From the archives of the Clark County Gazette, January 27th, 2004

There are often times when examining local legend that the truth is far stranger than fiction. This weeks "Local History" column takes us to the Believers Memorial Cemetery located between Church and Browning streets. Like many other cemetaries, reports of ghosts and other strange creatures have occured over the many years that people have been burried there. However, since 1967, a new local legend has sprung up regarding a certain statue. If you have never been to Believers Memorial Cemetery, you have never seen Leopold, which is what the locals call the statue covering the grave of Emanuel Stargazer, the self proclamed Prophet of the Order of the Stars. Leopold is a five foot tall statue of a human being who has empty sockets for eyes, claws for hands, and giant Eagle wings. The local legend states that those who spend the night in the cemetary risk being devoured by Leopold, but as I spent a night there in my youth, I can successfully say that legend is debunked. The real mystery of this statue comes from the man who is burried underneath it, Emanuel Stargazer, prophet of the Order of the Stars. Stargazer first came to town identifying himself as Charles Berlini in 1914, shortly after 27 Spruce Street was first placed on the market.

According to several locals, he was a nice man when he first arrived, often helping out anyone who needed it. He was often seen donating money to the poor, and there was talk of him running for Mayor. But all that changed in 1923 when he bought 27 Spruce Street from Larry Tinker. Berlini went from the most friendly man in town, to feared psychopath. Berlini appeared in the offices of the Clark County Observer on May 30th, 1923, asking how much it would cost to run an advertisement in the Observer, as well as send it accross the country, which he paid for. His message was this, "People of the United States, I have seen the end times approaching, only those who shall find true purity of body and mind shall be spared, for more information, come to me, and I will show you a better way." Many people came to 27 Spruce Street, hopeing for more information, but many of the locals were appalled at what they saw. Tortured animals, blasphemous paintings, and many other strange things were found inside 27 Spruce Street, causing many people who came for salvation to leave, but some stayed behind to learn more about this new way.

It was at this time that Charles Berlini became Emanuel Stargazer, and his following grew from just a few people to well over 1000 in different locations around the United States, but the locals were able to avoid Stargazer most of the time, he and his followers kept to themselves, only coming into town when supplies were needed. However, this uneasy ignorance of what was occuring in their back yards only lasted about three months, when Laura Gerive went to 27 Spruce Street to find out what was going on, Gerive returned to town at a run three hours later, shackles on her wrists and her clothing torn. She claimed that they were going to chain her up and kill her as a sacrifice to their god.

The local police raided the house and arrested the 25 cult members who were living there at the time, taking them in for questioning. Many spoke of strange rituals, involving torturing other members to help them understand what the fires of Hell were like, but the most shocking statements came from Emanuel. When asked why they were going to kill Laura Gerive, he responded, "Because Gerde demanded a sacrifice of one not of the order, and that he would send one to us the next day, then she arrived as she was destined to do." Further questioning led to a Judge declaring Stargazer insane and he was placed into the Clark County Asylum. Stargazer spent his remaining days prophetically speaking to what followers he could gain, and designing the statue that would be placed over his grave. The statue he designed was a replica of the Avatar of the god he worshiped, Gerde. When Stargazer died in 1935, his cult had dwindiled after the subsiquent arrests of many higher ups following the news of the attempted sacrifice by their prophet. Stargazer is burried in Believers Memorial Cemetery, and his tomb has sparked many local legends.

Eriek Flogger is a historian for the Clark County Observer.