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All the United States Maine York York Witch Grave
AO Edited

York Witch Grave

The grave of Mary Nasson is shrouded by witchy legends.

York, Maine

Added By
J.W. Ocker
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Close-up of Mary Nasson’s image on her grave   http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com
Grave of Mary Nasson, with stone slab to keep animals from disturbing the grave   http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com
  LordRivers / Atlas Obscura User
  xcountryqt35 / Atlas Obscura User
Wooden tokens on the grave   jooltman / Atlas Obscura User
  jooltman / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Information placard at the cemetery   http://www.oddthingsiveseen.com
Photograph by night, October 25 2019   bhrbagenski / Atlas Obscura User
Headstone   slanski02 / Atlas Obscura User
  slanski02 / Atlas Obscura User
Offerings on the grave. Dec 2018   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
York Witch Grave   stirlingcreative / Atlas Obscura User
  lgill20813 / Atlas Obscura User
  dimitrikarakostas / Atlas Obscura User
  lgill20813 / Atlas Obscura User
Tokens left on the grave   dimitrikarakostas / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Old Burying Yard of York, Maine, dates back to the 17th century. It’s small, sparsely tombstoned, and surrounded by a low stone wall that sits peacefully in a shady spot among the historic buildings of the Old York area of town. Average as graveyards go, this one has a special tenant. Inside that graveyard is the grave of a witch.

Mary Nasson died on August 18, 1774. To memorialize her, her husband Samuel had an image of her carved on the crown of the gravestone. It depicts Mary, or at least her upper half, as a loosely berobed woman with bugged eyes, a thin nose, a slightly upturned mouth, and a humped hairdo that looks like two skeins of yarn.

There’s nothing accidentally evil in the image’s expression, nor has natural wear unpleasantly distorted her face. And the flowing script of her epitaph merely states that she was a loving mother and wife, and that the husband looks forward to when his dust can “mingle” with hers.

Nevertheless, the people of York say she’s a witch, a legend that popped up decades after Nasson's death. The legend arose because weighing down the sod of her grave is a granite slab, which, according to the later lore, was laid down as an attempt to keep Nasson from rising from it. 

Of course, these types of stones are pretty common in old New England graves and were used to keep pigs and cattle away. Other graves in the Old Burying Ground probably had them as well, but over time they disappeared, probably recycled for building materials, including the wall of the cemetery itself.

The information sign on the wall of the cemetery lists the usual gamut of historical facts for the place, and even reiterates the legend of the witch’s grave—and also includes the real reason why the slab was likely installed.

Adapted with Permission from The New England Grimpendium by J.W. Ocker

Related Tags

Graves Witches Memento Mori Catacombs And Crypts

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Added By

JWOcker

Edited By

gwenleif, jooltman, ickaimp, bhrbagenski...

  • gwenleif
  • jooltman
  • ickaimp
  • bhrbagenski
  • Collector of Experiences
  • slanski02
  • LordRivers
  • stirlingcreative
  • lgill20813
  • xcountryqt35
  • dimitrikarakostas

Published

May 16, 2012

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  • https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/york-weekly/2020/10/27/york-american-history-witchs-grave-myth-and-history/3747956001/https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/york-weekly/2020/10/27/york-american-history-witchs-grave-myth-and-history/3747956001/
  • The New England Grimpendium: http://www.amazon.com/New-England-Grimpendium-J-Ocker/dp/0881509191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279457058&sr=8-1
York Witch Grave
23 Lindsay Rd
York, Maine, 03909
United States
43.143884, -70.652444
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