Spirit resides in Gibson County cemetery

CEMETERY DOLLHOUSE – Near the back corner of Hope Hill Cemetery sits a dollhouse at the grave of 5-year-old Dorothy Marie Harvey. There are accounts of people seeing her spirit playing with dolls inside the house after sunset. The dollhouse was constructed on top of Dorothy Harvey’s grave as a memorial to her love of dolls. Inside are several dolls and stuffed animals that were placed inside from locals.

by Danny Wade, Ariel McRae & Tabitha Howell

Every town has its legends—some that strikes fear into the hearts of all those who hear it. Tennessee is home to many ghoulish tales such as the Bell Witch, the White Screamer and the Sensabaugh Tunnel to name a few. However, there is one ghostly story right here in our own backyard in Gibson County.

HOPE HILL CEMETERY – Hope Hill Cemetery is the site of a dollhouse constructed on Lillie Harvey’s grave, a tribute to her love of dolls.

A small, remote cemetery located out in the boonies of east Gibson County is said to be home of a little girl’s ghost who was buried there. Hope Hill Cemetery outside of Medina is where Dorothy Marie Harvey was laid to rest.

Stories and folklore of her death have been going around for years. There are several different tales of her tragic death, but one story is believed by many to be the most accurate.

It was 1931 during the height of the Great Depression when the Harvey family packed up the family and moved from Alabama. They were heading north where jobs were more abundant during that time in U.S. history. She was born February 4, 1926 and died June 1, 1931.

According to local folklore, the Harveys were making their way north when five-year-old Dorothy contracted measles and died. Being a poor family, she was buried in an unmarked grave in Hope Hill Cemetery.

Other versions of her death say she was killed when movers dropped a piano, which fell on her. Another account tells a different story of her being run over by a drunk driver. Yet another sinister version of her death was that she was sexually assaulted and beaten to death by an uncle.

BABY DOLL – Dorothy Harvey loved dolls and many of the townspeople laid dolls and stuffed animals on her grave.

One turn of events tells a somewhat different story. According to findagrave.com, a death certificate indicates Dorothy died in St. Louis, Mo. of pneumococcal septicemia, post Scarlet Fever and was returned to Tennessee for burial. The death certificate indicates her parents were William and Lillian Harvey. The certificate shows that the family was from Missouri, but had family in Tennessee.

No matter which version is accurate, they all speak of Dorothy’s love of dolls. When the locals learned of her tragic death, they helped the family bury their daughter. When the townsfolk learned of her love of dolls, they constructed a dollhouse at her gravesite.

This is where the creepy mystery continues. Over the decades there have been numerous sightings after sunset of little Dorothy’s spirit seen through the windows of the dollhouse, playing with her dolls. At some point in time, vandals broke into the cemetery and destroyed the haunted dollhouse. This did not set well with local townsfolk who once again banded together and built a new dollhouse that is still there today.

BUNNY RABBIT – This bunny rabbit is among several stuffed animals and dolls people have left for Dorothy Harvey.

A quick internet search uncovers many claims of people that have visited the dollhouse and returned with paranormal experiences. The most common are orbs or transparent balls of light energy, floating over the house, which indicates a spirit is near. Others claim to see fog or mist. There are also multiple accounts of cars going dead when nearing the cemetery, which legend claims is a paranormal entity draining the energy from the battery. However it is noted that the cemetery is closed at 6 p.m., so please do not try to test these claims.

Hope Hill Cemetery sits in a remote area of Gibson County. Over the years, other anecdotes have surfaced of people being killed in the cemetery and bodies being found there as well.

MOTHER’S CROSS – A wooden cross is placed inside the dollhouse at Dorothy Harvey’s grave.

Is the cemetery haunted? Has her paranormal, transcendent spirit been witnessed playing with dolls through the windows of the dollhouse after dark? That’s up for discussion. With so many accounts of what exactly happened, one thing is for certain—Dorothy Marie Harvey is buried in Hope Hill Cemetery and a dollhouse sits on her gravesite.

Dorothy’s dollhouse is one of only four graveyard dollhouses in the United States, with the other three in Alabama and Indiana.