The Blue Lady of Yantic Cemetery

Located on Lafayette Street, in Norwich, Connecticut, this cemetery, which permanently houses the remains of former Norwich aristocrats, contains monuments that reach twenty feet or higher.

One of the largest, located in the far end of the cemetery, is a high rise obelisk commemorating the lives of the Osgood family. Charles Osgood was the mayor of Norwich during a time when the city flourished. Although this structure is impressive itself, it pales in comparison to the statue that sits below it. Crouched over the tomb of Sarah Larned Osgood is a life-size replica of a woman, possibly the Virgin Mary, aptly nicknamed “the Blue Lady.” Made of bronze and wearing a blue gown, she sat in the same location for more than 119 years, bowing on top of the placard bearing Mrs. Osgood’s name, looking lifelike amidst the city of graves in the Yantic Cemetery. One would swear that her eyes were real and not metal, especially when basked in the glow of car headlights. One tale states that the lady holds a rose, a bible or a rosary depending on the day of your visit. Although this is the only eerie story attributed to the Blue Lady, she is worth a look, a stare, and a mention.

In 2010, the Blue Lady was savagely stolen from her resting place of almost 120 years. Chunks of the statue turned up at a scrap yard, except for the head, later to be found perched atop a wall in a vacant lot in nearby Willimantic. The perpetrators were later caught and arrested. There was even a speculation that this statue was the work of famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, although it was later found to be untrue.

In fall 2011 the story of the tale of the Blue Lady received a happy ending. The pieces had been all recovered; the head thief is spending time behind bars; and Norwich’s City Council passed legislature that approved the statue to be refurbished and once again hunches over the grave of Sarah Larned Osgood.