Jon Solo Sebastian 08/02/2024:

One late evening, two friends on a camping trip sit in front of a bonfire trying to stay warm as they sip on their spiked coffee.

Fred: “Have you heard the tale about Kate Blood?”

Daphne: “Kate… Blood?”

The crackling of the flames in the poorly constructed bonfire isn’t loud enough to mask Daphne’s gulp, or the rustling of her sweater as she shivers.

Fred: “I know, her name screams horror story, right? But get this, her story, while tragic, is not the big screen breakout movie of the year.

Daphne: “But she lived here?”

Fred: “Yeah, actually, if we head across that field, we can walk right up to her gravesite in Riverside Cemetery.”

With a little convincing, Daphne agrees to accompany Fred to Riverside Cemetery with nothing more than a flashlight and a phone. They reach Kate Blood’s gravesite and Daphne freezes in her tracks.

Shining the flashlight in every direction and breathing heavily, she’s too frightened to speak, but asks, “Why is her gravestone over here by itself?”

Rustling in the woods from behind startles the two of them. Daphne jumps and reaches for Fred’s hand and notices he was already grabbing for hers. She looks into his eyes and is both relieved and terrified to see he is just as frightened as she is. They slowly turn and aim their flashlights in the direction where the noise came from, but nothing is there. When they turn back toward the gravestone, a woman jumps out from behind it and shouts, “Because I’m a witch!”

Daphne screams just as multiple flashlights turn on, and laughter breaks out. Their friends who were supposedly not arriving until tomorrow all laugh, and then approach the terrified but now relieved Daphne. The group then investigates the grave site before heading back to camp.

This is just one example of a ghost story about Kate Blood that might take place on a night of camping. The truth is, Kate Blood was not a witch—that we know of, or can prove. Like Daphne in the story above pointed out, her gravestone is all alone, which is likely part of why these stories started back in the 1980’s. It is strange for it to be all alone up there, and especially stranger because it’s also the burial location of her husband and his second wife.

Who is Kate Blood?

Kate Blood is the daughter of Henry Blood, the pioneer of Appleton, Wisconsin. She was married to George Miller, the publisher for Appleton Post, and they reportedly had two children. It is said she lost one of the children at a young age, and became sick with tuberculosis shortly after. From there she went south to stay with some family, leaving her other child and husband behind. Sadly, when she returned to Appleton, it was inside a wooden box. She passed away at 23 years old. This is likely the true tale of Kate Blood. Does it explain why some claim to have touched her gravestone finding it to be warmer than other gravestones, or why some visitors have seen blood dripping down the front of her gravestone? No explanation for those stories other than they are more than likely fictitious.

The Kate Blood Folktales

I opened this piece teasing she was a witch because that is one of the tales. People say she was a witch who murdered her husband and children with an axe. If you look at the image of the gravesite, that could give weight to the story considering her gravestone is alone, but then surrounded by three other smaller stones, but her husband’s name is on her stone as well. Another tale is that she murdered her husband and children, and then committed suicide. Lastly, “another telling holds that the “true story” is that her husband killed her in a drunken rage.” It is said city officials placed her gravesite away from others so her name wouldn’t disgrace the town.

If there’s anything we learn from history, and honestly, even the present time these days, is that we push away things we do not understand or things we fear. Is it possible that back then something did happen that caused her death in an unscrupulous manner and it was sort of shoved under the rug so to speak? Sadly we may never know the truth, but what I’ve learned is there are people out there trying to clear her name, and it is said she was very well liked before she passed away.

I didn’t write this piece to debunk any of the folktales. I discovered her name while researching the lady in white and at first, I had thought there was a connection. There isn’t, but her name, and the lore behind it is fascinating, and I wanted to learn more about her. Who’s to say one of the tales isn’t actually true? What do you think?