Buried Alive: The Grave of Mary Hart in New Haven, Connecticut

A spooky New England graveyard story that seems plucked from the pages of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark comes from New Haven, Connecticut. There, in Evergreen Cemetery, is a large granite gravestone with an ominous epitaph that has set imaginations running wild since its erection nearly 150 years ago. It belongs to one Mary Hart, a nearly 50-year-old woman who died at midnight in October of 1872.

Not much is known for certain about Mary, the circumstances of her life or the manner of her death. What we do know is that she has a fairly long epitaph that reads: "At high noon just from, and about to renew her daily work, in her full strength of body and mind Mary E. Hart having fallen prostrate: remained unconscious, until she died at midnight October 15, 1872 Born December 16, 1824" Whatever killed Mary took her suddenly and without warning. Boldly across the top, the stone reads: "The people shall be troubled at midnight and pass away." This is a brief version of a quote from Job chapter 34, verse 20.

Possibly because of the bleakness of Mary's tombstone, tales have arisen about her haunting the graveyard. However, the most prominent story involves her aunt. Apparently, the night after Mary was interred, her aunt dreamed that Mary was still alive in her coffin. The body was exhumed, and the coffin had scratch marks on the lid corresponding with broken and bloodied fingernails on Mary's corpse. It would see that she was buried alive. While uncorroborated by contemporary evidence, and involving a psychic aunt, it was common enough back then for people to be buried alive. Let that sink in while you walk through Evergreen Cemetery, which contains plenty of other historical graves that could have housed living people.

There is a local legend that Mary will come for you if you stand on her grave at midnight. If you want to put this legend to the test, you'll have to get permission. The cemetery is closed to the public after sunset. You can use this as an excuse to pass on tempting Mary's ghost.

The Ray Family Vampires of Connecticut

Vampyren by Edvard Munch

American vampire folklore has its roots in New England thanks to superstitions dating back to the Puritans. If you're expecting European romanticism or terror, you won't find it here, though. Vampiric tales in this neck of the woods are steeped with illness, desecration and tragedy. The most famous of these takes place in Jewett City, Connecticut–a borough of Griswold, once home to the luckless Ray family.

In 1845, 24-year-old Lemuel Ray became mortally ill and died of tuberculosis, a disease then known as consumption. Symptoms of tuberculosis include fever, weight loss, chills, chest pain and chronic cough. Disease that spreads beyond the lungs can cause urinary tract infections, malaise and/or severe spine damage. None of these symptoms would lead family members to believe Lemuel was a vampire. It was the idea that dead family members could rise to prey on living family members that made poor dead Lemuel Ray a threat.

In 1851, Lemuel Ray's father–Henry Ray–succumbed to tuberculosis. Two years later, in 1853, another son died–26-year-old Elisha Ray. Here is where history gets a little confused. A newspaper reported that in 1854, the Ray family dug up the corpses of two of the victims and burned them "on the spot" to stop them from hunting the living family members. Also in 1854, Henry Ray, the eldest son of the Ray family, died of tuberculosis. Which came first is unclear. Either way, the deaths stopped in 1854, before or soon after the family burned two decomposing bodies.

In 1990, the story of the Ray Family Vampires got renewed interest when a couple of boys unearthed two skulls while playing in gravel. Consequently, 29 unmarked graves belonging to the Walton family of nearby Hopeville, CT were discovered. Among them was at least one very interesting find. Archaeologists discovered a corpse from roughly the 1790s that was ravaged by tuberculosis. Its skull was removed and placed backwards on the chest. The femurs were also removed and placed in a skull and crossbones position. This is the only physical evidence we have of the practice of desecrating corpses to ward off vampires in the midst of a consumption outbreak.

Today, you can visit the graves of the Ray family. They are at the end of Anthony Street in the Jewett City Cemetery. You'll have to look behind a housing development and next to a construction company to find it. Once you're there, it's not hard to find the graves, mostly in the center portion of the cemetery. Just remember that visitors are not welcome after dark. Moreover, there aren't any credible or popular ghost stories associated with the site, so there's no reason to disturb anyone's sleep to visit after dark.

Sterling Opera House: A Haunted Gem

Sterling Opera House

Derby, Connecticut is home to one of New England's best-known haunted sites–the Sterling Opera House. This beautiful Italianate structure is familiar to the townspeople, having been part of the landscape since 1889. The gifted architect H. Edwards Ficken was responsible for much of the design, which might have something to do with it being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

When the Sterling Opera House was in its prime, it was one of those fanciful venues of a bygone era. It is a gem of a classic, and you can still sense its vaudeville spirit, though it closed its doors for shows in 1945 and was abandoned half a century ago. Long ago, people like Amelia Earhart, John Barrymore and Charlie Chaplin graced its stage, with the indomitable Ms. Earhart giving a talk to a women's group about her adventures in the aviation. The Sterling Opera House has an auspicious past, but that doesn't stop ghost hunters and paranormal lovers from believing there may just be a few spirits lurking around the place.

One of my favorite stories about a ghost in the Sterling Opera House involves a child spirit named Andy. I'm not sure where the story originated, but it says that little Andy likes to play with soccer balls and other toys strewn about the decaying interior. That seems harmless enough. In fact, none of the ghost stories I came across involved anything malicious. Everything comes up rosy at this place.

There's a rumor that the Charles Sterling, for whom the opera house was named, also haunts the place. That's not really in keeping with the idea that you haunt a place if you died there or something tragic happened there. Nonetheless, it's what people say. They also say dancing orbs sometimes flicker about and that shadow people sometimes appear. I'm not a big fan of shadow people stories. Still, they seem to be relatively innocuous things if the stories are true.

During my research, I was happy to learn that Derby is in the process of renovating the Sterling Opera House. I tend to be disappointed when towns let their history fall to ruins (ahem, Hanson, MA), so this is good news. However, the project isn't fully funded, and, as of 2016, there is a Department of the Interior investigation into a grant given the town of Derby for this restoration. From what I can find, it doesn't look too serious. It appears that something wasn't approved and money exchanged hands anyway, but the money is going into the project as far as I can tell.

Sarah Winchester's Grave: The Resting Place of a Mad Heiress

Sarah Winchester

I want to talk about a place that is not necessarily haunted, but is still a great stop for paranormal enthusiasts–SarahWinchester's grave. Located at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, this woman's grave is not only beautiful, but it is connected to one of the most famous haunted houses in American history. Heading to San Jose, California to see the Winchester Mystery House might be out of the question for some New England ghost hunters, so this grave is the next best thing.

Sarah Winchester was born into well-off society in Connecticut. She married into an even wealthier family by the name of Winchester–the producers of the ever-popular Winchester rifles. Sadly, she lost a daughter in infancy and later lost her husband. She may have gone a little mad, as she reportedly moved to California to start non-stop construction on a home to appease the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles because a psychic told her to.

Sarah was quite wealthy, earning a reported $1,000 a day after her husband's death. She had the means to obey her whims. She lived a life of wealth and eccentricity until she died on September 5, 1922 of heart failure. She was 83 years old. She was buried in New Haven because that was her home. Apparently, she felt more connected to New England than to California, where she built her famous house.

Sarah Winchester's grave towers over visitors at a whopping 8 feet tall. However, it is still a little tough to spot. Look for a rough-cut stone with flowers and a cross bearing her surname carved into the right and top sections. In the bottom left is a more traditional marker carved with the names of her husband and her daughter alongside her own. It's actually quite a beautiful piece of art befitting such an interesting woman.