Amsterdam, New York
Widow Susan Cemetery | Greenhill Cemetery
Susan Thomas was born in 1821 in Scotland. She married Harmanus DeGraff in March of 1838 and became Susan DeGraff. Harmanus was born in 1800 and died at the age of 48 in 1848. He unfortuantely left his wife Susan with 3-4 children to raise alone. She died in Michigan on May 23, 1892. She is buried at Greenhill Cemetery in Amsterdam, New York.
Widow Susan DeGraff is not buried at Widow Susan Cemetery located along that road. She is buried at the Greenhill Cemetery (located between Grove Street and Highway 67/Church Street in Amsterdam) next to her daughter Susanna. However, it is unknown where her husband Harmanus is buried. Although it is unlikely that he is buried at the Widow Susan Cemetery, it is still possible. At any rate, people who have researched this site in depth have concluded that Widow Susan did not live or die or get buried nearby and thus it is somewhat confounding why people have reported seeing this ghostly figure here, if it is indeed the Widow Susan.
Widow Susan Cemetery Ghosts and the Paranormal:
There are several different ghostly stories associated with the Widow Susan Cemetery. Visitors to the cemetery report seeing a White Lady. White Ladies are ghostly figures wearing all white that are often observed searching for a lost lover or a lost child.
Others have reported that at the top of the hill, outside of the cemetery, if one chants the words “Widow Susan” three times, a variety of paranormal phenomena will occur upon turning into the cemetery. Vehicles won’t start. Scratching sounds are reported on the outside of the car including the sound of someone trying to open the car doors. People have also reported strange writings on the outside of the car upon leaving the cemetery.
Resources:
The Shadowlord (1998). Shadowlands Haunted Places Index. Retrieved February 5, 2011 from http://theshadowlands.net/places/florida.htm
Find Your Dead, Inc. (2008-2010). Find Your Dead. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from http://findyourdead.com/?p=848
3 Comments
I don’t know! I’ve lived a stone’s throw from Widow Susan Road for almost 50 years and more than once have sat at the top of that hill near that cemetery, chanting like an idiot! Nothing. Nada….lol…oh well, good story 🙂
There is in fact a small area on Widow Susana road where there are several graves. A friend of my families purchased land on the road years ago and while making a path into the woods came upon several gravestones.
Yes, there are also a couple of larger, well kept cemeteries on that road, too.