Some people believe a patch of land or area can often retain the horrible memories of murder and death that happened there. Blood-streaked apples, frightened dogs and technology misfiring are some of the reports around haunted spots where people have been hanged.
Trees, gallows and other places where people were hanged for their crimes — either by the law or vigilantes — hold some of the deepest, vivid and most disturbing memories.
The belief that trees and hanging spots are haunted is not new.
In the Cheyenne Daily Sun in 1897, a story was shared of Cheyenne hunters who encountered such a tree when they were hunting in Danville, Kansas.
It was fall and the hunters had taken their coon dogs into the woods of Kansas. The dogs were hunting splendidly the report said. That is until they struck an old tree.
The dogs immediately tucked their tails between their legs and backed away. They whined and cowered in fear. No matter what the hunters did, they could not coax the dogs into continuing the hunt.
When the dogs would not calm down, the hunters themselves became scared, the Daily Sun reported.
One of the Cheyenne hunters then heard a voice of some soul in deep distress.
Every man in the crowd suddenly remembered that he had business in town and fled from the tree.
The next day an old gentleman residing in Danville was told of the occurrences and he was not surprised. He said that he, too, had been one of a hunting party which had a similar experience near this ancient tree just three years prior. It was well known that the spot had been haunted for many years.
A long time ago, he told them an older man by the name of Louis Street was murdered for his money and the murderer had dragged the body to the foot of this tree and covered it with dry leaves.
The murderer was never punished by law although they knew who it was.
A young man named Henderson had been arrested, charged with the crime, and at his examining trial was liberated on $5,000 bail. He jumped his bond and disappeared, never to be seen again. Street was left unavenged for his murder.
Ellen Watson, dubbed “Cattle Kate” by her enemies and some in the press, was hanged from this Limber Pine in 1889. Her death was never avenged and there are those that believe her spirit still haunts the tree. (Courtesy Sam Lightner) 
Gunfighter “Big” Steve Long, Con Moyer, and Ace Moyer where pulled out of a violent Laramie bar known as the Bucket of Blood in 1868 and hanged by an angry crown at a nearby unfinished cabin. (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming) 
Stories of haunted trees have been circulating around Wyoming for more than a century. Newspapers have run stories, and even this illustration from the 1900 Laramie Republican.
Blood Red Apples
A few years later in 1900, the same paper, now known as the Cheyenne Daily Leader, was once more warning its readers about a haunted tree and an unavenged death. This time, they advised their readers to keep an eye on their apples.
“It is probable that the town of Douglas, Massachusetts, alone has the reputation of having a haunted apple tree,” the Cheyenne paper quoted Samuel Kingdon of the Ladies’ Home Journal. “The tradition of the town is that a foul murder was committed in the orchard many years ago.
The victim was a salesman who would carry his goods from house to house. He laid down under a tree in a local orchard about midday and never woke up.
“He was found with a cruel gash in the neck from which his life blood had ebbed away,” the reporter said. “Suspicion rested on the owner of the orchard and he was said to have been constantly followed by the spirit of the victim.”
The owner was finally so frightened, that he moved away. The apparition did not follow and instead continued to haunt the road each night. There were reports that he stood under the apple tree, with one hand at his throat and the other extended as though seeking aid. His shrill cries could be heard half a mile away. The town was then forced to move the location of the highway from the orchard to spare travelers the horrible vision.
“The old trees still bear fruit, and the apples from the one beneath which the peddler was killed are said to be streaked with red, resembling blood,” the reporter concluded. “The streaks extending from skin to core.”
These haunted trees are believed to be a residual haunting by those that believe in paranormal activity. This phenomenon often occurs in locations where strong emotions or traumatic events have taken place, leaving an imprint on the environment, or, as in these cases, in the trees.
The Lynching Party
In Wyoming, the infamous hanging tree of “Cattle Kate” is believed to be one of those sites that holds eerie memories.
After the Bureau of Land Management located the actual tree of Ellen Watson’s lynching, people have reported feelings of unease and technology glitching up when they visit.
On Saturday, July 20, 1889, Ellen L. Watson, who certain newspapers and cattlemen had dubbed “Cattle Kate”, was hanged alongside her husband, James Averell in Spring Canyon for the supposed crime of cattle rustling. The site is located 50 miles southwest of Casper near Independence Rock.
The day of the lynching, Frank Buchanan, a friend of Averell’s, followed them at a safe distance.
The murderers had headed up a gulch near the Sweetwater River in the rocky hills south of Independence Rock. Buchanan got close enough to see Averell and Watson standing on a large rock under a limber pine tree.
Two lariats had been slung over the biggest branch. A rope was already around Averell’s neck. Buchanan later told authorities and newspapers that Watson was trying to keep the men from placing the other rope around her neck.
Buchanan fired his revolver at the lynchers until he ran out of bullets. The men retaliated by firing at him with rifles. Buchanan fled and did not stay to watch his friends die.
Monday morning, the couple was found, still hanging from the limber pine. They were cut down but they never received justice for their deaths.
Ella Watson, better known by her infamous nickname Cattle Kate, was murdered in Wyoming in 1889. Some believe that the tree where she was lynched is a haunted area. (Wyoming State Archives) Stories of haunted trees have been circulating around Wyoming for more than a century. Newspapers have run stories, and even this illustration from the 1900 Laramie Republican. 
An illustration showing the hanging of "Cattle Kate" and her husband Postmaster James Averill from a cottonwood tree in 1889. (Bettmann via Getty Images) 
Laramie townspeople pose after the hanging of Steve Young in in 1868. (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming) 
On March 22, 1881, infamous outlaw George "Big Nose" Parrott was lynched by an angry mob in Rawlins, Wyoming. This illustration shows Perrott hanging from a telegraph pole. (American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming)
The Haunted Tree
Sam Lightner, a freelancer for Cowboy State Daily, had visited the infamous tree to shoot a video about the real story of Ellen Watson. He described the beautiful view of the Sweetwater River and Granite Mountains just below a granite cliff.
“Foreboding ran through me when I realized the tree Ellen and Jim had been hanged from was still there,” Lightner said. “It’s a Limber Pine, now dead and lying on the slope of the hill overlooking her homestead, but the branch the ropes would have been slung from is obvious.”
During his visit, Lightner experienced technical difficulties with his drone and other mishaps that he could not explain.
Attempting to film a documentary, he said it became quickly apparent that her ghost did not want that video created. However, in the end he was able to tell her story but was left with the belief that the dead Limber Pine was haunted.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
