June 17, 2025 • 26 mins
They called her a witch. She called the shots—even from the grave.
In this episode, we’re heading to Monroe, Connecticut, to meet Hanna Cranna—New England’s most delightfully petty alleged witch. Known for cursing neighbors, hexing pies, and issuing some seriously spooky funeral instructions, Hanna wasn’t your average 19th-century widow.
We’ll dig into the real woman behind the legend (Hannah Hovey), explore how her eerie reputation took root, and ask the big questions: Was she truly magical, or just masterful at controlling a town that feared her?
From flying rumors to coffin drama, this is the story of the witch who didn’t just haunt Monroe—she hexed her way into it's history.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Some cemeteries are a peaceful place of remembrance and rest.
Others seem to hold a more ominous feel.
An unexplained shadow cast a Creek of a tree in the wind.
An uneasy feeling something is watching you in the dark corner
or just behind you. Join us as we explored the
Gregory Four Corners Cemetery inMonroe, Connecticut.
Is most infamous resident the witch of Monroe.
(00:20):
I'm Chris. I'm Kathy.
I'm Sean. And this is weirder after dark.
(00:41):
You ever been in a cemetery and got that strange vibe, that
feeling like something was watching you, that just
something wasn't right? Nothing that pops out of my
memory. I've never had like a spooky
feeling or like kind of, you know, something staring at me,
but I have had some weird experiences in the cemetery
before. So there's a cemetery right by
my house and I, I'll go jogging in it.
(01:02):
And one time I was like just jogging around, you know, in the
zone. And then all of a sudden there
was this like car parked and like one of the lanes coming at
me. I moved over to the left hand
side and then all of a sudden the car moved to the left hand
side of it. So I kind of like stopped, and
then it just came up to me and then stopped right directly in
front of me. Yeah, yeah.
It was so weird. And I was kind of just staring.
I was like, Yep, this is where Idie.
Okay, okay. And then a guy got out of the
(01:26):
vehicle, stood out in front of the door and just kind of stared
at me. And I kind of was like stopped,
frozen, looked at him and he's just like you having a nice day.
And I was like, yes. Wow.
Yeah, and then I was just like you.
And he goes, sure am. Have a wonderful jog.
I'm usually turned around and jogged off the direction.
So that was strange. I'm not jogging, I'm running,
yeah. You just avoided becoming the
(01:48):
next victim of a serial killer. Yeah, pretty sure.
It was weird, It was. It's definitely up there in
weird moments. Now, he didn't have his lights
on with a flag on the car with aline of cars behind him, did he?
No. OK, I'm just checking.
No, it was not a funeral. No, no, it was just a really
weird day. It was a weird day.
Well, it's interesting because some cemeteries feel very
(02:08):
peaceful, others get off this weird vibe.
If you're from New England, you're most likely familiar with
these small little graveyards. Usually they're from the 17 and
1800s. You know the type.
You see them on back roads and the neighborhoods near farms or
on the outskirts of town. Maybe you have one on your Rd.
as I do. They're usually surrounded by a
rusting black iron fence. They hold a dozen or so
(02:30):
gravestones and are overgrown and in disrepair.
The stones are usually simple slabs of slate or granite, and
some are so faded overtime that you can barely read or make out
at all the names or dates. It can be a creepy vibe to these
places even today as an adult. When I was an elementary school
kid on the bus, I remember I used to hold my breath when I
passed them. As it turns out, talking to
(02:52):
friends, this is a common New England superstition, passed
down from older students to younger students.
I used to do that same, yeah. 100% all the time and I remember
there used to be one in Londonderry and it was so long
and every. Time I'm driving.
I'm a dying about. To pass so.
Exactly what you're talking about.
Chances are you passed one driving around this week.
Chances are you didn't even notice it.
(03:12):
Chances are you didn't even remember to hold your breath as
you passed it. I want to tell you a story that
might have you returning to yourchildhood superstitions to
protect yourself from what lies just beyond your perception.
Oh, I love that build up. Yeah.
If I do a good job telling the story, you might even want to
leave an offering in memory of arestless soul for your
protection. But most likely you will not.
(03:34):
After all, these are just stories and folklore and silly
superstitions. Nothing really to worry about
here, right? I don't know, I feel like I got
to go out the door feet first. I got.
To open the window. And now I got to hold my breath.
So many superstitions around cemeteries.
So in Monroe, a rural town in Connecticut, there's one of
these unassuming graveyards. It's in the Gregory Four Corners
(03:56):
Cemetery. It'll be very easy to drive
right past and pay no mind. Other than one oddly placed
stone auspiciously close to the road and inappropriately
arranged on a steep embankment that doesn't seem suitable for a
burial site. This one particular stone sticks
out from the rest is not the size or style of the stone by
the fact that it's in such a oddspot, almost in the road on the
(04:20):
embankment. It also sticks out because it is
so well attended to. You can often find flowers or
candles or other small offeringson or surrounding the gravestone
on the stone, reads Hannah CranaHovie, 1783 to 1859 or 60, wife
of Captain Joseph Hovie. Or 60.
Or 60 so they. Don't know when she died.
(04:42):
They do not know when she died. So as the story goes, Hannah
would terrify this town of Monroe in life but more so in
death. Not much is known about Hannah's
childhood. She was not from a prominent
family and when she married a well respected captain, she
found a way into the history books.
Hannah married Captain Joseph Hovey in 18O2.
(05:04):
The captain was often out to seafor weeks at times while his
wife, 20 years younger than him,stayed home and took care of the
house just on the edge of town. They never had children and
Hannah was a homebody and was said to be a private person.
Hannah was also said to be beautiful in a favorite target
of local women who think that she married outside of her
league or status. Whether it was a jump in status
(05:24):
or her beauty or her being private and recluse, some of the
town's women didn't like her. I'm not sure why the town women
didn't like a younger more beautiful women marrying a
person stigious well to do bachelor in town, but you would
think they would be happy for her.
Sorry, that's funny. So she obviously got classified
as a witch. Oh, she, yeah.
I don't think the townspeople liked her right away.
(05:45):
Yeah. I feel like that's a trend.
