The following contains a fictional story
30 minutes east of Keene lies the quaint town of Wilton, New Hampshire. Offering a small downtown with local shops and candy stores and beautiful foliage in the fall, the town provides its residents a quiet life. However, deep in the heart of Wilton, the Blue Lady, and possibly a humanoid figure haunts the grounds of the Vale End Cemetery.
Said to be one of the most haunted cemeteries in the region, the cemetery is situated in the middle of a winding road, filled with potholes of various sizes and trees that cascade over the road. According to the Wilton Heritage Committee, the Vale End Cemetery was first used as early as 1752 as a burial ground for a 19-day-old baby named Phebe Cram. To this day, the whereabouts of her grave remains unknown. The cemetery officially came into service in 1780, becoming the first of Wilton’s five cemeteries.
Vale End Cemetery is different from most cemeteries of the day, as there are many gravestones that are still standing after 200 years. There are many notable Wiltonites that are buried at the cemetery such as John Stiles, John Putnam and Major Isaac Frye who notably fought at Bunker Hill and has a road named after him that runs through the town. However, the most notable grave at Vale End is that of Mary Ritter Spaulding, or “The Blue Lady.”
Wed in 1795, Spaulding was the mother of seven children, until her untimely death in April of 1808. According to many books and local folklore, Spaulding was a well-mannered woman who regularly attended church and healed others with various prayers and herbs. Although she supposedly haunts the cemetery, no one is certain as to why. But one thing is for certain, her appearance is rather theatrical in the town.
Many local residents of Wilton have reported seeing Spaulding, calling her by her pseudonym “The Blue Lady.” Supposedly, she manifests herself over her grave, appearing as a bright blue column of light. One article referred to the light as “similar to a transporter beam in the TV show ‘Star Trek’.” From the reports and folklore, the light vibrates with energy and towers at six feet tall, floating a foot or two over her headstone.
Some encounters at the grave include a strange experience with a tennis ball. “My best friend Tyler went there after curfew with his friend and found a tennis ball by her grave,” Megan, a commenter on an article about the Blue Lady said. “He threw the ball into the bushes right next to her grave. Less than three minutes later, the ball rolled back in front of her grave.”
Megan ended her comment with a warning to future graveyard visitors. “Good luck if you visit. Don’t go alone.”
There are some theories about the haunting at the cemetery, some saying that vandalism has contributed to the appearance of Spaulding’s apparition. Over the past 10 years, many headstones and markers have become victims of theft or vandalism. There are other theories, with some people claiming that there are rituals performed at the grave site of Spaulding. One ritual is Vodun, also known by its common name Voodoo, which is practiced in many African religions. Locals claim that during these rituals, participants leave various items at gravestones including shiny coins. It is important to note that you should not remove anything from her grave or anyone’s grave. Some locals claim that if you remove these coins, you are inviting trouble to your health.
Over the past few years, the focus has shifted from “The Blue Lady” to something more sinister: Demons. Some relate this change back to November of 1999 and the incident with paranormal investigator Fiona Broome.
In 1999, Broome’s photographer Nancy and her daughter decided to visit Wilton’s Vale End Cemetery as they were avid paranormal investigators, and have heard the local tale of “The Blue Lady,” and heard nothing but harmless stories. According to the tale, Nancy and her daughter went to go investigate the grave of Spaulding. As they approached the headstone, something described as “dark” rose up from a nearby grave to Spaulding’s. They quickly drove off, so quickly in fact one of their car mirrors was knocked off by a nearby tree.
After they returned home, they called Broome. Noreen wanted to know if anything follows people home from graveyards, but Broome of course assured her that nothing would have filled her home.
Broome might have been incorrect as five days later, Noreen was found dead in her car in a parking lot in Wilton. After the autopsy, a coroner claimed that it was a sudden heart attack. According to reports, Noreen had no prior history of heart disease.
After the news, Broome decided to return to the cemetery in the spring of 2000. According to Broome’s account, as Broome and her team approached the headstone, an apparent figure, described as a “three-foot tall hairy humanoid” appeared. Broome described the figure as a “muppet or grover.” She approached the figure and ran into what was described as a “force field.”
Broome photographed the figure and when she developed the photos, they were completely black. However, one of them showed vaguely the humanoid red blob of the figure. Broome explained that her colleague turned the photo 180 degrees and it “looked like the classic image of Satan.”
Broome explained on her blog that she will never return to Vale End and will never talk about it again because people do not take her seriously.
No doubt, Vale End Cemetery has given many people and investigators spooks and scares. If you plan on visiting the cemetery, please do so during the day as the cemetery is closed during the night and police frequently patrol the area.
Connor Crawford can be contacted at:
ccrawford@kscequinox.com
