Nestled in the picturesque landscapes of Utah, known for its salt flats, national parks, and snowy mountains, there’s an intriguing anomaly in the Salt Lake City cemetery: a gravestone bearing the unsettling inscription, “Victim of the Beast 666.” The story of this gravestone revolves around a woman named Lilly E. Gray, born in 1881, who lived well into her 70s before passing away in 1958, a fate commemorated by the creation of her gravestone. Gravestones typically bear heartfelt epitaphs, detailing the essence of the departed, whether they were mothers, friends, or spouses. However, Lilly Gray’s gravestone is far from typical.
Rather than shedding light on the life and personality of Lilly, the gravestone conveys a chilling and enigmatic detail about her demise. Beneath her birth and death dates, it reads, “Victim of the Beast 666.” The juxtaposition of these numbers and the reference to ‘the beast’ inevitably conjures the notion that Lilly met her end at the hands of the devil. The gravestone offers no further information, leaving those who visit to ponder: Was Lilly a vessel for malevolent forces? Did she descend into the abyss of hell?
A popular theory suggests that Lilly was married to a man named Elmer L. Gray, who was serving time at Utah State Prison for second-degree burglary. Records indicate that Elmer had petitioned for release or parole from the Board of Pardons while incarcerated. In his application, he made an intriguing claim regarding his wife’s fate. In the section requesting his parents’ addresses, Elmer noted, “Both dead. Died of grief when kidnappers murdered my wife.” While this claim doesn’t explicitly mention the devil, it appears to label the alleged kidnappers as a ‘beast.’
Unveiling another layer of mystery, Lilly’s death certificate tells a different story. According to the document, she passed away due to natural causes—specifically, a ‘pulmonary embolus,’ which is likely a reference to a pulmonary embolism. If her death resulted from a blood clot in her lungs, why did Elmer assert that she was a ‘Victim of the Beast 666’?
One theory posits that Elmer considered the government itself to be ‘the beast.’ In his application to the Board of Pardons, he claimed he was a victim of ‘democrat kidnappers and their friends’ who had ‘kidnapped’ him. Could Elmer have believed that the government was somehow responsible for Lilly’s death?
Unfortunately, the true explanation may remain forever elusive. Yet, the notion that ‘the beast’ is a political epithet seems far more palatable than the idea of the devil selectively designating humans as ‘Victims of the Beast 666.’ As it stands, this curious gravestone continues to beckon visitors with its cryptic narrative, a testament to the mysteries that linger in the realms of life and death.
