The "Bleeding" Mausoleum - Cleveland, TN

The Craigmiles famly is an important one in Cleveland, TN.

In 1864, tragedy befell the family when young Nina Craigmiles went on a buggy ride with her grandfather. She was steering the horses when she lost control of them. The horses ran into an oncoming train, killing Nina instantly.

Nina's father John Craigmiles arranged with the local Episcopal congregation to build them a church building in her honor along with this mausoleum at the rear of the property.

The Mausoleum was built using fancy Italian marble. The walls are four feet thick and the entire memorial is 37 feet tall.The marble spire is topped with a cross. On the inside is a marble sarcophagus stnding in the center, surrounded by six shelves.

Tragedy continued to befall the rest of the family. First, another child was born but died very soon after childbirth. Then, John Cragmiles fell on an icy street and soon thereafter died of blood poisoning. Finally, the mom Adelia was killed when she was hit by a car. Each family member was buried here.

Now, for the "bleeding" part.

Townspeople soon began to notice after Nina was buried here that a red substance over time begane to eminate from the marble. It would be cleaned only to reappear later. According to legend, after each death in the family, the redness got more intense. Some of those red streaks can be seen in the picture, but you probably can't see it here unless you click on the image and view it large size.

There is a logical explanaiton, albeit boring if you like the haunted tales. Italian marble can contain small traces of lead, and lead will turn red over time when exposed to the elements.