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Sleeping Beauty LbNA #69179

Owner:rakoonz
Plant date:Aug 31, 2015
Location: Antioch Cemetery
City:Union City
County:Obion
State:Tennessee
Boxes:1
Found by: warrenworks
Last found:Jun 2, 2023
Status:aF
Last edited:Sep 17, 2015

The Sleeping Beauty of Obion County is a sad story of Susan Godsey, who fell ill as a child (aged 8). For several years, she was prone to catching chills. One day a quack named Wasson gave her his own concocted remedy, supposedly containing Delphinium, a toxic flower. After this, her condition suddenly worsened. She had violent fits for a number of years, and ultimately fell into an extraordinary sleep for 24 years. She woke a few times a day for a few minutes at a stretch, during which time she was very thirsty, but ate only one third as much as an average person. Apparently doctors all the way from Paris were consulted, but to no avail--Susan's convulsions and sound sleep continued. It was said that her nails never needed trimming, though her hair was thick and grew normally. Her wakeful moments and fits occurred with astonishing punctuality. One type of affliction only occurred on Wednesdays. In the days just before her death at age 35, she was more at rest than she had been for decades. She was buried in Antioch Cemetery, in the area called Crystal, in Northeast Tennessee.


From Union City, on U.S. 51, take rd 22 west. A few miles from the junction with 5, there is a gas station to the right. Crystal Rd is the next road. Turn north on Crystal Rd, and go about 3 miles. On the left as the road curves right is Antioch Church and the cemetery is next to it. Park around the side, between the church and the cemetery. Find the bell. Fifty steps from the bell, you will find a crumbling corner. Head north from there. Halfway down, skirt to the right of two large Mobbs. Keep walking to the spot where a hungry tree is having a bite of some rusting iron. Just at the base of this tree, to the east, a cinder block contains that which you seek. Please reseal and hide it carefully back under its rock.

Hike length: 0.5 miles