Last Spring I was introduced to the legend of “Witch Bonney” who resides in the Lowell Cemetery in Lowell, Ma. If you go to see her, you will find all sorts of offerings and remnants of candles burned at her feet. There are often coins, flowers, prayer beads, stones and more given to her. I have heard of a story of a woman who took some beads from the grave and had nothing but bad luck and actually brought them back to end the “curse” of those who disrespect her.
The fact is, Clara Bonney Lilley was a married woman who is buried at her father’s (Bonney) plot along with her husband and mother. There is no evidence that she was a witch, although the “story” is that she was a witch that was hung during the witch trials, and she supposedly said before she died that she was going to come back an kill the family members of the people that condemned her. It goes on to say that she is buried with a list of last names of the people who killed her and when her dress falls below her breasts those family members with those last names will die. FACT: Clara died in the 1800’s, not 1600’s.
It is said that one day she will be reborn in the hollow of a tree. Scoff if you wish, but then one notices an odd thing if you frequent the cemetery. Workers there are careful to cut down any trees that are showing age and could be home to her resurrection. Are they believers or just not taking the chance? Supposedly there have been some odd EMF readings at the site as well.
There is also a story of a “guardian” or “protector” of Witch Bonney that you can find by looking where she looks. It is believed that this is the grave she looks to:
So, if you happen into this beautiful cemetery, be sure to say “Hello” to Witch Bonney and her brave lion for me.
If you found the history and stories interesting, there are a few books you might like to read on the history of Lowell Mass and some of it’s former residents.
What a very interesting story! I like the way you gave us myth vs. fact. Would love to visit her someday.
Thank you. It’s a BEAUTIFUL garden cemetery. Definitely worth the visit.
Its true I visited her today her dress has dropped compared to other photos
Last week my sister and I visited our relatives who live in Lowell. We both live in the southwest. We took a walk in the lowell cemetery which I frequentley did when I was a kid growing up in the area. We saw witch Bonney’s grave and stood on the hallow ground she is burried in. It was an errie feeling we felt when we walked onto her gravesite. There were other visitors in the grave yard who directed us to her grave. they also felt that feeling of a presence. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I walked away from her grave.
I remember as a kid finding a group of graves in that same cemetery where the people burried there were burned at the stake for being witches. My sister and I couldn’t locate the group. do you know where those graves are located in the cemetery? If you have photo’s of their graves I would like to see them.
There is definitely a presence at that site.
As far as I know, there was no cemetery located there during the time of the witch trials. All “official” burnings were done where the courts were, namely near the Salem Ma area and Boston and most of those burials were unmarked or outside of cemetery borders due to the belief that these should not be placed in “holy ground”.
Are you sure it was near this cemetery? Could it have been one of those myths you heard as a child that really isn’t fact? As I stated, one myth about Bonney was connected to witch trials but there are more than a hundred years discrepancy so there is no way. It was simply a made up story.
There is a cemetery on school street that has 4 gravestones that overlook the rest, this is supposed to be where the witches of lowell are buried.
it wasn’t a made up story it actually happened look it up there are facts. no she truly wasn’t a witch but was believed to be and was hung for it. and none of us were around then so none of us will truly know the full story but witch hangings were not mainly done in salem or boston they were done all over the state. salem just happens to be were most of them took place.
The graves you are looking for are to the left of Bonnie and have a little rock wall all around the give graves.. there is also to woman that are in the front to the left that were hung there is to benches as graves
Lowell Cemetery dedicated 1841. Last witch trials in Massachusetts happened in 1692, 149 years earlier than creation of cemetery.
my mother told me that when she was a kid she went to see witch bonnie 2 days in a row. the 1st day both of the witches feet were pointed forward.the 2nd day one foot was pointed at an angle.my mom thinks the witch walks at night.
[…] covered Ms Bonney’s history in a previous post. [Witch Bonney] Tomorrow is Clara’s birthday. This is my gift to her. Happy Birthday Clara Bonney […]
I actually live in Lowell near the cemetery. My cross country team holds our summer practices at the park across the street from the cemetery(sheds park). Since I will be a captain on the team this fall, I get to choose the route we run at practice, and we often run through the peaceful(and mercifully shady) cemetery. During our fall cross country seasons, we have a long standing tradition where on Halloween we visit the Bonney statue, check the level of her neckline(which really does seem to drop each year, although I don’t think it will ever truly go lower than her nipples, which is the current level) and introduce her to our freshmen(freshwomen technically) which she ”preys” on, or so we tell them.
