THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Salt Lake City Cemetery is home to several of Utah's best-known cemetery legends. The most famous is "Emo's Grave," the mausoleum of German-born brewer Jacob Moritz. For generations, teenagers and folklore enthusiasts have claimed that Moritz's ghost can be seen inside the mausoleum, with versions of the legend describing a spectral face or glowing eyes appearing behind its opening. The cemetery is also home to the mysterious grave of Lilly E. Gray, whose headstone bears the ominous inscription "Victim of the Beast 666." Gray died of natural causes in 1958, and the meaning of the inscription, which was reportedly chosen by her husband, has never been conclusively explained. The unusual grave and the long-running Emo legend have helped give Salt Lake City Cemetery an enduring reputation as one of Utah's most eerie burial grounds.
Established following the first burial on the site in 1848, Salt Lake City Cemetery is a historic municipal cemetery in the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City. Covering more than 120 acres, it contains approximately 130,000 burial sites and the graves of many prominent figures from Utah history. Among its most famous landmarks are the Jacob Moritz mausoleum, commonly known as Emo's Grave, and the grave of Lilly E. Gray.