The Haunted Cauldron

Witch’s Ball

The cemetery on Myrtle Hill Road near Valley City in Medina County contains the Witch’s Ball, a large spherical gravestone to which many legends are attached.
Myrtle Hill Cemetery is located on the south side of Myrtle Hill Road, east of OH-252, outside Valley City, Ohio (Liverpool Township, Medina County).

Supposedly Mrs. Stoskopf poisoned her family’s well and killed her abusive husband and sons, then threw their bodies down the well. She spent her life in an asylum and was finally buried beneath the ball. More popular is the story that Stoskopf was a witch who practiced her craft out on Myrtle Hill Road. The story you hear most is that the townspeople put her to death when it was discovered that she was a witch and they buried her standing upright in the grave. Reason: if buried the traditional way, she’d resurrect and curse them all. This spherical tombstone is the focal point of much folklore and legend. They say that it remains the same temperature and that in the winter it is warm and in the summer it is cold. They also say that leaves and snow will not fall on or around the tombstone and at night the ball glows and a mist is sometimes seen surrounding the ball. Hmmmm???? I say Road Trip kids….

First and foremost, this is a great old cemetery perched up on rolling hills with well persevered old tombstones some dated from before the Civil War. This cemetery is well worth checking out no matter what legends and folklore is linked to it.

BIG question: Do I believe in the legend of the Witch’s Ball – I’d have to sadly say…. NO… and I’ll explain why shortly. Not to discredit other people’s very real experiences – I personally did not experience anything related to the Witch’s Ball other than having a few laughs with the kids. I can confirm that the ball was warm to the touch on the top (where the sun hit it) and bottom half of the ball was very cool to the touch (shadowed from the sun due to shape). Remember it’s a smooth, shinny round marble/granite ball…even my 8 year old son agreed rain, and snow and leaves would just slide off the smooth surface due to the shape. NOTE: The sun was high in the sky and it was a warm July afternoon – so cold in the summer??? I have to say that this myth is BUSTED.

I personally have to agree with the link between the local legends of the “Witches Ball” and the historical facts about Martha Wise, who did poison some of her family detailed in “The Maniac in the Bushes” by John Stark Bellamy’s – chapter 9 “Medina’s Not-So-Merry Widow” (additional information can be found HERE ) is really where the legend started. Martha wasn’t actually a witch, but she was quite insane when this tragic tale occured in the 1920′s. Many of her victims are said to be buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery. According to Bellamy, Martha Wise herself is buried at the Marysville prison. So who is really buried there? Some say it’s not even a women buried there but a man…. either way it is a really cool cemetery, interesting legend and an awesome looking tombstone. The kids and I enjoyed our mini adventure to Myrtle Hill Cemetery and seeing the nitrous Witch’s Ball

There are GREAT old tombstones throughout the older area of the cemetery….many oddly placed. If you are ever in the area of Myrtle Hill Cemetery, I do recommend checking it out. The Witch’s Ball is truly a unique old stone that definitely stands out among all the other stones in the cemetery.

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