The White Witch of Tallahassee

but was she really?

Buried in the Old City Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida is Elizabeth Budd-Graham, a so-called White Witch.

Bessie, as she was known, was married with two children, when she became ill and passed over within a few days. She was 23-years-old. Because her impressive tombstone faced East, rather than the ‘normal’ West, locals immediately began referring to Bessie as a witch.

Rumors continued, alleging Bessie was a white witch who had cast a spell over her husband. The fact that she was born in October - the time of Halloween - seemed added proof to the allegations. The obelisk marking her grave is ornately designed, with detailed engravings, including a cross within a crown. The top of the obelisk is capped with a fleur de lis.

On the face of the tombstone is carved an excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe’s Lenore, reading:

“Ah! Broken is the golden bowl. The spirit flown forever! Let the bell toll! A saintly soul Floats on the Stygian River; Come let the burial rite be read The funeral song be sung; An anthem for the queenliest dead That died so young A dirge for her the doubly dead In that she died so young.”

Was She a Witch?

There’s no proof that Bessie Budd-Graham was a witch, but that hasn’t stopped locals and visitors from leaving tokens on and around her grave. The day I visited, the front of the stone was covered with shells, burned candles, strings of beads, and coins. In front of the stone were Thoth tarot cards, strewn randomly on the ground. Because of the candles, I wondered if Bessie had nighttime visitors who had stopped for a chat or to cast a spell.

According to local guidebooks, Bessie’s grave attracts hundreds of visitors every year, including fellow “witches” who perform rituals and cast spells at her grave. Some have even seen ghosts here at night, most commonly the ghost of a young woman sobbing at her grave.

From Old City Ghosts: “What really drove people to believe Bessie was a witch was the poem from Edgar Allen Poe, which supposedly makes a few references to witchcraft. “Broken is the golden bowl” refers to the witch’s cauldron, which Bessie’s is broken since she passed away. “The queenliest dead” refers to witches being the “Queens of the Dead.” And finally, “the doubly dead” makes a nod to the fact that witches must be killed twice.

I’ve visited Bessie twice and had no mystical magickal sense that I was standing over a witch’s grave. But, what do I know?

Next time . . . . The Little Girl Who Wasn’t There, Peeking into an Alternative Universe