Like if you're a woman back in these times, you're a fucking
witch. Don't be pretty, don't be smart,
and don't have an opinion. Yes, and don't be recluse.
And yes. Yeah, women really were Fox.
Yeah. Because if you're.
Smart, Beautiful. You're strong.
Even though you're all these things and you try to stay away
from people, they're still goingto come fuck with you.
(06:07):
Which, Yeah. Which anger burner?
Married to a respectful captain,the people of town might have
gossip about the age difference between her and her husband, or
her low status before the marriage, or was her husband's
prestigious title of captain. Nobody would ever say this to
Hannah's face. This all changed one night when
Captain Joseph Hovey went for a walk.
(06:28):
Interestingly, the captain was said to be known for his
sobriety and reason. I cannot confirm this, but I
can't confirm that on that nighthe walked off a Cliff near his
property and fell to his death. He just.
Walked off it. Walked off a Cliff and fell to
his death. It was foggy, Kathy.
Okay, it was a foggy night. Now being that this happened on
his property where he lived since his childhood, you would
(06:50):
think he would know where the Cliff was.
Really foggy? Really.
Foggy. Really foggy.
It seemed a strange and untimelydeath among the townspeople of
Monroe. Rumors started to fly.
Some believed Hannah pushed the captain off the Cliff to inherit
his property. Some believed Hannah had cast a
spell that confused the captain enough to wander off the Cliff.
Some believed she was so privatebecause she was practicing
(07:13):
witchcraft. Clearly, I can't think.
Of a single other conclusion. That's the only thing that makes
sense. At this point, has to be that.
She didn't love books. No, she did witchcraft books.
She wasn't. She wasn't just shy or, you
know, an introvert. No, she was practicing
witchcraft and planning on murdering her husband of.
Course she was, I bet. She had a cat, that bitch.
Yes. Not a cat, but yes, we'll get
(07:36):
there. Familiar.
Yes, from then on, the people gave her the nickname of Hannah
Krana. Now, Krana is a Scottish term
for a high vantage point or Cliff.
There was a large Scottish population in Monroe, so it was
believed that this was the origins of the nickname.
When her husband stepped off theCliff to his death, Hannah
became Hannah Krana. In fact, the cruel nickname is
(07:58):
still on her gravestone to this day.
That's sad. Yeah, that is sad.
Yeah, don't worry, she gets a revenge on these town.
People, although I am going to say Hannah Krana kind of slaps.
Slaps. But yeah, So Hannah, now a
widow, remained recluse and a loner.
She never remarried or even was rumored of dating.
So after this strange accident, Hannah wore a black dress in
(08:21):
mourning. But she kept wearing this black
dress, really for the rest of her life.
Wasn't that normal though for back then?
Wasn't that like something that they did like widows would wear?
Blackwell, this maybe was out ofgrief, but this also maybe
because she couldn't afford new clothing or materials.
With no family, she inherited the house, but with no income
she was also left in poverty. Poor Hannah Krana.
(08:43):
I say poor Hannah. Hannah Bully.
So Hannah had a rooster. She named him Boras.
Hannah named Boras after a mythical Pagan God.
This at least raised some eyebrows in town.
Boras the God was a purple winged Greek God of the north
wind in winter or as the roosterhad feathers that were
(09:03):
abnormally dark and compared to most Roosters.
Even stranger, it did not crow in the morning like most
Roosters. Rather start crowing at 12
midnight or the witching hour ifyou will.
It has been said that Roosters that crow at night can be used
as a medium to communicate with spirits or dark entities, and it
could be a warning of death or bad luck coming to town.
(09:23):
This regular midnight serenade of the townspeople fueled
speculation that Hannah was a witch and the rooster was her
familiar. Now, if you're not up on your
witchcraft, Lorry familiar is ananimal that has a special
attachment to witches and enhances the witch's magical
ability. Some believe familiars are
demonic spirits that assume the shape of animals in order to
(09:44):
serve the witch. We would think of a black cat
today, but familiar animals in witchcraft run the gamut from
cats to birds to horses. Modern practitioners in
witchcraft deny the claim that familiars are demonic entities,
but didn't endorse that dark andlight magic Both use familiars
to enhance magic powers and helpconnect to the spirit world.
(10:05):
This could be a hot take. Rooster would just start, you
know, crowing at midnight and people weren't yelling, which
they were young bitch, shut thatrooster up.
And I think, you know, just got lost in translation over time,
so. Got it.
Yeah, I think we can stop here. Yeah, I think, I think we're
done solves. I'll be on that.
So as the years passed, Hannah became older and she became more
(10:28):
reliant on neighbors for food, wooden, firewood.
You have to remember this is themid 1800s.
There is no social safety net orstate assistance.
So as she aged with no kids or family around to help take care
of her, she became more reliant on the people from town.
Social norms back then dictated you take care of your neighbors
who cannot take care of themselves.
This must have caused an uneasy relationship to say the least.
(10:51):
On the one hand, the townspeoplewere very cruel to her and some
believed she was a witch. On the other hand, they took
care of her out of some sense ofmoral responsibility, to which I
just have to say we need more ofthat today.
I agree there's definitely a lacking community vibe.
Honestly I'm looking out my window at my neighbor right now.
I think I've talked to him once.Yeah I should probably go say
hey later. I just friendly knock on his
door and be like. What's up?
Yeah, we were talking about thatthe other day.
(11:12):
I don't know any of our neighbors names.
No, I don't really want to. Well, that's the problem with
America. Yeah.
All right, Hannah. But now, OK, so I might not want
to know my neighbor, but like when we used to live in Florida,
when we had a hurricane come, all the neighbors came out,
helped put up tarts. So might not have known them or
their story or hung out with them.
(11:33):
But when they needed help, we all grouped together and formed
that sense of community. Yeah, I.
Think our reliance on the government has really destroyed
our sense of family and community in a lot of ways.
So whether you believed she was a witch or not, Hannah would
threaten curses on people who are not generous or helpful to
her in her old age. Maybe taking advantage of the
(11:54):
people's superstitions and rumors in order to get what she
needed to get by. Or maybe because she actually
was a witch. I'll leave that part up to you
to decide. Now, to understand this
relationship between Hannah and the townspeople, I think it
makes sense to provide some historical context.
In the 1700s in Salem, MA. You guys know about the now
infamous Salem Witch Trials thatoccurred when 20 innocent people
(12:17):
were put to death in a mass superstitious religious
hysteria? This was one of many infamous
witch trials that occurred across New England around that
time. By the 1800s we were in the
scientific enlightenment period and most educated men saw
themselves as logical and reasonable minded.
So at this time in history, educated men were above such
(12:37):
myths and superstition. Many thought of themselves as
more refined than to believe in curses and witchcraft, so these
rumors were most likely whispersand hidden from each other, or
at least hidden from the more prestigious men in town.
However, several stories of Hannah's supernatural power have
become part of her legend. Now, these stories are from the
1800s and not exactly terrifying, but worth sharing
(13:01):
with you as we tell Hannah's story.
So one tale is the story of a young man who decided to fish in
the stream that ran along the back of Hannah's property.
When Hannah approached the fisherman, she demanded he leave
her property, but he refused. Infuriated, Hannah shook her
cane at the trespasser and shouted.
Make curses fall upon you and your fishing.
It's said that the man never caught another fish in his
(13:23):
entire lifetime. Chris, as a fisherman, is there
a worse? Punishment.
I don't know. I don't catch many fish to begin
with, so I don't need a curse. So there's also a story that
tells about a farm wife who was renowned in town for the
delicious pie she baked one morning.
The wind carried the pie's aromatowards Hannah's home and she
went down to the woman's door and asked for a fresh baked pie.
(13:45):
The farm wife offered Hannah oneof the smaller pies.
Hannah chastised the woman for being too selfish to offer one
of the more generous pies. She was heard uttering the curse
as she walked away. You selfish woman, may you never
pick another good pie in your life.
It is said the farmer's wife never cooked another good pie.
I think we understand Kathy's cooking and she's been cursed by
(14:07):
a witch. Screw you.
I also love the audacity of of this woman.
She's walks and she goes. That's the only free pie you've
given me. Yeah, I.
Will get some big free pie. I'm cursing you.
I'm going to try that next time I go, Sir.
Yeah. Can I get a drink?
Can I get a bigger curses? Vex another tale is of two men
(14:33):
who thought it'd be fun to stop their ox strong cart in front of
Hannahs house and demand the magic show.
Hannah complied and promised they would get their wish before
they reached the next tree. Before the next tree, the oxen
halted and a wheel fell off the cart and the men had to walk
home. She is a wish.
Well, yeah. Not all of Hannah's quote magic
was vindictive. 1 Summer was reported.
(14:55):
A severe drought was devastatingfarmers in the community of
Monroe. Desperate for a solution, one of
the farmers called upon Hannah to use her powers to make the
rains return. Hannah is said to have promised
by sundown tomorrow. Your wish will be granted.
The next day it is said it poured rain ended of the
drought. So not exactly terrifying.
But these are the stories and lores of the town people shared
(15:17):
about Hannah. Gets a little darker as we move
on though. So in December of 1859, Boris
the Rooster passed away. No.
Yes, Hannah was said to have a bizarre funeral ceremony under
the moonlight for the rooster. She wrapped the dead rooster in
cloth. She lit candles and was heard
chanting. She held an offering of flowers
(15:37):
up to the moon. Hannah, at least, seemed very
close to this rooster. Many people said that the only
time they ever heard Hannah cry was on the occasion of Boras
death. That's actually really sad.
That is really sad. She doesn't have any friends or
family and. She has like this with a
rooster. Yeah, she's got like this one
pet and it died on her and that's sad.
Well, after the strange funeral,she was quoted as saying to
(16:00):
several neighbors, Now I will also depart this life.
Even more sad is she like depressed as fuck or yeah she.
Is that a witch thing though? That like they're, they're.
Yeah, Like their lives are connected to their familiar.
Well, this kind of increased therumors and suspicion of this
magical connection with this rooster, right?
(16:21):
Because remember, Roosters or familiars can communicate with
the spirit world. Maybe foretelling of her death
true to her prediction, whether it was supernatural at work or
not, the loss of Boras did indeed foretell Hannah's death.
In the weeks that followed, manysaid that Hannah became faded,
she rarely went out of her home,and she reportedly looked more
(16:42):
frail and sickly. She's.
Just really fucking depressed man.
Show some compassion, people. So, as the Monroe Historical
Society tells the story, a neighbor decide to check on her
well-being when he overheard a low wailing coming from her
house. Aw, she was crying.
Pale and weakened, Hannah allowed him into her home and
(17:04):
told him that the spirits of thegreat beyond were calling her to
the grave. She then gave him very specific
instructions for her burial. Quote, I must not be buried
until after sundown, and there must be ample pole bearers to
carry me to the grave site. To these instructions she also
added, My wishes must be followed exactly.
What trouble and vexation shall fall upon you that?
(17:26):
Sounds. That sounds intense, yeah.
So local lore claims she was found dead in her doorway the
very next morning. Exactly when she died is not
known. We do know that Hannah died
sometime between December of 1859, in January 1860, as is
recorded on her gravestone. We can speculate that these two
(17:47):
dates of her death around her gravestone represent the last
time somebody saw her alive and the date that somebody found her
dead body. So an entire month might have
gone by and nobody knew she was gone.
And it was cold, right? Yeah, it was winter.
Yeah, it was winter, so if she was like in her doorway and she
was outside, it would be hard because decomposition of the
body would be slowed down by thefrigid temperatures.
(18:07):
That makes sense. Kind of just want to give her a
big pie. Yeah, big piece of pie.
I'm glad that she had someone though that she got to talk to.
Hopefully they carried out her wishes.
Please tell me they carried out her wishes.
Oh. Oh man, why do people suck?
So at her funeral, as was customary, the pallbearers would
carry Hans Coffin above their shoulders from her home at the
summit of Braigley Hill in across town to the Four Corners
(18:31):
Cemetery. Dropping the coffin or having
any sort of disruption during this process not only
disrespectful but also believed to attract evil spirits.
The journey from her house to the cemetery was just under 5
miles and bringing Hannah's bodyto its final resting place.
In the winter, involved in ice and snow filled walk over the
(18:52):
hillsides and through the town of Monroe, the men decide it'll
be easier to use an ox pulled sled to get our coffin to the
aerial site. However, several yards down the
road from her house, the coffin fell off the sled, Oh no, and
slid almost all the way back to her house.
Oh, Hannah. Hannah's saying you guys are
carrying me 5 miles. Oh my God, I didn't think of
(19:13):
that. Yeah.
Yeah. She's like, Nah, this is not
where this is not happening. Yeah.
While gravity was surely to blame, I wonder if it made at
least some of the men wonder about her last wishes or her
ominous warning. Undeterred, the group of men
placed the coffin back in the sled and this time used to
secure it in place. A few of them decided to sit on
top of the coffin to make sure it didn't slide off again just.
(19:35):
Awful. Like this is somebody's like
body and they're just sitting onthe coffin.
I I. So hope this carriage gets
fucked. So we're not sure if they sat on
top of the coffin to make sure it didn't slide off or they just
didn't feel like walking the five miles.
But the strategy worked until they reached the Crest of the
final hill just before the bend to the Four Corner Cemetery.
(19:57):
It was at this point the coffin started to shake so fiercely
that the two full grown men who sat on top of it were thrown to
the ground. What?
That's so cool. Get it, Hannah?
Haunted by Hannah's last words, My wish must be followed
exactly, or trouble and vexationshall fall upon you.
The terrified group decided theywould carry the coffin as
instructed the rest of the way. Hannah was delivered to a final
(20:19):
resting place shortly after sunset as she had requested.
Not because the townspeople wererespecting her last wishes, but
rather the exact timing was because of all the trouble they
had moving the coffin. Oh, it's like it forced it to
happen, Yeah. Yeah, it's a little scary,
right? So after the burial, the men
started to return to the homes when the group of men were
startled by a loud clap of Thunder in the cold winter sky,
(20:42):
then the sight of a fire blazingon top of a hill just outside of
town. They soon realized Hannahs house
was engulfed in flames. What?
Still spooked by the unexplainedevents of the funeral
possession, no one was brave enough to venture over and put
out the fire. They just let it burn.
The fire was said to smolder fordays afterwards and nobody would
dare go close to the cursed house.
(21:04):
So Hannah seemed to have the last word after all.
Or was this the last word? While Hannah was gone, the curse
seemed to have endured. We can confirm that her
gravestone just will not stay put in the cemetery where it's
placed. It has, on several occasions
since her death, disappeared, then reappeared several days
later. This disappearing, reappearing
act has been reported as recently as 2003.
(21:25):
Now, we could easily chalk this up as a few bored teenagers
wanting to scare their friends. Other reports are a little bit
harder to explain. Do you tell Chris?
Several times, cars driving around the corner of Spring Hill
towards the Four Corners Cemetery after midnight have
lost control and crashed the carinto the embankment where
Hannahs gravestone lies. Several cars.
(21:46):
Several cars. This has happened so often that
some residents refuse to drive by the cemetery after midnight.
While this is a blind turn on a back Rd.
The frequency of accidents at this spot has at least some
locals second guessing their route home late at night.
Interesting, but it is a sharp turn.
It is a sharp turn, but OK, there's lots of sharp turns on
(22:06):
back roads. True, it's true.
Also, there's a claim of an apparition of a cloaked Gray
haired woman that has been seen in the wooded area surrounding
the burial ground, but also close to where Hannah's home
once stood. The ghost often materializes
with a hand extended outward as though she were begging.
Often times these claims were accompanied by a full moon in a
(22:27):
heavy, unexpected mist in the night air. 1 Incidents in Town
reports Hannah appeared one night during a full moon at the
window of an old farmhouse and asked a young girl sleeping in
the room if she could spare any pie for her.
In fact, in my research, many residents of Monroe over the
years have a story of a brush with the ghost of Hannah
Carrano. So some cemeteries are peaceful
(22:49):
places of rest and remembrance. Others seem to hold a darker
presence, a darker presence thatyou can kind of feel deep in
your bones. A chill on a warm summer night,
the hair standing up on the backof your neck, an uneasy feeling,
a knowing that nothing is at rest as it should be.
Which is in curses are fantasticclaim and for most people they
(23:10):
would need more evidence in the story can provide to believe in
such things. That being said, next time
you're alone in the car late at night and you drive past the
cemetery, if you hold your breath, I for one won't hold it
against you. I love that.
I love that tale, Chris. That is so.
Cool, that's a good one. Poor Hannah Crana, poor poor
ass. Yeah, it was a fun one to tell
(23:33):
because it's I could see Hannah just being a widow in a recluse
and having to beg for food and becoming bitter.
Yeah, at the same time, I could see the allure of the tale in
the folklore. It is sad that like just people
are lonely living in this world and although the community did
(23:53):
help a little bit and helped take care of her, they also like
treated her like shit. It's just, it sucks.
Basically her nickname had to dowith her husband dying from
falling off a Cliff. I mean not that was.
Because they, because they blamed her and then so it was
sort of like a black mark against her.
And then they put it on our tombstone.
I mean, that's kind of kind of rude.
(24:13):
And dark. Yeah, it's, it's interesting
that the tombstone is buried on the side of a hill.
It's almost like she was a afterthought.
It's not a real good place for aburial plot.
So Javy was her actual last name?
Yes, Hannah Javy. Hannah Javy.
Well, we will end this episode saying your real name, Hannah
Javy. Well, Chris, thank you for
(24:33):
sharing that tell. That was really cool.
Yeah, thank you for listening. Good story.
Yeah, well, gang, if you enjoyedthat, Tell Chris will be going
ahead and dropping some additional information, some
images and stuff backing up the research that he did for this
episode. And you can find that over on
our Instagram, which is at Weirder After Dark.
Also, we are building some communities out there, so if you
want to interact with us or the other members of the gang, go
(24:55):
ahead and visit us both on Reddit and on Facebook.
Again, you can find that at Weirder After Dark.
And don't forget, we are always on on the lookout for your
stories. So if you've had anything
strange, weird, unexplainable happened to you, we want to hear
about it. Send those stories to the gang
at weirderafterdark.com and we will share them on an upcoming
(25:16):
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(25:40):
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And lastly, as always, we'll leave you off with this.
Remember, it always gets a little weirder after dark.
Bye. Thank you guys.
Some cemeteries are a peaceful place of remembrance and rest.
Others seem to hold a more ominous feel.
An unexplained shadow cast a Creek of a tree in the wind.
An uneasy feeling something is watching you in the dark corner
or just behind you. Join us as we explored the
Gregory Four Corners Cemetery inMonroe, Connecticut.
Is most infamous resident the witch of Monroe.
(00:20):
I'm Chris. I'm Kathy.
I'm Sean. And this is weirder after dark.
(00:41):
You ever been in a cemetery and got that strange vibe, that
feeling like something was watching you, that just
something wasn't right? Nothing that pops out of my
memory. I've never had like a spooky
feeling or like kind of, you know, something staring at me,
but I have had some weird experiences in the cemetery
before. So there's a cemetery right by
my house and I, I'll go jogging in it.
(01:02):
And one time I was like just jogging around, you know, in the
zone. And then all of a sudden there
was this like car parked and like one of the lanes coming at
me. I moved over to the left hand
side and then all of a sudden the car moved to the left hand
side of it. So I kind of like stopped, and
then it just came up to me and then stopped right directly in
front of me. Yeah, yeah.
It was so weird. And I was kind of just staring.
I was like, Yep, this is where Idie.
Okay, okay. And then a guy got out of the
(01:26):
vehicle, stood out in front of the door and just kind of stared
at me. And I kind of was like stopped,
frozen, looked at him and he's just like you having a nice day.
And I was like, yes. Wow.
Yeah, and then I was just like you.
And he goes, sure am. Have a wonderful jog.
I'm usually turned around and jogged off the direction.
So that was strange. I'm not jogging, I'm running,
yeah. You just avoided becoming the
(01:48):
next victim of a serial killer. Yeah, pretty sure.
It was weird, It was. It's definitely up there in
weird moments. Now, he didn't have his lights
on with a flag on the car with aline of cars behind him, did he?
No. OK, I'm just checking.
No, it was not a funeral. No, no, it was just a really
weird day. It was a weird day.
Well, it's interesting because some cemeteries feel very
(02:08):
peaceful, others get off this weird vibe.
If you're from New England, you're most likely familiar with
these small little graveyards. Usually they're from the 17 and
1800s. You know the type.
You see them on back roads and the neighborhoods near farms or
on the outskirts of town. Maybe you have one on your Rd.
as I do. They're usually surrounded by a
rusting black iron fence. They hold a dozen or so
(02:30):
gravestones and are overgrown and in disrepair.
The stones are usually simple slabs of slate or granite, and
some are so faded overtime that you can barely read or make out
at all the names or dates. It can be a creepy vibe to these
places even today as an adult. When I was an elementary school
kid on the bus, I remember I used to hold my breath when I
passed them. As it turns out, talking to
(02:52):
friends, this is a common New England superstition, passed
down from older students to younger students.
I used to do that same, yeah. 100% all the time and I remember
there used to be one in Londonderry and it was so long
and every. Time I'm driving.
I'm a dying about. To pass so.
Exactly what you're talking about.
Chances are you passed one driving around this week.
Chances are you didn't even notice it.
(03:12):
Chances are you didn't even remember to hold your breath as
you passed it. I want to tell you a story that
might have you returning to yourchildhood superstitions to
protect yourself from what lies just beyond your perception.
Oh, I love that build up. Yeah.
If I do a good job telling the story, you might even want to
leave an offering in memory of arestless soul for your
protection. But most likely you will not.
(03:34):
After all, these are just stories and folklore and silly
superstitions. Nothing really to worry about
here, right? I don't know, I feel like I got
to go out the door feet first. I got.
To open the window. And now I got to hold my breath.
So many superstitions around cemeteries.
So in Monroe, a rural town in Connecticut, there's one of
these unassuming graveyards. It's in the Gregory Four Corners
(03:56):
Cemetery. It'll be very easy to drive
right past and pay no mind. Other than one oddly placed
stone auspiciously close to the road and inappropriately
arranged on a steep embankment that doesn't seem suitable for a
burial site. This one particular stone sticks
out from the rest is not the size or style of the stone by
the fact that it's in such a oddspot, almost in the road on the
(04:20):
embankment. It also sticks out because it is
so well attended to. You can often find flowers or
candles or other small offeringson or surrounding the gravestone
on the stone, reads Hannah CranaHovie, 1783 to 1859 or 60, wife
of Captain Joseph Hovie. Or 60.
Or 60 so they. Don't know when she died.
(04:42):
They do not know when she died. So as the story goes, Hannah
would terrify this town of Monroe in life but more so in
death. Not much is known about Hannah's
childhood. She was not from a prominent
family and when she married a well respected captain, she
found a way into the history books.
Hannah married Captain Joseph Hovey in 18O2.
(05:04):
The captain was often out to seafor weeks at times while his
wife, 20 years younger than him,stayed home and took care of the
house just on the edge of town. They never had children and
Hannah was a homebody and was said to be a private person.
Hannah was also said to be beautiful in a favorite target
of local women who think that she married outside of her
league or status. Whether it was a jump in status
(05:24):
or her beauty or her being private and recluse, some of the
town's women didn't like her. I'm not sure why the town women
didn't like a younger more beautiful women marrying a
person stigious well to do bachelor in town, but you would
think they would be happy for her.
Sorry, that's funny. So she obviously got classified
as a witch. Oh, she, yeah.
I don't think the townspeople liked her right away.
(05:45):
Yeah. I feel like that's a trend.
Like if you're a woman back in these times, you're a fucking
witch. Don't be pretty, don't be smart,
and don't have an opinion. Yes, and don't be recluse.
And yes. Yeah, women really were Fox.
Yeah. Because if you're.
Smart, Beautiful. You're strong.
Even though you're all these things and you try to stay away
from people, they're still goingto come fuck with you.
(06:07):
Which, Yeah. Which anger burner?
Married to a respectful captain,the people of town might have
gossip about the age difference between her and her husband, or
her low status before the marriage, or was her husband's
prestigious title of captain. Nobody would ever say this to
Hannah's face. This all changed one night when
Captain Joseph Hovey went for a walk.
