Buzz
New England is renowned for its ghostly legends, a region that birthed authors like Stephen King and the Cthulhu Mythos. Home to some of America's earliest post-colonial settlements, it also hosts some of the country's oldest cemeteries.
With over 500 years of history, New England's cemeteries have accumulated countless eerie tales. These haunting legends are perfect material for any aspiring horror writer looking for inspiration.
10. South Street Cemetery
To ensure your cemetery becomes haunted, there's an effective method: hangings. Combine these grisly executions with deep-seated injustice, and you’re almost guaranteed restless spirits. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the horror is amplified by axe murder victims and the town's only fatal sword duel. These elements make South Street Cemetery a prime candidate for supernatural activity.
Paranormal investigators often report heightened activity near the grave of Ruth Blay, a schoolteacher who became pregnant out of wedlock in 1768. Afraid to confess, she delivered her stillborn baby in secret and buried the child beneath her school’s floorboards. However, one of her students witnessed the burial and informed their parents. Ruth was arrested and condemned to death for murder.
This tragedy is compounded by the cruelty of Sheriff Thomas Packer. When news arrived that a reprieve was being sought from the governor, Packer, determined to enjoy his lunch at noon, moved the execution ahead by an hour. Despite Ruth’s desperate pleas and the crowd's protests, he forced the cart to be drawn, ending her life.
Shortly after Ruth’s death, a messenger arrived with the governor’s pardon, but it was too late—Ruth Blay was already gone. That same day, townspeople burned an effigy of Packer outside his home. Paranormal experts claim that cameras malfunction near Ruth’s grave and that two nearby graves emit an eerie glow. Some believe that both Ruth and her baby continue to haunt the site.
Researchers have reported paranormal activity near the graves of two young women who were murdered by a German man named Luis Wagner. He strangled the victims before attacking them with an axe, which eventually broke. Wagner was executed by hanging in Maine in 1875. The women became known as the Smuttynose murder victims.
9. Howard Street Cemetery
When you think of “Salem,” you immediately recall the infamous witch trials that left a dark mark on history. The ghosts of those executed have every reason to be vengeful. Among them is Giles Corey, an 80-year-old man who was crushed to death for refusing to enter a plea. His ghost is said to roam Howard Street Cemetery in Salem.
Moreover, Corey’s ghost is rumored to be seeking revenge. In 1914, witnesses reported seeing an old man’s spectral form drifting through the cemetery. Soon after, a devastating fire broke out on Gallows Hill, the site of Corey’s wife’s execution. The blaze destroyed 1,376 buildings and left 18,000 people homeless. It is said that Corey’s apparition always appears before disaster strikes.
The cemetery is located near Salem's Old Jail, which held the title of the country’s oldest operating jail until its closure in 1991. While now converted into homes, eerie stories circulated when the building was abandoned. Visitors to the cemetery have reported seeing lights flickering in the jail’s windows, even after electricity had been shut off. Figures have been seen moving inside, and strange sounds, including voices and screams, have been heard.
Some of these apparitions were seen wearing Civil War uniforms and could reportedly pass through walls. While these spirits may have moved on after the building was renovated, certain apartments still offer a direct view of the graveyard. For a few thousand a month, you can rent one and keep an eye out for Giles. If you spot him, perhaps take a short trip out of town?
8. Goodleburg Cemetery
Dr. Albert Speaker, a physician from Wales, New York, became infamous for his clumsy, botched abortions. Around the turn of the 20th century, he performed these procedures at his house, located across from the entrance to Goodleburg Cemetery, but most did not end well.
When women died from these failed operations, Dr. Speaker reportedly discarded their bodies in a deep pond near the cemetery. To this day, people claim that bones still wash up along its banks. Later, Speaker became a suspect in the murder of a woman, but before he could face trial, he took his own life by hanging himself from a tree in the graveyard.
Now, Speaker’s ghost is said to haunt the cemetery in his white doctor's coat. The spirit of the murder victim, Helen Lindeman, is said to appear in black. The restless spirits of women who died during the botched abortions are also reported to wander the grounds. The most unsettling and bizarre tales are of phantom fetuses crawling along the cemetery floor, accompanied by the sounds of children’s cries and women’s mournful weeping.
All these eerie stories have attracted a huge number of ghost hunters. Beyond the usual scream-filled investigations and frantic dashes around the graveyard, these hunters have reportedly clashed in turf wars. Some have even resorted to vandalism. As a result, the police are often called to patrol the graveyard on Halloween, and authorities ban parking on nearby roads. It seems for the people of Wales, the real disturbance comes from the living.
7. Pine Hill Cemetery
When your name is Mr. Blood, you’re almost destined to dabble in the occult, or possibly commit murder. According to legend, Abel Blood of New Hampshire did both. He was buried in Pine Hill Cemetery in Hollis in 1867. During his life, he was said to practice black magic and was rumored to have slaughtered his own family.
The graveyard is often referred to as Blood Cemetery due to its infamous resident. By day, it’s said he remains in hell, but by night, he rises to haunt the cemetery. A finger on his tombstone is said to point upward in daylight and downward at night. Paranormal investigator Fiona Broome has claimed that her camera malfunctioned while at the cemetery, attributed to mystical forces, and thus no photographs can document this.
The cemetery is off-limits after dark, and on Halloween, it is heavily patrolled by authorities. While their primary role is to deter troublesome ghost hunters, perhaps they are also trying to keep something far darker at bay. The Bible warns, “Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance.” Remove the possessive from that sentence, and it sounds like a chilling omen.
6. Eastern Cemetery, Portland
During the War of 1812, the United States captured the British ship HMS Boxer. The ship's commander, Samuel Blyth, and his American counterpart, William Burroughs, both perished in the battle and were laid to rest side by side in Eastern Cemetery, Portland, Maine, in September 1813. Both were honored with full military rites.
