St. James Episcopal Cemetery

This 1842 cemetery in downtown Marietta has Civil War history, ghostly legends, and some notable burials. It's a quiet place with more going on beneath the surface than it looks.

Founded in 1843 at the corner of Polk and Winn streets in Marietta, St. James Episcopal Cemetery holds some of Georgia's most unsettling legends. While the cemetery is perhaps best known as the final resting place of JonBenét Ramsey, its eeriest plot belongs to a woman named Mary Meinert, marked by a large marble statue of a woman cradling two infants.

Mary died of a lung ailment, likely tuberculosis, in 1898, leaving behind six children—including twin girls only four weeks old. But the legends surrounding her grave have grown far darker than her peaceful death would suggest. Those brave enough to venture through the graveyard at night claim to hear a woman weeping near the memorial. Some who've gotten close say the statue weeps tears of blood. Others hear a child's voice calling out "Mommy!"

Most disturbing of all: visitors insist the two babies in Mary's marble arms switch positions.

A local group of ghost hunters documented their experience in 2005—two camera batteries completely drained as they approached the statue, and all team members heard phantom footsteps behind them despite being alone. Local legend states that if you circle Mary's memorial three times on Halloween night and ask "Mary, Mary, how did your children die?" her ghost will appear.

The Scary-etta trolley tour includes a stop at St. James Cemetery, where guides share expanded versions of the Meinert legend—though whether anyone has successfully summoned Mary remains unconfirmed.