The Haunted Vessel: Blue Mary

Grave of Mary Ritter Spaulding.

There are not a lot of local legends where I live that have ghosts attached, and even less that I will visit voluntarily.  Blue Mary is one surprising exception to this.

"Blue" Mary is a spirit that haunts Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, NH.  According to legend she appears as a blue light, and has caused any number of accidents, evps, creepy feelings, and supposed attacks.  I personally have never felt any malice in Vale End, or from Mary herself, but that's just me.  Most stories about her do suggest she is a vengeful and angry spirit, though when you hear her history it's no wonder.

In life Mary was known as Mary Ritter, or by her married name Mary Spaulding.  By all accounts she was a happy woman, marrying Captain Isaac Spaulding in 1795 and having eight children.  Some local folklore reports that Mary was a healer who specialized in using herbs, but there are no other sources to verify this information.

Uriel at Mary's grave.

Mary died in 1808 at 35 years old.  There is some mystery surrounding her death as well.  Some legends suggest that her husband was cheating on her with a younger woman (who he eventually married), and the depression and anger caused by this drove her to suicide.  Others agree with the infidelity, but say Mary wasted away on her own.  One word-of-mouth report I heard included Mary hanging herself in her home.  Whatever the case, Mary died young, leaving behind a husband and eight children.

It's traditional to leave offerings to appease
Mary. Note the pennies on her grave.

In 1809, a little over a year after his wife's death, Isaac married his second wife Mary Flynn Colburn.  Some reports suggest that this Mary was in fact the woman Isaac had been having and affair with.  When this Mary died, Isaac had her buried on top of his first wife.  It is for this reason that many people say Mary Ritter has returned to haunt Vale End.

I have been to Vale End a number of times, and have not experienced the terror that most reports insist is present.  I'm not sure exactly why that is, other than perhaps the fact that I really, truly, feel for Mary.  To me it isn't an attraction like a theme park, it's sad and unfortunate.  I like to go and talk "to" Mary, leave her little gifts as is customary, and often play her songs.

I haven't had any intense experiences, but the last time I was there I did experience something odd.  I brought my guitar along, and sat across from Mary's grave and played her songs for at least an hour.  I sang a number of covers, and then I delved into my own works, not all of which are particularly poppy or happy.  I found that when I sang my own music, I would feel a presence over my shoulder.  In particular when I sang a few songs that dealt with death, I felt the presence and the faint touch of something.

At first I thought the nearby trees were dripping on me, but this feeling occurred only when I was playing.  If I stopped playing/singing, it stopped.  There was no wind at the time, and I even moved out from underneath the trees to see if that was the cause.  However, as soon as I started playing again, the feeling return.  It honestly almost felt like tears falling on my shoulder, which is strange to say the least.

This time I went back with my sister and Uri, and we wandered around the cemetery for a while taking in the scenery.  Ghosts aside, it's truly a beautiful place to sit.  Hence why I come here so often with a book, guitar, sketch pad, etc.  I snapped some pictures of Mary's grave, and some f Uri with the grave, as well as some of the cemetery itself.

I should add that Vale End is also known for having at least two other spirits in residence.  One is an old man who wanders around near the cemetery gate.  Supposedly his daughter was buried in the grounds, but her grave was moved at some point.  The man returns and looks for his daughter's grave.


The second spirit is where most of the frightened reports come from.  According to local legend there is a Native American troll-like spirit that lives in or around the cemetery in some sort of den.  Apparently this area was the location of a massacre of Native American people by the Wilton townsfolk, and this creature is a punishment left in the wake of the violence.  I have never experienced either of these secondary ghosts, but that's just me.

Here are some more picture of the cemetery itself to give you a better idea of what the grounds look like.  It is really a beautiful place.

For more information on Mary and Vale End:

SPI's Website

Union Leader article

Ghosts of New England article

Hollow Hill article

FamilyPedia entry

Nashua Telegraph article