten children. Four of them wouldn't make it into adulthood, two dying as infants. Klein had the three-story Greek Revival Mansion built in 1840 right after he met Elizabeth in New Orleans. When they married, she was sixteen and he was thirty. The couple traveled Europe for two years after marrying, buying furniture for their new home. As their family expanded, so too did the mansion. A south wing was added and then later, a north wing.

And then the Civil War started and Vicksburg would face the Siege of Vicksburg. Both sides of the war had their eyes on Vicksburg because of its strategic location along the Mississippi River. Jefferson Davis said of Vicksburg that it was "the nailhead that holds the South's two halves together." And Abraham Lincoln knew that taking Vicksburg was the key to winning. The campaign in Vicksburg began in 1862. The Battle of Vicksburg itself began on May 18, 1863 with the Union troops under General Grant. He initially tried to cross the Mississippi into rebel territory at Grand Gulf on April 29th, but they were repelled. The Union moved further south and eventually clashed with Confederate troops under General John Pemberton. The Confederates retreated to Vicksburg and the Union followed. Major General William Sherman was waiting just northeast of the city.

The Confederates had an early win and pushed back the Union, but the Union made another push two days later and they had a small victory. Interestingly, the major road used during both of these skirmishes was named Graveyard Road. General Grant was frustrated with the lack of Union success, so he opted to lay seige to Vicksburg. The rationing of supplies and food and constant bombardment from the Union, wore down Pemberton's troops. The residents of Vicksburg had to abandon their homes and seek refuge in crudely dug caves. This was true for the Klein's as well, which was a good thing because the house suffered damage during the shelling. A cannon ball is still lodged in the wall of the gentlemen's parlor.

General Grant had his men dig tunnels and set explosives under the Confederate works, which turned out to be a huge explosion that left behind a 12-foot deep crater. Lots of hand-to-hand combat followed, but the Confederates persisted. General Pemberton finally agreed to meet with Grant to discuss surrender, but makes no such agreement because Grant wanted it to be unconditional. Grant later reconsidered and offered parole to the Confederates and the siege ended on July 4, 1863. There were over 32,000 Confederate casualties to the 4,900 Union. The Klein's mansion was turned into a field headquarters and hospital to care for the wounded. The Klein family themselves had retreated to a home they had north of Vicksburg called Ballground Plantation. They were able to make this move before the siege because of an important connection. Elizabeth Klein was the niece of William Tecumseh Sherman. At the time, Elizabeth was pregnant with the couple's ninth child and her uncle told her to get out of town. As a show of thanks, that child was named William Tecumseh Sherman Klein. 

Controversy surrounded the Klein family as their neighbors saw them as Union sympathizers and they probably were as many of those neighbors fell on hard times after the war, but the Kleins came through just fine. Part of the reason they were able to keep their fortune is that they hid it in plain sight. They had a custom made piece of furniture that was actually a compartment safe. The Union had no idea that it wasn't just a piece of fancy furniture. This piece of furniture still sits in the dining room. John Klein was able to build four more homes in Vicksburg for his children: “The Corners” for Susan, “Bellevue” for George, “Floweree” for John Jr., and “Annabelle” for Madison. Three of those mansions still stand today. Tragedy struck for the Klein family in 1879, when fifteen-year-old Willie Klein - the one named for Sherman - was on the front porch with a loaded rifle and a  and the rifle got knocked over and the gun went off and Willie was shot in the chest. The Kleins never got over this death. Elizabeth wore black for the rest of her life and John was depressed for the next five years until his death in 1884. Elizabeth died in 1909. 

The Klein family held onto the mansion until 1919. The house was sold to the Tonnar family and they lived in it for seventeen years. The Podesta family were the next owners for fourteen years. In 1960, the Vicksburg Theater Guild stepped in because the mansion was facing demolition. They used the ballroom to put on plays, one of which was “Gold in the Hills,” which holds the world record for longest running show. The Guild also hosted tours of the house. By 1981, the house was launching into what it would become for the rest of its time and that was a hotel. The first inn keepers were the Kinsmans and then the Mackeys took over. The Small Family bought the property in 2003 and they ran it until 2018 when it was donated. In 2018, Mark Zipperer, who owned Pride Hospitality, bought the inn and closed the restaurant. He sold in 2020 to THEP Corporation, which was co-owned by Tommy Hughes who was a direct descendant of George Klein. Tommy shut down the B&B and started doing renovations. In 2022, the current owners, Harley Caldwell and Dr. Steven and Kendra Reed, bought the property and they made major renovation and reopened as The Inn at Cedar Grove. The inn offers River View Suites, Carriage House Rooms, Pool Cabanas and rooms in the mansion. One of those rooms is the General Grant's Suite, which still holds a bed that General Grant slept in for three days.