Anyway, so last year when the team went into the cemetery for Halloween I and another veteran runner on the team(my co-captain for this year) went into the cemetery ahead of time to scare the other runners (the coach knew about our joke)… We went to witch Bonney and looked at all her offerings and found two crumpled up dollars in the front of her dress. We each took one and then we laid near the statue, after covering ourselves in dirt, leaves, and fake blood. The girls were so freake out when our coach brought them to Bonney, but when we got up and laughed, they did too.
So we got up and finished our run, and my cohort and I made plans to spend the Bonney dollars. A few days later, though, when I checked my music box where I kept the dollar, I noticed it was gone. I asked my teammate and she lost hers too! It was so freaky but kinda cool at the same time. True story, I swear.
[…] I found some information at this site https://darkofthemoon.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/witch-bonney/ . […]
I live in Lowell, Massachusetts. I have a creepy story, although I’d rather not share because honestly I dont want it to happen again. But, me knowing what I’ve seen can happen when she’s involved in anyway to this day, KNOW, that “fact” of the matter is, she is a witch. Without absolutely no reasonable doubt. And for the record, shes there with her husband, mother and father. There’s two men, one last name Lilly and one with Bonney. Clara’s husband’s family found out she was a witch and told eveyone in the towm. She was burnt at the stake, but those dates are before the which trials, not before witches were discovered.
Clara died in 1894 of Pthisis a very long time after the witch witch trials. The story is a bunch of hokum started by some fool who didn’t have a clue. She had a lovely obituary in the Lowell papers.
That’s so weird!!! Did you ever stumble upon the other witches? Are they around Bonney?
[…] Witch Bonney December 2008 9 comments 3 […]
I love the story it is soooooo interesting!!!!
To the “Fact” that Witch Bonney was a witch, no. There is no “fact” that she was a witch. There is no records of her being a witch. There is nothing to implicate she was ever a witch. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t have been a witch. Just bear in mind, NONE of the people killed during the witch trials were actually witches. (Salem MA, for that matter, is laughable to me, as the witch trials didn’t happen there, but thats another story. Research it if you want).
Witch Bonney also was not a Wiccan, as Wiccan didn’t exist yet. Wiccan is a very new organization of old rituals and traditions associated with witchcraft passed down for generations. It’s like “Into to Witch Craft” for anyone who wants to be Pagan but isn’t quite sure what their path is. Sooo… she isn’t Wiccan either.
As for the Lion statue, there is more to that. The groundskeepers protect it in the winter by boxing it up, part of the legend is when her dress falls to her waist, she will be reborn in the hollow of a tree, and the lion statue will crumble. Not only do the groundskeepers cut down any trees that start to show signs of being hollow, but they also protect that statue.
As for strange occurrences, I’ve had my share there. I live in Lowell. I have no doubt that there is SOMETHING going on there, but I have to say that she was not burned at the stake for witchcraft, her religious beliefs can only be known to her. (even if she was baptized Christian, her own personal beliefs are impossible to know unless you can find a way to ask her). She was not a Lowell mill girl either, look at the dates. Also, her dress has fallen slightly over the years.
I have been to Witch Bonney’s statue along with some friends and there is definetely a strange feeling along with strange occurances that take place there
Yeah. I went there today. I suddenly got a headache and i felt like i was gonna fall backwards. But anyways..
I am born & raised in Lowell & I can still remeber the first time I went to see Bonney 😉 It was September 3 1995 it was my 14th birthday & I had always talked about wanting to go see her, since I grew up hearing all kinda of stories about her that I just has to see her!! So my mothers friend drove me their & it was an amazing expirence the feeling I had was so amazing, peaceful… & I go there to this day & still get that feeling I can’t explain… It’s like a calm peaceful feeling & although my mothers friend drove off & left me there as a joke, “NOT FUNNY” I did feel scared I started to run it felt like I was running in circles because I kept ending back at her resting place,, it was the weirdest thing ever. The cemetery it self is extreamly beautiful its nice for walks & I like to go through each tomb & pay my respect ❤ if you have never been it is a nice place to visit, now the times that I have gone I've never seen any candles or offerings yet I hear that people do leave coins & all kinds of items, the last time I went I took a friend & he was being rude to the statue & I was telling him to be more respectful & to not speak about Bonnie the way he was & that night while driving home home we had an accident & the crazy part was all I could think off was Bonnie & him being disrespectful, I felt as though she was giving us a warming well him not me because he got hurt I was fine…. So make sure then when you do visit your at your best behavior & don't take anything left for her, overall it's a great place to visit….. 😉
I used to live across the street. There are wesites full of haunting info on the cemetery. Over there. I have been there a few times even snuck in at night and its definatly a legit place. Bonney is always creepy and always a must see but the whole damn place is. Creepy esp at night I would defintly check it out
I used to live in Lowell Massachusetts and I went to see Bonney’s gravesite and a friend of mine pulled his car up the road near her statue and another group of friends parked out on the road in the park a little while later we left the cemetery and the friend who parked near her statue his car wouldn’t start for a half hour and the other friend’s car who was parked out in the park started without a problem Another night a week later me and a different group of friends went there again and there was no one else there and we left right before the cemetery closed we left the cemetery As we walked out we stood outside the gates and suddenly a man walked out wearing all black with a trenchcoat got into a black pickup truckand that night at each of our homes or apartments his truck was outside each one of them or across the street We had contacted one another regarding this It happened all within an hour of leaving Bonney’s statue
my father works there and he does not believe in the curse, and only cuts down trees to make more room this is all fake but oddly including breasts and teenagers I of course don’t believe in it either but telling a story can scare some youngens quite a bit and its a good halloween tell tale I hope you keep your business, but all of this is definately fake fun and money
sincerely
mysterious writer
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure what business you are talking about, though. I don’t do “tours” or anything like that to tell stories. I have just visited a few times and researched the myths and legends of the place. That kind of thing is a hobby of mine and nothing else. Only a friend or two comes with me for fun and nobody makes any money. It definately is fun though.
Your dad is lucky, it’s a beautiful place to have to work in. Sure beats a desk and cubicle.
take care.
Good reply. I researched Clara a long time ago. She was simply a fairly young wife and mother from a well-to-do family who was simply showing off their money when they built the memorial.
Went to see her today. Left her a necklace and a ring an when I went back 1 hour later, a few kids had taken it. Also found out that the lion is the only grave specially protected (a shed is built around him in the winter). She’s definitely intimidating. My friends and I cautiosly approached her. Lol. But it was definitely worth it. May visit her more often.
So is her legend urban or true i took n offering n im native american n have no interest n the christiam beliefs u tell me i had no eeerie feelings its just a statue add me on facebook f ur from lowell n we can sneak n at night calvin gabriel brave hawk is my fb name
I think it’s an urban legend. The historical timeline doesn’t fit in with the witch trials. Still, it’s a fantastic story.
No one was burned in the United States for being a witch. That was Europe. In the US, they were hanged.
Correct, as far as I know. Although some were crushed to death…perhaps other lesser known incidents happened with other forms of death as well. I haven’t looked into that.
Back at the Salem thing , if you were hung, your estate was taken by the so-called government in the area. However, if you were pressed, the family could keep it all. I think there was only one, maybe 2 men pressed.
I’ve been going to pay my respect”s to miss witch Bonnie all my life, she truly is something special..I have pics of the lion and myself sitting on his back as young as three years old . 🙂 I’ve been going to that cemetery all my life and the most amazing and some times scary things have gone on while spending time there.. I can also tell you there’s no worries when your there. I have spent the night there with her and mgt father and never felt safer then I did while I was there…
Why spend the night with a statue?.
does anyone know exactly how she passed away? I read somewhere she died two months after giving birth to her daughter, also named Clara
The dates are all on the back of the monument..its a family marker.
I believe she died of something called Pthisis.
Just as poor people accused of witchcraft in Salem MA. during the witch trials of 1692, it is doubtful that Clara was a witch at all. We all know that in Salem MA. a cottage industry has been built around a complete lie. There probably were NO witches in Salem MA during the trials, only a case of mass hysteria coupled with probable ergot poisoning. And there is absolutely no evidence that Clara was a witch or practicing occultist. Just more fantasy created out of whole cloth. I’m surprised there isn’t a shop next to the statue selling incense.
Not to mention the years she was alive…
About five years ago on Halloween Day I took my nieces and nephew to see Bonny witch grave . All the kids were so frightened of Bonnie witch statue except my daughter and her cousin .. Now how ironic is this.. The two kids that got out of the car which is my daughter and her cousin . I get the chills till this day talking about it… Come to find out her birthday June 19 is my daughters birthday and the day she died is her cousins birthday. We had no idea what date she was born or when she passed away.. I was pretty freaked out that day all of us .. The crazy part about this is that the two kids that
Wasn’t scared to come out and see her ended up looking at a statue with their birthday on it . The other kids was so scared to come out of the car .. we all jumped back into the car and went home scared to death. I don’t know if she’s a bad witch or a good witch but those eyes look like it kept staring at us till we left the cemetery ..
Reblogged this on Peter Alexander Thorne.
Re-blogged on my blog. Thank you for such a great post.