(06:28):
Interestingly, the captain was said to be known for his
sobriety and reason. I cannot confirm this, but I
can't confirm that on that nighthe walked off a Cliff near his
property and fell to his death. He just.
Walked off it. Walked off a Cliff and fell to
his death. It was foggy, Kathy.
Okay, it was a foggy night. Now being that this happened on
his property where he lived since his childhood, you would
(06:50):
think he would know where the Cliff was.
Really foggy? Really.
Foggy. Really foggy.
It seemed a strange and untimelydeath among the townspeople of
Monroe. Rumors started to fly.
Some believed Hannah pushed the captain off the Cliff to inherit
his property. Some believed Hannah had cast a
spell that confused the captain enough to wander off the Cliff.
Some believed she was so privatebecause she was practicing
(07:13):
witchcraft. Clearly, I can't think.
Of a single other conclusion. That's the only thing that makes
sense. At this point, has to be that.
She didn't love books. No, she did witchcraft books.
She wasn't. She wasn't just shy or, you
know, an introvert. No, she was practicing
witchcraft and planning on murdering her husband of.
Course she was, I bet. She had a cat, that bitch.
Yes. Not a cat, but yes, we'll get
(07:36):
there. Familiar.
Yes, from then on, the people gave her the nickname of Hannah
Krana. Now, Krana is a Scottish term
for a high vantage point or Cliff.
There was a large Scottish population in Monroe, so it was
believed that this was the origins of the nickname.
When her husband stepped off theCliff to his death, Hannah
became Hannah Krana. In fact, the cruel nickname is
(07:58):
still on her gravestone to this day.
That's sad. Yeah, that is sad.
Yeah, don't worry, she gets a revenge on these town.
People, although I am going to say Hannah Krana kind of slaps.
Slaps. But yeah, So Hannah, now a
widow, remained recluse and a loner.
She never remarried or even was rumored of dating.
So after this strange accident, Hannah wore a black dress in
(08:21):
mourning. But she kept wearing this black
dress, really for the rest of her life.
Wasn't that normal though for back then?
Wasn't that like something that they did like widows would wear?
Blackwell, this maybe was out ofgrief, but this also maybe
because she couldn't afford new clothing or materials.
With no family, she inherited the house, but with no income
she was also left in poverty. Poor Hannah Krana.
(08:43):
I say poor Hannah. Hannah Bully.
So Hannah had a rooster. She named him Boras.
Hannah named Boras after a mythical Pagan God.
This at least raised some eyebrows in town.
Boras the God was a purple winged Greek God of the north
wind in winter or as the roosterhad feathers that were
(09:03):
abnormally dark and compared to most Roosters.
Even stranger, it did not crow in the morning like most
Roosters. Rather start crowing at 12
midnight or the witching hour ifyou will.
It has been said that Roosters that crow at night can be used
as a medium to communicate with spirits or dark entities, and it
could be a warning of death or bad luck coming to town.
(09:23):
This regular midnight serenade of the townspeople fueled
speculation that Hannah was a witch and the rooster was her
familiar. Now, if you're not up on your
witchcraft, Lorry familiar is ananimal that has a special
attachment to witches and enhances the witch's magical
ability. Some believe familiars are
demonic spirits that assume the shape of animals in order to
(09:44):
serve the witch. We would think of a black cat
today, but familiar animals in witchcraft run the gamut from
cats to birds to horses. Modern practitioners in
witchcraft deny the claim that familiars are demonic entities,
but didn't endorse that dark andlight magic Both use familiars
to enhance magic powers and helpconnect to the spirit world.
(10:05):
This could be a hot take. Rooster would just start, you
know, crowing at midnight and people weren't yelling, which
they were young bitch, shut thatrooster up.
And I think, you know, just got lost in translation over time,
so. Got it.
Yeah, I think we can stop here. Yeah, I think, I think we're
done solves. I'll be on that.
So as the years passed, Hannah became older and she became more
(10:28):
reliant on neighbors for food, wooden, firewood.
You have to remember this is themid 1800s.
There is no social safety net orstate assistance.
So as she aged with no kids or family around to help take care
of her, she became more reliant on the people from town.
Social norms back then dictated you take care of your neighbors
who cannot take care of themselves.
This must have caused an uneasy relationship to say the least.
(10:51):
On the one hand, the townspeoplewere very cruel to her and some
believed she was a witch. On the other hand, they took
care of her out of some sense ofmoral responsibility, to which I
just have to say we need more ofthat today.
I agree there's definitely a lacking community vibe.
Honestly I'm looking out my window at my neighbor right now.
I think I've talked to him once.Yeah I should probably go say
hey later. I just friendly knock on his
door and be like. What's up?
Yeah, we were talking about thatthe other day.
(11:12):
I don't know any of our neighbors names.
No, I don't really want to. Well, that's the problem with
America. Yeah.
All right, Hannah. But now, OK, so I might not want
to know my neighbor, but like when we used to live in Florida,
when we had a hurricane come, all the neighbors came out,
helped put up tarts. So might not have known them or
their story or hung out with them.
(11:33):
But when they needed help, we all grouped together and formed
that sense of community. Yeah, I.
Think our reliance on the government has really destroyed
our sense of family and community in a lot of ways.
So whether you believed she was a witch or not, Hannah would
threaten curses on people who are not generous or helpful to
her in her old age. Maybe taking advantage of the
(11:54):
people's superstitions and rumors in order to get what she
needed to get by. Or maybe because she actually
was a witch. I'll leave that part up to you
to decide. Now, to understand this
relationship between Hannah and the townspeople, I think it
makes sense to provide some historical context.
In the 1700s in Salem, MA. You guys know about the now
infamous Salem Witch Trials thatoccurred when 20 innocent people
(12:17):
were put to death in a mass superstitious religious
hysteria? This was one of many infamous
witch trials that occurred across New England around that
time. By the 1800s we were in the
scientific enlightenment period and most educated men saw
themselves as logical and reasonable minded.
So at this time in history, educated men were above such
(12:37):
myths and superstition. Many thought of themselves as
more refined than to believe in curses and witchcraft, so these
rumors were most likely whispersand hidden from each other, or
at least hidden from the more prestigious men in town.
