Marion Cemetery

Marion Cemetery is located at the northeast corner of Vernon Heights Boulevard and OH-423 in Marion, Ohio (Marion Township, Marion County). The coordinates are 40° 34' 31" N, 83° 7' 17" W.  The Marion Cemetery is huge! The oldest section is located on the north side of Vernon Heights Boulevard while the newer section is located on the south side, closest to the Harding Memorial. The cemetery is extremely well taken care of, only a few old gravestones have been broken over time.  Marion Cemetery is also supposedly haunted. Some believe it is haunted by Cleo, a gypsy queen. However, her gravestone is actually located across the street in Saint Mary's Cemetery. But don't be disappointed, there is yet another, more well known, haunting at this cemetery!  Marion Cemetery is home to the "Merchant Ball". This gravestone has received quite a bit of attention. The "Merchant Ball" is the gravestone for the Charles Merchant family. It has a large, granite sphere on top of it. The sphere is quite heavy, but it mysteriously rotates...about two inches every year. Some believe a restless spirit is moving it, while others try to find more rational explanations. However, no one really knows why it moves. It could be the result of changing temperatures causing the base of the gravestone to expand and contract, but what's so weird about it is that there are no deep scratches in the sphere. You'd think if it was moving, the stone-on-stone action would scratch the surface of the ball. Interesting stuff to think about!