One of the more prominent spirits here is John Klein himself. This was his home that he loved and the gentlemen's parlor was his favorite space. he enjoyed sitting in a chair and enjoying his pipe. And that is what many people claim about the parlor, that they smell pipe smoke. Other activity here includes the apparitions of children, usually a young girl and an older boy, and the disembodied sounds of children and babies. Disembodied moaning is heard. And glasses go flying off shelves on their own. There is a bed that sometimes looks like someone is laying in it when no one is in it. The spirits of soldiers are seen around the inn as well.

Stefanie W wrote on TripAdvisor in 2014, "We stayed in the "Library Suite," which is a two-level suite. The top level was the original home-owner's library with a spiral staircase leading down to his wine-cellar. The wine-cellar was used as a morgue during the time that the Union army used the home as a hospital--and that is where the bed is. The private patio is a bit creepy, as it's boxed in with thick lattice and there is no light out there. It's also a bit mossy out there as well. I found the place to be exceptionally clean and well-maintained. The first thing I did when settled into our room was to open the book cases and man-handle the books, some dating back as far as 1829. This may have been the reason I received so much attention later in the night. After a few drinks in the bar and a very well-prepared meal in the restaurant, we turned in early. Two hours later, the fun began. I awoke to a very loud series of noises. It sounded like someone had busted into the room above us (the library). My mother, in the bed next to me, said she hadn't heard it, but it sounded to her like someone was humming in her ear. Nearly panic-stricken, my first thoughts were of the rational and explainable and I was sure I had left my purse upstairs, so I wanted to go see if someone had indeed busted into the room, but I was frozen in fear in the bed. There was a general feeling of uneasiness and an angry air about the room that night and I was afraid to put my feet on the floor and walk up the stairs. (it is important to note that I go looking for these things... I am the person who quickly jumps up to investigate the strange noise down the dark corridor... but that night, I felt real fear for the first time) After gathering my courage, I was able to go up and see that the door remained securely locked and nothing was out of place. The room still felt wrong, but it was late and we were tired, so we lay down and try to get back to sleep. That was when the non-existent mosquitoes began their attack. It felt as though I was being bitten all over and they kept buzzing in my ears to the point that I was smacking my ears so hard they rang. I itched all over, thinking I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Eventually the attack ceased and I was able to sleep for a few more hours. In the morning, there were no signs of there having been mosquitoes in the room and I had no bites. The next night, as darkness fell, we began to get a bit anxious about spending another night in the room. There were a few more couples staying in the house that night and we happily offered tours of our room, trying to make light of the experiences from the previous night. As we stood in the library, chatting with our fellow guests, someone or something whispered loudly in my ear. Nobody else heard it, I could clearly see everyone in the room and I couldn't quite make out what the voice had said. Nothing more out of the ordinary happened during our stay."

The former Cedar Grove chef said, "It was Christmas time and the entire banister in the hallway was covered with garland and ribbons. I came in that morning and I was told that I had left the front door wide open last night. I didn’t. I never do. I’m good about locking up. This exchange went back and forth a couple times until I suggested that we take a look at the security tapes. See, there’s a motion-activated security camera above each door, so I knew this would prove me right.We rewind the tape. Around 1am, the front door blasts open, then closes, then opens, closes about half way, opens again, then finally closes most of the way. The maintenance guy said that some wind must have blown it open and caused all that. I told him to look at that garland. It doesn’t move. There’s no wind. A lot of nights during winter, we won’t have any overnight guests. Even so, you’ll hear doors shut upstairs, children laughing, cold spots, and footsteps in the hallways pretty regularly. Especially in Room 6. The children’s room above the front desk. The ballroom is the worst. To me, it’s the most haunted place in there. The Podesta daughter shot herself in the head in there. Occasionally, you’ll hear gun shots, screams, and music. Always music. 2:30-3:30am is usually the most active time.

Many personal stories have been collected over the years from guests. Our listener Amy, who suggested this location, has been to this location and when she was there she smelled pipe smoke in the gentlemen's parlor. Her parents have been there as well and they heard a baby crying in the former nursery. Other guests have said, "One night, I heard a glass break in the bar area. Naturally, I wanted to go check it out. On the way, I heard a couple more break. One at a time. I assumed that the bartender had accidentally dropped them. As I walk in there, I notice the bartender standing far way from the bar and the last glass sliding off the shelf on its own." and "My husband and I were in the Grant Room and I walked to one of the large windows, which looks out on the front garden area. I stood there looking until I felt a finger run down my spine from my neck to my lower back. I jumped and turned expecting my husband to be standing there, but he was on the other side of the room."

