Written by Leah Marie, 26 March 2024.

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In Connecticut it is easy to find yourself nowhere - in a place, a region, an area, that you won't find on any map. Most don't have their own post office or zip code, just a shared history and heritage. (These are officially known as "census-designated places".) These areas have individual spirits from the towns that host them, and many stubbornly insist on their independence. Black Rock, Huntington, Stevenson, Dodgingtown, Sandy Hook...these are just a few of many names in Fairfield County that residents will use to enforce their identities and that you will see on border signs, but not on maps. Each area has a unique feel, a distinct ambience. Perhaps the region with the most curios aura is Stepney.

Stepney lies within the borders of Monroe. It centers around a small green situated just prior to the Route 25/Route 59 intersection, if you are heading north. The green features a classically New England, white wooden gazebo, which is often decorated according to the season or current events. Stepney has a lot of unusual forces converging on it, giving it a classic New England vibe during the day, but something a bit more sinister at night. Rife with ghosts, witches, psychic energy, and demons, Stepney could be Connecticut's "Little Salem". Highlights on a paranormal tour of Stepney are as follows, in alphabetical order:

Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery

The centerpiece of Stepney - Stepney Green - is bounded on the west side by Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel and Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery. If you follow nearby Route 59 into Easton, where Route 59 makes an inexplicable left turn and becomes Sport Hill Road, you will find Union Cemetery. According to paranormal experts, Ed and Lorraine Warren, Union Cemetery is the most haunted cemetery in the country. Union Cemetery is "home" to the infamous White Lady, the most notable of several apparitions that haunt the area. She has been seen walking Stepney Road between Union Cemetery and Stepney Cemetery at night, appearing in a white, old-fashioned nightgown or dress. Some people claim to have run her over as she stands in the middle of the street, only to discover that no one is there, yet damage has been done to their vehicles. According to an article in the Easton Courier, the White Lady might be Ruby Wells Edwards, the 19-year-old bride of a jealous older man (Robert Edwards). A contemporary newspaper article (1923) stated that Robert Edwards, estranged from his wife and overcome with jealousy, surprised Ruby on a dark road in Easton, as she was on her way home from a friend's house. When she refused to reconcile with him, he shot her twice with a shotgun. He then fled into the forest and shot himself. It is thought that Ruby Wells Edwards and Robert Edwards are buried (separately) in Union Cemetery (or possibly Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery; Ruby's parents are interred in Birdsey's Plain), but there is no record of either one in either cemetery. For more information and to view a photo of Ruby Wells Edwards, visit Union Cemetery's page.

Birdey's Plain is adjacent to Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, which the Warrens said performed the most exorcisms in the country. They claimed that these exorcised entities, once banished from their hosts and the church, linger in the neighboring cemetery. Many people have reported strange, inexplicable occurrences and presences in the cemetery.

Birdsey's Plain is the final resting place of esteemed paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Effigy Witch Shoppe

Effigy Witch Shoppe is in a small shopping plaza, diagonally across from Stepney Green. They sell books, jewelry, candles, crystals, stones/minerals, altar tools, scrying mirrors, pendulums, and many other items to aid in the practice of witchcraft. They feature a full apothecary and offer tarot readings. If you are interested in "majick and spellcraft", I suggest you visit their website.

Gregory Four Corners Burial Ground

Gregory Four Corners, a very small burial ground located on Spring Hill Road, just over the Stepney border in Trumbull, is the final resting place of Hannah Cranna. The "witch of Monroe", Hannah was the wife of Captain Joseph Hovey. Supposedly, he died a mysterious death - he awoke one morning to go for a walk, became disoriented and walked off a cliff. Hannah then lived off the kindness of strangers. It was rumored that those she favored experienced good luck; those who invoked her displeasure would be cursed. A man who fished on her property without her permission was said to be cursed, never again able to catch a fish. A woman who refused to give Hannah Cranna a pie that she was cooling in the window, lost the ability to bake entirely. Hannah even had a "familiar", a rooster named Old Boreas. When Old Boreas died, Hannah told a neighbor that she, too, would soon die and that when she did, she wanted her coffin to be carried by foot, not by wagon, to the cemetery. She died the next day, but a snowstorm made efforts to carry her casket difficult. It was decided to load her coffin onto a wagon, but it slid off the cart and ended up halfway down the hill toward her house. They secured it with chains and several men sat on top of the casket. The casket began to shake, fell off the wagon and dumped the men off in the process. They finally decided to bring her casket to the cemetery on foot. Afterwards, they returned to town, to find Hannah's house in flames. Incidentally, Hannah's tombstone is in remarkably good condition when you consider its age and the ruined condition of ALL the other grave markers (several from the same time period). Then again, Hannah's stone is also made of a different material than all the others.

Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel

Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, with its daunting, enormous crucifix hanging on the front of the building, borders Stepney Green and is adjacent to Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery. Supposedly, this church has performed more exorcisms than any other in the country. It was speculated by the Warrens that the exorcised demons would linger and haunt its neighboring cemetery. Many people have claimed to experience unsettling, supernatural events in Birdsey's Plain.

Psychics

There are at least two psychics working out of Stepney, and both are within a 3-minute walk of Stepney Green. One is diagonally across from the green, just past the plaza containing the Effigy Witch Shoppe. Another resides in the plaza on the other side of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel.

Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery, about two miles down Route 59 from Stepney Green, is the most haunted cemetery in the country, according to Ed and Lorraine Warren. They wrote a book about it, Graveyard. Ed claimed to have supernatural experiences when visiting the cemetery, and it is famous for its paranormal sightings. The White Lady, its most infamous entity, is said to wander between Union and Birdsey's Plain. (For her story, refer to the Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery entry.)

Ed and Lorraine Warren and their Occult Museum

Ed and Lorraine Warren were world-famous for their embracing of the occult in their pursuit to exorcise the demonic and prove that life exists after death. They traveled extensively, helping people who were being terrorized by malicious, paranormal entities and educating the masses about life after death and protecting oneself from soliciting otherworldy evil. Cases they documented include the Amityville Horror, the possessed doll, Annabelle, the Perron family haunting (basis for the film, The Conjuring), the Lindley Street haunting (Bridgeport, CT), and the possession of Arne Cheyenne Johnson (the "devil made me do it" murder case). The Warrens created an occult museum in their garage, housing myriad objects that were supposedly cursed, possessed, or used in nefarious occult rites (including Annabelle). The Warrens wrote several books, including Graveyard, about nearby Union Cemetery. The couple resided in Stepney, just a few blocks from Stepney Green. Their occult museum is still located in Stepney. Ed and Lorraine Warren are buried in Birdsey's Plain/Stepney Cemetery.

All photos copyright by the author, 2024. Not to be used or reproduced without permission.

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