Westwood Hills Baptist Church
Mr. Arthur S. Ward was a religious man who was devoted to his family and to his lifelong church, Westwood Hills Baptist Church. When Mr. Ward died, the people of his church erected a beautiful memorial garden in his honor. The garden had a stone cross surrounded by roses and other beautiful flowers. For many years, this garden grew and flourished. It was a beautiful place to go to for reflection and to remember the man who the garden was made for. As time went by, a new preacher took over at the church. He began to claim that he was having dreams about the garden and the evil that it brought to the church. He told his congregation that because the roses had grown up and around the cross that this was a sign of the occult and that God wanted him to tear down this garden of evil. He said that dark forces were at work here and must be destroyed! Others in his congregation said that they too were having dreams of the dark place. So early one day, the preacher and some of his followers went to the garden with pickaxes, shovels, sledgehammers, and other tools and tore the monument down to the ground, then dug everything up. What once had been a beautiful and peaceful garden now laid in ruins. There is still a large moon-shaped hole and a wooden cross stands in the place where the garden once stood. But what will strike you most about the spot is the overwhelming feeling of sadness that fills the area. During an investigation at the site, I captured a photograph of an entity (page 101). Perhaps it is that of Mr. Ward who undoubtedly is saddened that something that was so lovingly created in his memory could be labeled a place of evil.
Written by — Valkerie Carver Tidewater Paranormal Investigators
WESTWOOD HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH
865 WOODSTOCK ROAD
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA 23464
TEL: 1 (757) 420-2186
SEE ALSO:
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger