This is Halloween, This is Halloween!

Happy Halloween ghost seeking friends!

SCGS decided that since it is that wonderful time of year and the best holiday by far, we were going to head to the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City by the campus of the University of Utah. While searching, we came across the headstone of a beautiful young woman by the name of Cleo Zaharias. She was of Greek decent and was only 20 years old at the time of death.

Upon further investigation in the Utah State Archives, this young woman's death certificate was found. Utah state law allows death certificates over 50 years old to be viewed by the public. They have death certificates as far back as 1905-1959. They also have available the burial and cemetery records of all cemeteries in the state. Since Cleo passed away in 1940, we were able to find out more about her. She was a housekeeper at the general hospital and died from Uremia, or kidney failure, due to mercury poisoning. The officials and doctors ruled her death a suicide. The image of her death certificate can be seen here.

At the bottom of the head stone it read "Lover of Music". At this point, one of the SCGS crew asked if anyone could hear a piano playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb." We were unable to debunk this experience because there are no houses around this portion of the cemetery and there were not electrical devices with this sound on it. Did Miss Cleo decide to pay us a visit on this Day of the Dead? You be the judge.

Halloween FUN

Spooktacular Times!A little Halloween trivia for you: Did you know that Snickers is the most popular treat? And one of the first things parents swipe from their kids treat buckets!

Another one for you: Did you know that 99% of all pumpkins grown are used for Jack-O-Lanterns at Halloween time. And over 2 billion dollars worth of candy is sold every year! That's a lot of Trick or Treating treats!

It's that awesome time of year again when we get to dress up in costumes, have our friends over and throw a party. Our yearly Halloween party was tonight. We had a great time with fun friends, ate some yummy food, grooved to some awesome tunes and played some interesting games. Thanks to all of you who came and partied with us!

Zombie Night Fun

We had a fabulous time with our Zombie Night…thanks to everyone who came out and joined us. We had some great prizes, really good food, and some AWESOME costumes.

Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming Halloween Bash on the 23^rd of October.

Zombie Party….

Our first annual Zombie Party is tomorrow night! We are going to have games, prizes, food, and of coarse ZOMBIE MOVIES….. Please join us for a good time!

Elmer Lewis Gray (Lilly's Husband)

She was married to Elmer Lewis Gray (same as her maiden name) and his obituary adds additional information about Lilly.

Elmer Lewis Gray, 83, 1216 Pacific Ave. (440 South) died in a Salt Lake hospital Saturday at 12:30 p.m. after a long illness. Born March 12, 1881, Butler, Mo. Married Lilly Zimmerman, 1955, Elko, Nev. She died, 1958. Retired butcher. Survivors: brother, William, Golden, Colo. Funeral, Wednesday, 10 a.m., 36 E. 7th South, where friends call hour prior to services. Burial, Salt Lake City Cemetery. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 3, 1964)

Lilly’s husband was a petty thief…..here is an application for pardon that he submitted to the Utah State Government’s Board of Pardons in March of 1947. (It is so bazaar and helps prove that he was not completely sane.)

Lilly Edith Gray Update

We came across some extraordinary investigation work done by Richelle Hawks….(She has been investigating the Lilly E. Gray mystery for some time now. We added the link to her site for anyone who wants to look further into the case.

One of the interesting items that Richelle uncovered was the actual death certificate for Lilly…. One will notice that the dates and spellings are different from what is on her headstone.

Here is a copy of her obituary…

Mrs. Lily [sic] Edith Gray, 78, 1216 Pacific Ave., Died Friday, 11:10 a.m., in a Salt Lake hospital* of natural causes. Born June 4, 1880, Canada. Salt Lake resident since 1950. Married to Elmer Lewis Gray, July 10, 1952, Elko, NV. Survivors: husband; several nieces and nephews.

*Salt Lake County General Hospital that once stood at 21st South and State Street in Salt Lake City.hews. (Deseret News for Nov. 15, 1958, p. B5.)

2010 Ghost Tours

Its time for the Local Salt Lake and Ogden Ghost Tours!

Salt Lake Tour

Guided by a professional Storyteller, you will travel by bus to the great "haunts" of the City and learn about the ghosts who dwell in the historic buildings and cemeteries. All Salt Lake City tours begin behind The Rio Grande Building at 300 S. 500 W. Tours last approximately 1.5 - 2 hours.

In 2010, tours will run every Friday and Saturday night in October. We recommend that you reserve your tickets well in advance, however, if you don't have a reservation and you would like to go on the tour, remaining seats will be sold on a first-come, First-served basis at the time of each tour! Please call 1-801-529-4497 for reservations.

Ogden Tour

Guided by a professional Storyteller, you will travel by bus to the great "haunts" of the City and learn about the ghosts who dwell in the historic buildings and cemeteries. All Ogden tours begin at the parking lot North of the Union Station Tours last approximately 1.5 - 2 hours.

In 2010, tours will run every Friday and Saturday night in October. We recommend that you reserve your tickets well in advance. however, if you don't have a reservation and you would like to go on the tour, remaining seats will be sold on a first-come, First-served basis at the time of each tour. Please call 1-801-604-1218 for reservations.

Adult $18

Student/Senior $15

Child/Group (10+) $12

Bring a canned good for the Utah Food Bank and receive $1 off regular ticket price!