Despite the respectful burial, these two men still aren’t on the best terms. Their spirits are said to rise from their graves every night and argue loudly with one another. Clad in their full naval regalia, they may be debating who was the better commander. Unfortunately, you’ll never be able to ask them directly, as they vanish into the mist whenever anyone approaches.
5. Rehoboth Village Cemetery
The most unpleasant spirit on this list can be found in Rehoboth Village Cemetery in Massachusetts. Though the cemetery dates back to the 17th century, its most notorious ghost appeared much later. Known as Ephraim, he’s an elderly figure dressed in 19th-century attire. His eyes are hollow sockets, but it’s his hostile demeanor that truly sets him apart.
Ephraim is notorious for his disdain for everyone, especially women. He is frequently heard shouting obscenities, making crude gestures, and banging on car windows. Not even fellow spirits are spared. One eyewitness reported hearing Ephraim call out the name Catherine. Terrified, the witness ran off, but when she turned around, she saw Ephraim kneeling over a woman’s ghost, beating her before they both vanished.
4. The White Lady of Connecticut
Union Cemetery is home to a famous ghost whose origins remain mysterious. Known as the White Lady, this apparition has earned the cemetery the title of the most haunted place in the state. She is said to drift between Union Cemetery and another nearby burial ground, Stepney Cemetery.
Some believe the White Lady perished during childbirth and now searches for her lost child, while others think she was murdered around the beginning of the 19th century. Dressed in a flowing white gown, she is often seen in the road next to the cemetery. Drivers have been known to swerve to avoid hitting her. One fireman even claimed to have struck her, leaving a dent in his truck. When he stepped out to check, she had vanished.
Lorraine Warren, a key figure in the White Lady story, along with her late husband Ed, gained notoriety for investigating the Amityville Haunting, which inspired countless books and films. They claim to have captured footage of the White Lady materializing from mist. According to Warren, “there is too much evidence to think otherwise, it’s real.” However, many, including Steven Novella, president of the New England Skeptical Society, dispute the claims. You’ll have to form your own opinion, as Warren refuses to allow anyone to examine the evidence in detail.
3. Vampire Cemetery
The cemetery behind the Plain Meeting House Baptist Church in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, doesn’t have an official name, but it’s been dubbed “Vampire Cemetery” due to the story of Nellie Vaughn, a woman who died in 1889. She’s become infamous locally as a vampire, largely because her grave is sunken and her tombstone bears the eerie inscription “I am waiting and watching for you.”
Nellie was never a vampire. In fact, the so-called ‘vampires’ of New England weren’t undead creatures thirsting for blood. Instead, the term referred to victims of tuberculosis—formerly known as consumption—whose bodies were later exhumed. The locals would burn the hearts and livers of the deceased and inhale the smoke, believing it would offer some protection from the disease.
Nellie, who died of pneumonia rather than tuberculosis, was never exhumed. She also resents being thought of as a vampire, which is why her ghost has returned to clear her name. Marlene Chatfield, a local, has claimed several encounters with Nellie’s spirit. In one such instance, Chatfield was with her husband near the grave when they heard a woman’s voice say, “I am perfectly pleasant.” Moments later, her husband’s face was scratched, leaving deep red marks.
In another encounter, Chatfield recounts meeting a young woman from a historical society at the cemetery. As the woman stood by Nellie’s grave, her behavior changed abruptly, and she repeatedly stated, “Nellie is not a vampire.” The photos taken during this visit came out reversed, while the rest of the photos on the film roll were normal. Chatfield never saw the strange, possessed woman again.
Nellie’s grave has since been removed due to repeated vandalism. It now lies unmarked and hidden, its location only known to a few. Unless you know where it is—or happen to stumble across it by accident—you may not even realize you’ve walked over it. But be warned: if you do, Nellie might just try to rip your face off.
2. Old Burying Yard
The Old Burying Yard in York, Maine, is home to numerous gravestones that hint at restless spirits. One such gravestone belongs to a young man, warning about the dangers of delaying repentance until your final moments. The site is also rumored to be the final resting place of several victims of the notorious Raid of York in 1692, a tragic massacre.
The most famous tales from the cemetery center around the grave of Mary Nasson, known as the White Witch of York. During her life, she was a skilled herbalist and an exorcist. When she passed away at the age of 29, her husband Samuel buried her beneath a granite slab, which some believe keeps her from rising. However, the cemetery's sign claims it simply serves to keep pigs and cattle away.
Locals have often reported sightings of Mary Nasson wandering the town. She has been seen visiting children at a nearby daycare, as well as pushing other children on swings at a local school. In the summertime, crows that gather in the cemetery are believed to be Mary’s familiars, paying their respects by leaving droppings on her gravestone.
1. Pine Grove Cemetery
Dragon Obretenoff is a man whose name and tragic fate make him a fitting candidate for becoming a ghost. A Bulgarian immigrant who owned two restaurants in Massena, New York, Dragon was shot and killed in 1949 when a hunter mistook him for a deer. He was buried in the local Pine Grove Cemetery, and his grave has since become a hotspot for local ghost hunters.
A couple walking their dog through the cemetery were discussing one particular grave when they suddenly heard a hissing voice from behind them, saying, 'Turn around!' The couple, too frightened to look, quickly ran out of the cemetery as fast as they could.
There are numerous reports of the usual electronic disruptions, including interference with police car scanners as they pass by. However, one of the more peculiar accounts suggests the cemetery is inhabited by 'shadow people.' Both local police officers and a ghost hunting group claim to have spotted dark, fleeting figures in the graveyard in the early morning hours. A local paranormal group, the Shadow Chasers, believes these entities draw energy from the nearby street lamps.
