In
1883, after returning from a visit to Stonehenge in England, it "suddenly occurred" to Hazard "that sometime or other a well would
be needed by somebody after I am dead in the lot that is at the
northeast corner of Gibson Avenue and Hazard Avenue." The next
year, believing that he "had been used by spirits," Hazard "determined
to build a stone house near the well, and to name it 'Druidsdream'--but
for what purpose I have never been able to determine to this day
. . . excepting that 'Some one will need it'." He went on to say
that the title "Druidsdream" applied to the entire locality, including
the tomb (in which, by the way, Hazard is not buried). The force
of the folklore about Druidsdream was driven home to me as I was
researching a vampire incident that involved the family of William
Rose, said to be from Peace Dale. Since one of several books authored
by Raymond McNally, a well-known vampire scholar (who, unfortunately,
passed way on October 2, 2002) included a brief reference to this
event, I wrote to him, hoping that he could add to what little
I knew. McNally included the following in his reply: "I know that
William Rose dug up the body of his daughter in 1874 and burned
the heart of the corpse, because he thought she was a vampire.
I visited the Rose family graveyard; there I was told that rumor
had it that William Rose was involved in Druid rituals. I was
even shown what was purported to be an altar on which he performed
sacrifices." Has the legend process turned a vampire incident
into a Druid sacrifice? Had McNally been taken to Druidsdream?
Or are there really other Druid altars out there?
Text © Dr. Michael Bell |