Tennessee-an Uses Dousing Rods For Cemetery Hunt

John Lodl often heard Rutherford County’s old-timers talk of the divining rods, swearing by their eerie movements as proof positive of bodies buried below.

No headstone, no matter, they said. In the hands of the right person, the wavering of the rods could say more about a cemetery than the aged records that Lodl, bearded and bespectacled but youthful at 37, oversees in the local archives.

One day last winter, Lodl went from skeptical to startled.

In a secluded cemetery in Eagleville, he watched a woman balance a pair of plain old coat hangers on her fingers and walk the field.

“Sure enough, when you cross over a grave, those things cross,” Lodl said. “I can’t explain it. But it works.”

This area has always fascinated me. Why? Because I have been an eye-witness to dousing that worked! My Dad douses with  flexible tree branches [willow or peach tree work best], or with welding rods [metal]. So, yes, this has been something I follow frequently.

You can read more about John Lodl and his hunt here.