The Damned Story: In Ansonia they like to say, “If God isn’t a Chargers fan, then why is the sky blue?”
They also like to say “If Pine Grove Cemetery isn’t haunted, then why do people experience so many weird things there?”
Okay, maybe they don’t say that second part, exactly. (Don’t dare question the first part, though!) But for years there have been reports of unusual goings on at this unassuming graveyard on the western edge of town.
The full history of the cemetery is available on the Pine Grove Cemetery Association’s website. In a nutshell: In 1858, a group of Ansonia residents got together to found their own cemetery, eventually choosing a hilly piece of ground that featured a small grove of pine trees—hence the name.
The first person to officially be buried here was a 6-year-old girl in 1858, and since then, hundreds of departed souls have been added. At one end of the cemetery is a 14-foot-tall monument—a bronze figure of an artillery man on a granite pedestal—that was dedicated to native sons who died in the line of service during the Civil War. Many of the prominent residents of Ansonia from the 19th century are buried here, including many members of the Farrel Family and Col. William Wooster, a notable Civil War veteran.
A variety of paranormal phenomena have been reported here, including hearing the sounds of children playing and rattling chains and moans as well as an overpowering smell of roses. Others have also reported hearing names whispered in their ears in addition to bizarre “warm spots.”
Three dark figures have also allegedly been spotted guarding the gates of the cemetery.
Interestingly, we weren’t able to find any particular legend or story associated with the cemetery to explain the alleged haunting. We did notice that the experiences we mention above seem to be the same ones passed around from website to website, and there doesn’t seem to be any definitive source as to where these reports originated. An unexplained unexplained event?
So where did it all start? We’ll keep looking into it, but if anyone out there knows, please feel free to pass it along to us, via the comments.
Connecticut Soul Seekers did an investigation back in 2009 and have posted their report here.
Our Damned Experience: We paid a quick visit to Pine Grove Cemetery on a quiet Sunday afternoon in October 2011.
Ray Bendici
We wandered around the cemetery, taking a few pictures and checking out the grounds. We were there for about an hour, but didn’t have any unusual experiences—no dark figures, no warm spots, no child noises, no disembodied voices. There were a few people coming in and out of the cemetery, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Of course, we went in the middle of the day, which traditionally is not the time for hauntings or ghostly experiences.
The cemetery is surrounded on four sides by a suburban neighborhood, which might explain some of the odd noises and voices that people have claimed to hear while visiting.
If You Go: Pine Grove Cemetery is located at 15 Church Street in Ansonia. It is open for visiting 365 days a year during daylight hours.
As we say about every cemetery—please remember that this is a place where loved ones have been laid to rest, so when you visit, we ask that you politely follow the cemetery’s rules and schedules, and be respectful to those interred there as well as any visitors, earthbound or otherwise.
8 comments
Sorry but what’s the point of posting this post up ? If you guys didn’t investigate at night .
We don’t do investigations, we simply let you know the lore/legend of different locations.
We don’t claim anything is haunted and we don’t claim its not.
i played in that cemetery as a child never seen or heard anything out of the ordinary just a bunch of dead people trying to rest
I beleive in ghost. I live down the round and the town. me and my friends Mackenzie and Lexie have been researching and want to know what was the 6 year olds girl’s name? Please contact us if email dont respond in day try jennacostanzo@
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More than 15 of us was just there yesterday (April 14th, 2014) and we was there playing manhunt from 7-9 at night and we didn’t experience anything.
I worked there for a year as
I worked there for a year as a landscaper and this was after I heard it was haunted. Never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary. And I’m really into the paranormal
I worked there for a year as
I worked there for a year as a landscaper and this was after I heard it was haunted. Never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary. And I’m really into the paranormal
1978 thru 1984?
1978 thru 1984? as a kid me and my friends used to ride our bikes and skateboards through there all the time (and sneakily smoke cigarettes lol). We would be there daily in warm weather as it was like having our own area where the roads were recently paved and it was great for the skateboards. Also we didn’t have to worry about getting run over by the cars that zipped down all of the roads around city roads. As an adult I know it was wrong to use it as our own personal park… but at 7 thru 12/13 it was pretty cool. With that said I never experienced a haunting but there were an area or two that always felt pretty unwelcoming..quieter… a sense of foreboding in a minor way while the rest of the cemetery felt normal. I did feel a little freaked out once or twice there at night. Part of that is because we rarely went there at night always during the day and another likely was that we were young… but it was a feeling like I didn’t belong there and that same sense of foreboding felt a lot stronger… so we split. Now at that age I didn’t know anything about the paranormal or think about ghosts and I didn’t think the place was haunted.
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