In the early 1990s, two boys sliding down a gravel bank in Hopeville dislodged two skulls.
In total, 29 graves were found in the unmarked Walton family cemetery. This family had lived only two miles from the Rays’ farm about 50 years earlier in the early 18th century.
Upon archaeological exhumation, something strange was discovered inside the coffin marked “JB-55.” – a coffin that was tampered with
It was determined that one of the bodies, which had been decimated by consumption, apparently had been dug up after it was buried somewhere between 1810 and 1820. The bones were probably rearranged in 5 up to 10 years after the initial burial.
His skull had been severed from the spine, turned to face downward and placed in the chest. The two femur bones were positioned in the form of an “X” across the chest just below the skull – skull and crossbones.
Other Walton family members had also evidently died from consumption so it`s clear that a specific ritual was performed.
Researchers believe JB’s bones were rearranged in a desperate effort to prevent him – or stop him – from escaping his grave to feed upon stricken family members.
JB is the only case offering visual confirmation of the practice.
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