HAUNTED MICHIGAN: The Stone Dog of Hillside Cemetery

Here’s a weird haunting that’s been going on for over 80 years.

The town of Plainwell is just north of Kalamazoo in Allegan County.

On November 1, 1938, a little boy was asked by his mother to fetch the mail from the mailbox. The boy went outside, followed by his dog. As the boy crossed the road the dog sat and waited for him to bring the mail. However, while crossing the road, he didn’t notice an oncoming car…and evidently, the driver of the car didn’t see the boy either. The boy was struck by the vehicle and died instantly.

The boy and his dog had been extremely close, as there weren’t many nearby children for the boy to make friends with. Whoever doesn’t believe animals grieve are very mistaken; this dog went into grieving and never perked up until the day he died.

The boy was buried in Hillside Cemetery. Even though there are numerous burials in the graveyard, the boy’s gravemarker isn’t too difficult to locate; it’s shaped in the figure of a dog.

As for the weirdness, the urban legend states that on every November 1 – the date of the boy’s death – the tombstone dog will rise, stand, stretch, turn back around, and return to his original position. This occurrence only happens on November 1 - the anniversary of the boy’s passing. And if for some reason you can’t locate the stone, once the sun sets you might hear the mournful whimpering of what sounds like a dog, emanating from somewhere within the grounds.

Hillside Cemetery is located on the corner of Allegan Street and 8^th Street, just east of Plainwell.

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