The Headless Woman of Iroquois Park By Jay Gravatte

Iroquois Park is a 739-acre park in Louisville, Kentucky, It was designed by Frederick Law Cherokee and Shawnee Parks, at what were then the edges of the city. Located south of downtown, Iroquois Park was promoted as Louisville's version of Yellowstone, being incorporated in 1888.

The park is made up of a knob rising 250 feet, covered with old growth forest. The parks most prominent feature is a scenic viewpoint atop the hill, known to many as "Look Out Point".

However, as you hike Iroquois parks winding trails on a serene crisp night, you might start to notice the sound of a dog barking wildly. Then a thick fog will roll in from nowhere, partially obstructing your vision. It's then that you smell it, the stench of smoke and fire begins to rise in the air. The fog breaks momentarily and its then that you notice a figure approaching, By most accounts of her she appears dressed in early 1800s settlement clothes and as she walks through the park, you can she her holding her head in her hands as blood drips from the severed neck.

This tale has been passed for years from one generation to the next. Each telling no doubt makes it that much more gruesome. It is said that she is regularly seen particularly close to Look Out Point. Many also wonder how she came to spend eternity roaming the moonlit paths that encompass the park. Some suspect that she is the ghost of a farmers wife who settled with her husband in the area where the park is now located. As the story goes, one night while her husband was downtown on business, an Indian tribe attempted to sneak up on the homestead and ransack it. They first silenced the family dog, by slitting its throat. They then rushed into the house and caught the woman unawares. Grabbing her as she screamed, they beheaded her and left her for dead. The Indians promptly set fire to the house in an attempt to cover up what they had done.

Is the headless ghost that very woman? Is she seeking justice for her murder at the hands of the Indians? I would however not recommend taking that late night stroll through Iroquois Park. Numerous unsolved murders have taken place with its boundaries over the last several years.

Serial killer Beoria Simmons was convicted of three counts of murder and rape and four counts of kidnapping from the early 1980's. Simmons would abduct white females at gunpoint, rape them and then shoot them. An intended 16 year old victim finally escaped and identified Simmons, putting an end to his murder spree. Simmons, who is African-American, was sentenced to the electric chair for kidnapping and murdering the three women. After the murders he dumped them in Iroquois Park. The murder victims were Robin Barnes, 15, Shannon House, 29, and Nancy Bettman, 39.

In 2002, Michael Holloway, a former Pleasure Ridge Park high school basketball star was charged with kidnapping and murdering Stacy Flowers Dodson, 25 in 2001. He then dumped her body in Iroquois Park. The two reportedly met over the Internet. After wards she began to drive to Louisville to see him. He kidnapped her at gunpoint on June 30, 2001. He then drove her around in the trunk of his car before taking her to Iroquois Park, where he shot her and took her money, purse and car. On December 21st of 2002, he
received a life sentence for the murder and kidnapping.

Lynwood Montells book "Ghost Across Kentucky", is an anthology book containing personal accounts of dealings with the paranormal. In the book there is a story that recounts a encounter a man had with the headless lady while traveling through the park late one morning. So remember, when searching out legends, be cautious. It's not always what you might run into, but who...