The Alma Cemetery is haunted for two reasons. The first reason is the people who are buried there and refuse to leave. Pictures taken during the night—which is the best time to visit—have been unbelievable, capturing orbs and mist figures.
The second reason is the legend of the Devil’s Chair. According to the story, in the 1800s, an old, mean farmer owned the land that is now the cemetery. Around the same time, the town of Alma was being built. Town officials repeatedly tried to get him to sell his land so they could use it for the new town cemetery, but he kept refusing. One day, while he was getting water at his well, someone came up from behind and pushed him in.
About a week later, town officials visited the farm to try to convince him to sell again, and one of them noticed a smell coming from the well. The sheriff dismissed it as nothing and ordered the well to be boarded up, locked, and kept quiet. Consequently, the farmer’s land became the town’s cemetery.
In the 1980s, a group of teens went out to the cemetery to see if they could spot the ghost of the old man. One teen dared another to sit on top of the closed well. He did as he was dared, but suddenly the group heard a sound behind them. They turned to see what it was, but nothing was there. When they turned back around, their friend was gone. Thinking he was playing a joke, they left and figured they would see him the next day. However, the teen was never seen again.
Over the years, there have been other stories of people sitting on the Devil’s Chair and disappearing. Some believe it is the farmer reaching through the old, rotted, and broken boards to get revenge on the town that took his land. Locals call it the Devil’s Chair because the man was evil when he was alive and remains evil after death.