However, several stories of Hannah's supernatural power have
become part of her legend. Now, these stories are from the
1800s and not exactly terrifying, but worth sharing
(13:01):
with you as we tell Hannah's story.
So one tale is the story of a young man who decided to fish in
the stream that ran along the back of Hannah's property.
When Hannah approached the fisherman, she demanded he leave
her property, but he refused. Infuriated, Hannah shook her
cane at the trespasser and shouted.
Make curses fall upon you and your fishing.
It's said that the man never caught another fish in his
(13:23):
entire lifetime. Chris, as a fisherman, is there
a worse? Punishment.
I don't know. I don't catch many fish to begin
with, so I don't need a curse. So there's also a story that
tells about a farm wife who was renowned in town for the
delicious pie she baked one morning.
The wind carried the pie's aromatowards Hannah's home and she
went down to the woman's door and asked for a fresh baked pie.
(13:45):
The farm wife offered Hannah oneof the smaller pies.
Hannah chastised the woman for being too selfish to offer one
of the more generous pies. She was heard uttering the curse
as she walked away. You selfish woman, may you never
pick another good pie in your life.
It is said the farmer's wife never cooked another good pie.
I think we understand Kathy's cooking and she's been cursed by
(14:07):
a witch. Screw you.
I also love the audacity of of this woman.
She's walks and she goes. That's the only free pie you've
given me. Yeah, I.
Will get some big free pie. I'm cursing you.
I'm going to try that next time I go, Sir.
Yeah. Can I get a drink?
Can I get a bigger curses? Vex another tale is of two men
(14:33):
who thought it'd be fun to stop their ox strong cart in front of
Hannahs house and demand the magic show.
Hannah complied and promised they would get their wish before
they reached the next tree. Before the next tree, the oxen
halted and a wheel fell off the cart and the men had to walk
home. She is a wish.
Well, yeah. Not all of Hannah's quote magic
was vindictive. 1 Summer was reported.
(14:55):
A severe drought was devastatingfarmers in the community of
Monroe. Desperate for a solution, one of
the farmers called upon Hannah to use her powers to make the
rains return. Hannah is said to have promised
by sundown tomorrow. Your wish will be granted.
The next day it is said it poured rain ended of the
drought. So not exactly terrifying.
But these are the stories and lores of the town people shared
(15:17):
about Hannah. Gets a little darker as we move
on though. So in December of 1859, Boris
the Rooster passed away. No.
Yes, Hannah was said to have a bizarre funeral ceremony under
the moonlight for the rooster. She wrapped the dead rooster in
cloth. She lit candles and was heard
chanting. She held an offering of flowers
(15:37):
up to the moon. Hannah, at least, seemed very
close to this rooster. Many people said that the only
time they ever heard Hannah cry was on the occasion of Boras
death. That's actually really sad.
That is really sad. She doesn't have any friends or
family and. She has like this with a
rooster. Yeah, she's got like this one
pet and it died on her and that's sad.
Well, after the strange funeral,she was quoted as saying to
(16:00):
several neighbors, Now I will also depart this life.
Even more sad is she like depressed as fuck or yeah she.
Is that a witch thing though? That like they're, they're.
Yeah, Like their lives are connected to their familiar.
Well, this kind of increased therumors and suspicion of this
magical connection with this rooster, right?
(16:21):
Because remember, Roosters or familiars can communicate with
the spirit world. Maybe foretelling of her death
true to her prediction, whether it was supernatural at work or
not, the loss of Boras did indeed foretell Hannah's death.
In the weeks that followed, manysaid that Hannah became faded,
she rarely went out of her home,and she reportedly looked more
(16:42):
frail and sickly. She's.
Just really fucking depressed man.
Show some compassion, people. So, as the Monroe Historical
Society tells the story, a neighbor decide to check on her
well-being when he overheard a low wailing coming from her
house. Aw, she was crying.
Pale and weakened, Hannah allowed him into her home and
(17:04):
told him that the spirits of thegreat beyond were calling her to
the grave. She then gave him very specific
instructions for her burial. Quote, I must not be buried
until after sundown, and there must be ample pole bearers to
carry me to the grave site. To these instructions she also
added, My wishes must be followed exactly.
What trouble and vexation shall fall upon you that?
(17:26):
Sounds. That sounds intense, yeah.
So local lore claims she was found dead in her doorway the
very next morning. Exactly when she died is not
known. We do know that Hannah died
sometime between December of 1859, in January 1860, as is
recorded on her gravestone. We can speculate that these two
(17:47):
dates of her death around her gravestone represent the last
time somebody saw her alive and the date that somebody found her
dead body. So an entire month might have
gone by and nobody knew she was gone.
And it was cold, right? Yeah, it was winter.
Yeah, it was winter, so if she was like in her doorway and she
was outside, it would be hard because decomposition of the
body would be slowed down by thefrigid temperatures.
(18:07):
That makes sense. Kind of just want to give her a
big pie. Yeah, big piece of pie.
I'm glad that she had someone though that she got to talk to.
Hopefully they carried out her wishes.
Please tell me they carried out her wishes.
Oh. Oh man, why do people suck?
So at her funeral, as was customary, the pallbearers would
carry Hans Coffin above their shoulders from her home at the
summit of Braigley Hill in across town to the Four Corners
(18:31):
Cemetery. Dropping the coffin or having
any sort of disruption during this process not only
disrespectful but also believed to attract evil spirits.
The journey from her house to the cemetery was just under 5
miles and bringing Hannah's bodyto its final resting place.
In the winter, involved in ice and snow filled walk over the
(18:52):
hillsides and through the town of Monroe, the men decide it'll
be easier to use an ox pulled sled to get our coffin to the
aerial site. However, several yards down the
road from her house, the coffin fell off the sled, Oh no, and
slid almost all the way back to her house.
Oh, Hannah. Hannah's saying you guys are
carrying me 5 miles. Oh my God, I didn't think of
(19:13):
that. Yeah.
Yeah. She's like, Nah, this is not
where this is not happening. Yeah.
