In 1905, 18-year-old Grace Brown was working in a petticoat factory in Cortland, New York. There, she met the owner’s nephew, 22-year-old Chester Gillette. By Spring 1906, the two were an item. In May 1906, Grace, who was just a small town girl, told Chester that she was pregnant. He offered to help her by paying for an abortion, but she didn’t want that. She wanted Chester to marry her, and he said he would. However, he never proposed and Grace moved back to her family’s farm. Grace would write to Chester and in July, he told her to meet her at a hotel for a pre-honeymoon trip.
Excitedly, Grace met Chester and they boarded a train, which travelled for about a day to Big Moose Lake, where Chester signed the registry at the Covewood Lodge under the name Carl Grahm from Albany. The next day, the couple rented a rowboat and it was later found capsized. Grace’s body was pulled from the lake and there were bruises found on her forehead. Chester was found at another resort two days later and arrested. He claimed Grace committed suicide, but the prosecutors argued he beat his pregnant girlfriend in the head with a tennis racket and left her to drown. He was convicted of the murder and executed in 1908.
The lake, and the hotel where Grace and Chester stayed, are said to be haunted by the ghost of Grace Brown. There have been a number of people who have seen a ghostly apparition of a young woman. One story includes a rolling fog coming off the lake and standing there amongst the fog was the ghost of a young woman. All the people who have seen the ghost say there is a sense of uneasiness and sadness surrounding the spirit.
Another interesting aspect of the story is that Chester was only convicted on circumstantial evidence, yet he was executed for the crime. It’s said that the prison where he lived his last days is also haunted by his ghost.
Bahasa Indonesia:
Pada tahun 1905, Grace Brown, 18 tahun, bekerja pada pabrik rotan di Cortland, New York. Di tempat itu, ia bertemu dengan keponakan dari pemilik pabrik, Chester Gillette, 22 tahun. Menjelang musim semi 1906, keduanya menjadi dekat satu sama lain. Di bulan Mei 1906, Grace yang berasal dari kota kecil, mengatakan pada Chester bahwa dia hamil. Pria itu menawarkan sejumlah uang untuk aborsi, tetapi wanita itu menolak. Dia ingin Chester menikahinya, dan Chester menyanggupi. Tetapi pria itu tidak pernah melamar dan Grace pulang ke rumah pertanian keluarganya. Grace menulis surat pada Chester dan di bulan Juli, pria itu ingin menemui Grace di hotel sebagai rangkaian awal bulan madu mereka.
Dengan gembira, Grace menemui Chester dan mereka naik kereta api selama hampir sehari ke Danau Big Moose. Di tempat itu Chester mendaftarkan diri di penginapan Covewood dengan nama Grahm dari Albania. Hari berikutnya, pasangan itu menyewa perahu dayung dan pada akhirnya diketemukan terbalik. Jenasah Grace ditarik dari danau dan terdapat bekas memar pada dahinya. Chester ditemukan di bagian lain daerah itu dua hari kemudian dan ditangkap. Pria itu mengatakan bahwa Grace bunuh diri, tetapi jaksa membantahnya dan menuduhnya memukul kekasihnya yang hamil di kepala dengan raket tenes dan membiarkannya tenggelam. Dia terbukti melakukan pembunuhan dan dieksekusi pada tahun 1908.
Danau, hotel tempat Grace dan Chester tinggal dihantui oleh Grace Brown. Ada beberapa orang yang melihat hantu dalam rupa gadis muda. Salah satu cerita mengatakan datang kabut dari dari danau dan dalam kabut itu berdiri seorang wanita muda. Orang-orang yang melihat hantunya mengatakan hantu itu terlihat gelisah dan sedih
Hal yang menarik, Chester dihukum dengan bukti-bukti tidak langsung yang mengarah padanya. Dikatakan juga, bahwa penjara tempat Chester tinggal di saat akhir hidupnya juga menjadi angker.
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