Reports of Van Fossen Cemetery in Adel, Iowa, being haunted primarily focus on the grave of a man named Joseph Stoneking. The most famous—and persistent—legend claims that the cemetery has a "portal to hell" associated with his headstone. The most widespread story suggests that reading the epitaph on Joseph Stoneking's grave out loud will open a portal to hell. The epitaph itself is said to contain the power to pull those who read it into the underworld. Another legend warns that if you walk a certain distance behind the row of trees at the back of the cemetery, the "Stone King"—presumably referring to Stoneking's spirit—will appear on the grave and try to send you to hell. A more obscure and grotesque legend alleges that if someone urinates on the headstone, the words of the epitaph will vanish. In addition to the legends surrounding the Stoneking grave, other types of paranormal phenomena have been reported at Van Fossen Cemetery: Some visitors have claimed to see the ghost of an old man walking through the rows of graves. Other people have reported hearing disembodied voices coming from within the cemetery. A paranormal investigator reported hearing loud noises from within the trees at the back of the graveyard and having rocks and nuts thrown at them.