While gravity was surely to blame, I wonder if it made at
least some of the men wonder about her last wishes or her
ominous warning. Undeterred, the group of men
placed the coffin back in the sled and this time used to
secure it in place. A few of them decided to sit on
top of the coffin to make sure it didn't slide off again just.
(19:35):
Awful. Like this is somebody's like
body and they're just sitting onthe coffin.
I I. So hope this carriage gets
fucked. So we're not sure if they sat on
top of the coffin to make sure it didn't slide off or they just
didn't feel like walking the five miles.
But the strategy worked until they reached the Crest of the
final hill just before the bend to the Four Corner Cemetery.
(19:57):
It was at this point the coffin started to shake so fiercely
that the two full grown men who sat on top of it were thrown to
the ground. What?
That's so cool. Get it, Hannah?
Haunted by Hannah's last words, My wish must be followed
exactly, or trouble and vexationshall fall upon you.
The terrified group decided theywould carry the coffin as
instructed the rest of the way. Hannah was delivered to a final
(20:19):
resting place shortly after sunset as she had requested.
Not because the townspeople wererespecting her last wishes, but
rather the exact timing was because of all the trouble they
had moving the coffin. Oh, it's like it forced it to
happen, Yeah. Yeah, it's a little scary,
right? So after the burial, the men
started to return to the homes when the group of men were
startled by a loud clap of Thunder in the cold winter sky,
(20:42):
then the sight of a fire blazingon top of a hill just outside of
town. They soon realized Hannahs house
was engulfed in flames. What?
Still spooked by the unexplainedevents of the funeral
possession, no one was brave enough to venture over and put
out the fire. They just let it burn.
The fire was said to smolder fordays afterwards and nobody would
dare go close to the cursed house.
(21:04):
So Hannah seemed to have the last word after all.
Or was this the last word? While Hannah was gone, the curse
seemed to have endured. We can confirm that her
gravestone just will not stay put in the cemetery where it's
placed. It has, on several occasions
since her death, disappeared, then reappeared several days
later. This disappearing, reappearing
act has been reported as recently as 2003.
(21:25):
Now, we could easily chalk this up as a few bored teenagers
wanting to scare their friends. Other reports are a little bit
harder to explain. Do you tell Chris?
Several times, cars driving around the corner of Spring Hill
towards the Four Corners Cemetery after midnight have
lost control and crashed the carinto the embankment where
Hannahs gravestone lies. Several cars.
(21:46):
Several cars. This has happened so often that
some residents refuse to drive by the cemetery after midnight.
While this is a blind turn on a back Rd.
The frequency of accidents at this spot has at least some
locals second guessing their route home late at night.
Interesting, but it is a sharp turn.
It is a sharp turn, but OK, there's lots of sharp turns on
(22:06):
back roads. True, it's true.
Also, there's a claim of an apparition of a cloaked Gray
haired woman that has been seen in the wooded area surrounding
the burial ground, but also close to where Hannah's home
once stood. The ghost often materializes
with a hand extended outward as though she were begging.
Often times these claims were accompanied by a full moon in a
(22:27):
heavy, unexpected mist in the night air. 1 Incidents in Town
reports Hannah appeared one night during a full moon at the
window of an old farmhouse and asked a young girl sleeping in
the room if she could spare any pie for her.
In fact, in my research, many residents of Monroe over the
years have a story of a brush with the ghost of Hannah
Carrano. So some cemeteries are peaceful
(22:49):
places of rest and remembrance. Others seem to hold a darker
presence, a darker presence thatyou can kind of feel deep in
your bones. A chill on a warm summer night,
the hair standing up on the backof your neck, an uneasy feeling,
a knowing that nothing is at rest as it should be.
Which is in curses are fantasticclaim and for most people they
(23:10):
would need more evidence in the story can provide to believe in
such things. That being said, next time
you're alone in the car late at night and you drive past the
cemetery, if you hold your breath, I for one won't hold it
against you. I love that.
I love that tale, Chris. That is so.
Cool, that's a good one. Poor Hannah Crana, poor poor
ass. Yeah, it was a fun one to tell
(23:33):
because it's I could see Hannah just being a widow in a recluse
and having to beg for food and becoming bitter.
Yeah, at the same time, I could see the allure of the tale in
the folklore. It is sad that like just people
are lonely living in this world and although the community did
(23:53):
help a little bit and helped take care of her, they also like
treated her like shit. It's just, it sucks.
Basically her nickname had to dowith her husband dying from
falling off a Cliff. I mean not that was.
Because they, because they blamed her and then so it was
sort of like a black mark against her.
And then they put it on our tombstone.
I mean, that's kind of kind of rude.
(24:13):
And dark. Yeah, it's, it's interesting
that the tombstone is buried on the side of a hill.
It's almost like she was a afterthought.
It's not a real good place for aburial plot.
So Javy was her actual last name?
Yes, Hannah Javy. Hannah Javy.
Well, we will end this episode saying your real name, Hannah
Javy. Well, Chris, thank you for
(24:33):
sharing that tell. That was really cool.
Yeah, thank you for listening. Good story.
Yeah, well, gang, if you enjoyedthat, Tell Chris will be going
ahead and dropping some additional information, some
images and stuff backing up the research that he did for this
episode. And you can find that over on
our Instagram, which is at Weirder After Dark.
Also, we are building some communities out there, so if you
want to interact with us or the other members of the gang, go
(24:55):
ahead and visit us both on Reddit and on Facebook.
Again, you can find that at Weirder After Dark.
And don't forget, we are always on on the lookout for your
stories. So if you've had anything
strange, weird, unexplainable happened to you, we want to hear
about it. Send those stories to the gang
at weirderafterdark.com and we will share them on an upcoming
(25:16):
Listener Tales episode. And if you are liking this shit,
if you are loving this shit, thebest thing that you can do to
help us and to support us is to recommend someone that you know
and love listens to this podcast.
But if you are absolutely dying for more of this shit, what you
can do is go ahead and wherever you're listening to this,
whatever podcast sites you're atwhere that's Apple podcast or
Spotify, go ahead and leave a five star review and a comment
(25:40):
and tell the world how much you are liking this.
And lastly, as always, we'll leave you off with this.
Remember, it always gets a little weirder after dark.
Bye. Thank you guys.
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CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.