The Haunting of Ceely Rose in Pleasant Valley

Kelleigh Dotson, Yahoo Contributor Network
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The Pleasant Valley located in Richland County, Ohio is a small quiet community that sits in a picturesque rural area. With its rolling hills and softly flowing streams, it is hard to believe that a horrendous crime had been committed here more than a century ago. A crime that to this day still haunt the Pleasant Valley, the people that live there and the many visitors that come through. To this day, the victims and the perpetrator still haunt the Pleasant Valley area.

It all started in one cold July day of 1896, when a young girl in her 20's decided she was going to kill all three members of her family. Her name was Celia Rose, but better known to the people in Pleasant Valley as Ceely, she was a simple girl who was very backwards and immature. The story goes that Ceely fell in love with the neighbor boy, whose name was Guy Berry, although Guy did not feel the same way about her, he was always nice towards her. Guy's family not liking that Ceely was hanging around there boy, went to Ceely's dad David and told him to keep his daughter at home and away from their son Guy. David, Ceely's dad warned her to stay away from Guy and this angered Ceely that they were keeping her away from her love, whom she had told her friends she was going to marry. In revenge to get even with them, she decided that you would slowly poison them and then she would be free to marry Guy. Ceely bought rat poison and the next morning she added it to their breakfast. Slowly the Rose family became ill, Walter the oldest and son of the family, went to town to get the doctor. Once he returned with the Doctor Walter became even sicker and he too ended up very ill. David and Walter soon died within days, but her mother Rebecca seemed to get better, Rebecca soon figured out what Ceely had done, and in order to protect her backwards daughter, she decided they would leave town. Ceely did not like this idea, because that meant she could not be with Guy. Ceely decided the only option was to poison her mother. Her mother soon after mysteriously died just like the rest of the family.

The law unable to determine what had happened to the Rose family, but sure that the young girl Ceely had something to do with the deaths of her family, decided that the only way to convict Ceely was with a confession. With the help of one of Ceely's friends, Ceely confessed that she was responsible for her families death and told her how she had poisoned there breakfast. Soon after, they arrested Ceely and put her on trial. The jury found Ceely guilty by reason of insanity and she became ward of the state, it was determined that she would be sent to the Toledo Asylum where she remained until 1915, when she was transferred to the Lima State Hospital. There she stayed until her death in 1934; the body of Ceely's is buried at the Lima Hospitals graveyard. The rest of the Rose family are buried at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Lucas, Ohio. Guy Berry with whom she was so deeply in love with is also buried at this same cemetery.

Ceely's house still stands today, and currently owned by Malabar Farms State Park. Some say that they think Ceely still has an attachment to her old home and that is why on a night of a full moon you can often see Ceely's spirit peering out of the window. In addition, on some nights people have reported to see Ceely walking around on the grounds of her old house, perhaps she is still looking for her long lost love Guy Berry.

People claim that the barn at Malabar Farms is haunted; part of Ceely's family mill had been purchased and torn down. The beams in the old mill where then used in the construction of the Malabar Farm barn, and people have claimed of ghostly haunting going on there too. One such story is that during a rehearsal for the Ceely Rose play, one of the stage lights during the scene of where Ceely is killing her mother would continuously flicker on and off throughout that scene. After the scene was over the light went back to normal.

The Pleasant Valley Cemetery is another haunted site in the Pleasant Valley area, most likely by the Rose family that was so brutally murdered, or maybe the ghost of Ceely roams the cemetery grounds keeping guard over Guy Berry's grave. No matter whom the ghost maybe, it has been reported that if you take a picture in the cemetery, you will see orbs floating in the background.

If your are ever in the Pleasant Valley area drop by and check out Malabar Farm State park, or if you're in the area around October, why not check out The Ceely Rose play that is held in the Malabar Farm barn, play consists of a dinner and a hayride that takes you past Ceely's home and to the cemetery. Do not forget your camera because maybe you too will witness your own ghostly haunts.

Pleasant Valley Cemetery is located on Pleasant Valley Road, just west of Stout Road, outside Lucas, Ohio (Monroe Township, Richland County). The coordinates are 40° 39' 33.26" N, 82° 24' 13.44" W. 

Pleasant Valley Cemetery is also known as the Lutheran Cemetery. There are many old gravestones, are most are in good condition. The cemetery is very well maintained. 

Pleasant Valley Cemetery is supposedly haunted. Many of people capture orbs or strange shapes on film, but I didn't. The cemetery is haunted by the Rose family. In 1896 Ceely Rose murdered her mother, father, and brother. Her family is buried at this cemetery. 

A little more information on the story behind the haunting: Ceely Rose and her family lived in a house on the grounds of Malabar Farm State Park. Ceely Rose had a huge crush on a local boy named Guy Berry. Guy, however, did not feel the same about Ceely. Ceely was so in love with Guy that she told her family, friends (in fact, anyone who would listen!) that she was engaged to him. Guy was afraid that he'd hurt Ceely's feelings if he told her he had no intention of marrying her, so instead he lied and told her that they could never get married because her family did not approve of him. That made Ceely furious, she couldn't believe her family would keep her from her true love. So she decided to soak flypaper in water and then pour the arsenic-laced water on the cottage cheese she served them. Within three short months her parents and brother died. Guy left town for several years, he was afraid what Ceely might do to him if she ever found out the truth. Some of her neighbors eventually got her to confess to the murder. She was locked away in a mental hospital in Lima, Ohio for the rest of her life.

Read here: http://www.graveaddiction.com/plvalley.html