The Massock Mausoleum stands in a small graveyard called the Lithuanian Liberty Cemetery, and it’s the stuff of legends. Locals tell of a Hatchet Man, a scary ghost who guards the cemetery, and the mausoleum door is said to remain warm and has been sealed closed since the 1960s when vandals stole a skull from it. In Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s The Complete Vampire Companion, she tells about a pale, thin apparition seen here at night. According to the book, after hearing about the sightings, a reporter poured holy water into the mausoleum’s vent, and consequently heard an eerie groaning sound come from the crypt. The area is reported to be closely patrolled by police.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- Peru Princeton Rd and Co Rd 3450 E
Spring Valley, IL
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 41.3389948130536, -89.18977069339292
- County:
- Bureau County, Illinois
- Nearest Towns:
- Spring Valley, IL (0.9 mi.)
Dalzell, IL (1.5 mi.)
Peru, IL (3.3 mi.)
Ladd, IL (3.4 mi.)
Seatonville, IL (4.8 mi.)
La Salle, IL (5.1 mi.)
Standard, IL (5.7 mi.)
Granville, IL (5.7 mi.)
Hollowayville, IL (5.8 mi.)
Mark, IL (6.0 mi.)
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I have driven by there at night,(It’s close to the road), and seeing it from a distance was a bit un-nerving
does anyone know if the gate is closed to get into the cemetery. im planning on a spirit box session and some other cool stuff trying to capture so cool footage
Did you ever go, if so what was your experience?
There is no gate.
I went there in October 2014 with 3 other friends and around midnight we heard this loud scream that echoed throughout the cemetery. I will never forget it. The photo was taken with a 30 second exposure around 11pm. Very small cemetery hard to see from the road but very creepy!
Are there police patrolling the Massock Mausoleum?
I was there this year in April, I think. There is no gate to get into it. Also the Mausoleum was not warm to the touch. I did not feel anything while I was there, Maybe I would have been better off going at night. I did take photos but did not capture anything usual
I live by the Massock Mausoleum and I go there all the time with friends and I have gone at night and there are holes around the Tomb and I have climbed on top and if you stick your hand in there it is warm. There was supposed gunshot holes where people that broke in a few years back tried to shoot their way out and I was on top of it and there wasn’t anything there. I have made a video exploring it you can check it out @Michaela Spandex. But for best results is to go at night.
did you guys see any signs of the hatchet man?
I have ancestors buried there. I have gone several times. The ground was really spongy….not wet, just spongy. It has a strange feeling to it. I don’t go often since I live several hours away. My great-grandfather’s headstone disappeared. I was driving home and happened to be near this location and decided to stop. It was dusk and it was around Halloween. I only stopped to see if the headstone had been found and returned. It had not been so I was heading back to my car. I heard a blood curdling scream come from the field next to the cemetery. I didn’t see anyone and didn’t wait around. I ran back to my car where my husband was waiting for me, listening to the radio. He said he didn’t hear anything. Needless to say, I have never returned there.
This isn’t a mausoleum at all. It is the ground’s upkeep shed with gardening equipment. There is no supernatural occurrences. Never had and never will be.Along with the cemetery it is private property and if caught on the land l, I will notify the police
C’mon, Mike. That isn’t a groundskeepers shed…and you know it. Jacob and Anton Massock are sealed in there, and have been since the ’60s. I remember reading about the theft of the skull, when I was around 10 yrs old. It was in the News-Tribune. If the “shed” is used to store upkeep tools, why doesn’t anyone seem to be doing any upkeep on the grounds? Why would a maintenance shed have the family name, and date it was first used on it? There has been a tree laying on the ground, to the West side…since early spring. Wouldn’t you think the “shed ” would have a chainsaw in it, for just that kind of problem? I drive by there all the time, and while I can’t claim to any supernatural occurrences…I know your claims about it being a shed…is pure BS. Yes, it is private property…but since it is not posted as no trespassing or the like…its likely that a daytime visitor would have no problem, as long as they weren’t there to vandalize. The police drive by there, on a regular basis, so I doubt your help would be needed.