Stepney Cemetery sits next to the Stepney Green in the Stepney village section of Monroe, Connecticut, near the intersection of Pepper Street and Route 25. The cemetery was established in 1794 on land donated by Noah and James Burr Jr. (it was later enlarged). It is also known as Birdsey’s Plain Cemetery or Beardsley Plain Cemetery. The oldest known headstone is that of Nathaniel W. Knapp (died 1787), a Revolutionary War private; other early burials include members of the Beardsley, Booth, Burritt, and related local families. More than 1,400 interments are estimated. An ornate cast-iron fence and gates were added in 1878 through a donation from a local resident who had prospered elsewhere. Immediately adjacent stands Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel. The building was originally constructed in 1839 by Hanford Hull as a Greek Revival Methodist meetinghouse (one of the “twin churches” on the Stepney Green). It closed as a Methodist church and was sold in 1973 to a traditional Roman Catholic group that continues to celebrate the Latin Mass there. The neighboring George Burritt House (c. 1836) was acquired at the same time and used as a convent for Dominican sisters associated with the chapel.
Ed and Lorraine Warren, the well-known paranormal investigators, lived nearby in Stepney and are buried in the cemetery. Their occult museum remains in the area.
Reported Hauntings and Folklore
The cemetery is linked in local lore to the “White Lady,” a figure more commonly associated with nearby Union Cemetery in Easton. Ed and Lorraine Warren believed Stepney Cemetery was also haunted by a White Lady (or a similar spirit) who was said to travel between the two sites along Route 59. Visitor reports describe a woman in a white gown or dress; one widely circulated account involves a firefighter who said a woman in white ran in front of his truck near the cemetery, was struck, and then vanished with no body or evidence left. Other reported phenomena include apparitions, orbs or “ectoplasm,” feelings of dread or sadness (especially near the Warren grave), and a local legend that calling the name of Nathaniel Knapp may result in a touch on the shoulder or a tug of the hair. Some online sources claim the neighboring chapel has performed numerous exorcisms and that malevolent spirits gather in the adjacent cemetery; these claims are not supported by documented church records in publicly available sources. The stories remain visitor reports, folklore, and associations with the Warrens rather than the product of controlled investigation.
Relevant links
Find a Grave: Stepney Cemetery
Birdsey’s Plain / Stepney Cemetery overview
Historical Marker Database: Birdsey’s Plain Methodist Church — now Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel
Save Our Stepney Task Force: Stepney Heritage Trail
A great site about hauntings in Connecticut is DamnedCT.com