White's Chapel is a small white wood-frame church in a very hilly and rural part of northwestern Jackson County, Indiana, near the little town of Spraytown. One afternoon I drove out to see if I could find it. Martha’s grave was near the front of the cemetery, by the road. It wasn’t a really old looking tombstone as I was expecting. It really wasn’t scary at all in the daylight. I wasn’t sure where to look to see Martha’s face, or just what it should look like, so I was disappointed to not see it. I did think to bring my camera, though, and photographed the tombstone. I got the photos back from the developer about a week later and didn’t notice anything unusual until I looked close at Martha’s tombstone. I was surprised to see, in the shadows on the side, near the top…..a face! It was kind of like a charcoal sketch, but it was definitely there, very distinct.
In the years since, I have made many trips out to Martha’s Grave. Now that I know where to look, I usually see her face. It is not always there, though. It also seems to change from time to time, sometimes happy, sometimes frowning. I never was brave enough to touch the face, though. Recently my teenage niece, Becky, has become interested in these tales, and I have taken her and some of her friends out to see Martha. One of her friends, Dusty, took another friend there last year. The following is what Dusty said happened that night.
While at the grave, looking at Martha’s face, Dusty's friend dared Dusty to touch it, so he did. On the drive home, they missed a curve and went off into a field. They got out of the car to check for damage. Not finding any, they got back in. As they were driving away, they noticed footprints going up the windshield of the car. Dusty tried the windshield wipers to clean them off, but they were still there. Dusty then wiped at them with his finger and found that the footprints were on the inside of the car!
I did not witness this event, but know Dusty pretty well, and I have no reason to not believe him.