"My husband and I stayed in 2002 and it was very scary. We stayed in the Victoria Suite. I woke up the first night with something scratching on the side of my bed. I thought that it was my husband’s arm under my head, but then I turned towards him and realized that he was on the other side of the bed. The next thing I remember is something pushing my arm as if trying to wake me up. I was too scared to open my eyes! In the morning, I asked the front desk if the place was haunted. They said that our suite was the old nursery and that “the children” always tried to wake up the “parent” on the right side of the bed. That night I was very tired and left my husband to relax on the rooftop. I went back to the suite and left the light on in the bathroom. He told me the next morning that there wasn’t any light on when he came to the room. While he was in the shower I heard a strange “clanging” sound over by the dresser. Turns out that the change my husband had thrown on the bureau rearranged itself in a line and all the pennies were turned face down."

"We knew the history of this home, being used as a hospital during the Civil war, and the basement being used as a morgue. The Lee Room had to have been part of that area as well, because it felt cold, thick and had a feeling of separation as well. Just on the other side of the wall in the Lee Room was the Library Suites sleeping area, which claims to be the morgue section, but rest assured, the Lee Room had seen its share too. I wasn’t the most comfortable in the lower area of the home, but that’s just me. One lady asked us where our little boy was. We told her we did not have kids. She said a little boy had just run in her room turned on and off the light and ran out. We asked the front desk and they said that there were no children staying on premises at the time."

"My husband and I went to the area for our forty first wedding anniversary. I have to say this place is very nice: it is lovely, and the food was wonderful. But there is “stuff” there. I felt it immediately when I went to our room to put our things away. I asked whatever it was to please leave us alone, as this was a celebration of our anniversary, and we wanted to enjoy it. I have to say, whatever it was did as I asked, and we were never frightened- but there were workers there scared to death, especially one girl who worked in the dining room, who was terrified of the stairs and the hallways. I was all over this house and took pictures with my cellphone, and got a heck of a surprise when I looked at them later. In one picture, you can just see the trailing hem of a ladie’s long dress. The picture was taken at daybreak, as I sat in the room with the cannon ball lodged in the wall. I did not get any feelings of dread or terror, but felt at times an atmosphere of quiet, gentle sadness."

"Sometime in the night I was laying on my right side. The bed cover was turned back. Under my left elbow that cover and sheet were tucked firmly. Something pulled the cover from under my left arm and I could feel the cover pull tight over my foot as it started to pull the cover back over my left shoulder and tuck it into my neck. I could sense a face very close to my face. I was fully awake, but I could not open my eyes. I think I was afraid to in anxiety of what may await. I could not speak. I was trying to say 'Don’t do this…don’t do this…don’t do this…' I finally regained my speech. As I protested loudly, an electric shock went through my body. Every hair on me was standing up. I knew with absolute certainty that something was in the room with me." 

Architectural Photographer Seth Parker wrote on his blog that his experiences at the inn were very tame, but that he did capture an interesting picture. He wrote, "On the surface, there’s not much to it, but looking in the mirror, there’s a figure that looks like it could be the form of a human in a gray shirt/sweater/coat (I was wearing a black t-shirt). This was a long exposure and I’m very familiar with cameras and how they work. It’s possible that someone was standing there when I snapped the photo, then moved to create the blur during the long exposure. I shoot architecture for a living, so I’m usually quite aware of when someone is in my shot; especially in reflections (because those are difficult to edit out). I never noticed anyone. Based on their positioning in the photo and the height of everything around it, my best guess is that the person was close to my height (6’4″). This person would have needed to be behind me and to my left. It could also be a number of other things. I would categorize it as mildly interesting over paranormal without more evidence to the contrary."

Here is that picture:

Seth had a bartender tell him the following story when he was staying there, "There are several buildings on the premises that house all 33 rooms. One building, close to the main house by the pool, sits near the parking area. There are two rooms in this building. Last night, the guests in one of those rooms called and complained about the guests in the adjoining room. They were being too loud. It sounded as if they were moving furniture in there and the TV volume was ridiculous. I had to let them know that there were no other guests in that building…..nor were there any guests on that side of the house closest to the building. Another time, I was outside and saw a man walking down the hill. That’s not a big deal, but something about where he came from and what he was wearing was just weird. So, I started watching him to make sure nothing suspicious was going on. He continued down the hill for a few seconds more and he simply disappeared. There’s nowhere to hide or disappear to. He was just gone."

There seems to be many different spirits in the inn ranging from the family that died here to the soldiers who came to their ends here as well. Is there residual energy reliving past events over and over? Are there restless spirits messing with guests and staff in an intelligent manner? Is Cedar Grove Mansion haunted? That is for you to decide!