If you live or have lived in the Moncton area for any amount of time, you have probably heard the urban legend of Rebecca’s Grave. The witch who was buried out on Gorge Rd.
I found a post on Moncton Locals that has the actual article about her. If you’ve ever wondered about the story, check it out. I’ve copied it here.
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The Moncton Times and Transcript
Editorial, Wednesday, September 6, 2000, p. D7
The legend and the facts about Rebecca
NORBERT CUNNINGHAM
I have some neat stuff for you today, the result of some researching. Monday I pondered a question from a young lad in Dieppe who wanted to know about the local Metro Moncton legend of Rebecca’s Grave. Is it true? What is the story? It seems it is well-known and for an answer I needed go no further than Times & Transcript cartoonist and reporter Greg Perry. He researched Rebecca’s Grave for a pre-Halloween story in October, 1997. I also had a call from a woman who corrected the information as passed on to me. So here goes:
The legend
There is fact behind the legend. There was a Rebecca and the grave exists. It is not along Elmwood Drive, as my questioner thought, but rather on the Gorge Road in the woods across from the cement and culvert company site. The local legend has several variations, but they all stem from the fact the gravesite, which was behind a farmstead, was/is covered in concrete and was fenced off. There were once headstones as well, but both those and the fence are gone, I’m told by people who visit the site now and then while on hikes. My caller said Rebecca was supposed to have been a witch because of psychic powers and had been hung from nearby trees, then buried face down and the concrete slab was put on so she could not rise again, or be let out by others who might wish to dig her up. Greg Perry’s research uncovered similar stories, including allegations she was a vampire, a witch, or a female evil incarnate who wreaked havoc in the Riverview area in the 1870s. There are tales of fires, freak accidents, strange lights in the woods, sacrilegious rituals, blood sacrifices and the whole shebang.
Known facts
It’s a rip-roaring good witch story for Halloween, which is undoubtedly why it has been passed on for 100 years or more. But the truth is that other than the factual existence of the grave, there is not a shred of evidence it is true. Official records indicate Rebecca Lutes died of natural causes on Jan. 2, 1876. She was the adopted daughter of Jane Lutes, who died of natural causes less than six months later. Both were buried in the family plot on the farmstead, a common practice in those days, particularly in the country (and Gorge Road was definitely in the country back then). There was no witch trial and no hanging. Nor was the concrete slab put on the grave at that time.
Legend’s origins
Indeed, the concrete slab was put in by the people who bought the farm following the Lutes’ personal tragedies. It seems provincial statutes at the time meant that the gravesite was not part of the property when it was sold, so the new owners fenced it off and put the concrete slab down to prevent unintentional damage from farm equipment. In short, it was an attempt to preserve the gravesite and ensure it was done no disrespect, even accidentally. All that, however, was forgotten once the property and house (which was torn down in modern times because it was becoming a hazard for area teenagers who knew the stories and would visit it) fell into disuse. And so the story grew, with an abandoned house and an unusual grave. . . .
Black cat
It’s a good story though and I have no doubt it will live on for many more decades. Meanwhile, my caller mentioned there are a couple of Halloween type stories related to the Stilesville Cemetery further on if you follow Gorge Road up the hill. She couldn’t remember one of them, however, and the other she recounted as only the fact that on every Halloween, a black cat is seen crossing the road at the cemetery — a ghost cat. Perhaps others who know these stories can fill us in. . .
The last word
Here’s a word about superstition from Francis Bacon:
“The master of superstition is the people, and in all superstition wise men follow fools.”
Odds & Ends is compiled by editorial page editor Norbert Cunningham from various sources and appears on this page Monday through Friday.
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