Hannah Cranna, The Witch of Monroe CT | Folklore Friday

Everyone is familiar with the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692, but accusations of people having pacts with the devil did not stop after the Salem hysteria had died down. Formal prosecutions were not as common in the years after, but rumors & whispers still made their way through New England towns and villages. Hannah Hovey, born almost a century later, would become a legend still spoken about to this day because of the allegations of Witchcraft made against her – and the abnormal way she dealt with them.

Hannah married Captain Joseph Hovey and together they lived on Cragley Hill in Monroe Village, Connecticut. The legend of Monroe’s Witch would be born shortly after Hannah’s husband died unexpectedly. The story goes that during his nightly walk, Captain Hovey lost his footing near a cliff and ultimately fell to his death. The villagers of Monroe did not believe that he could have died under such odd circumstances, and rumors were whispered amongst them that he had been hexed by his wife. Hannah picked up the name Hannah Cranna soon after – “Cranna” being Scottish for a rocky place.

Hannah, now widowed, resided in the forest alone and never remarried. She began dressing in all black clothing, with long flowing skirts that grazed the ground and swayed in the wind. Her home was said to be guarded by numerous snakes, and her familiar, a rooster named Old Boreas, would only crow at 3:00am – the witching hour. The change in her appearance, isolated home, and hateful attitude didn’t help the allegations that had already been made against her – but oddly enough she used the fact that she was feared by others to her advantage. The legend states that Hannah would demand other villagers give her food and firewood for free, and if they did not immediately comply, they would be hexed. Numerous anecdotes from locals describe a curse being laid upon them for refusing her demands, trespassing on her property, and taunting her about the rumors.

Old Boreas, her familiar, died in 1859 & Hannah believed she wouldn’t live too much long after – and she didn’t. After a heavy snow that Winter, a local had found her in weak condition and she muttered:

“I am not well. I have a wish to make that must be carried out following my death. I am not to be buried until after sundown and there must be ample bearers to carry my coffin from the house to the grave. Obey my wishes if you wish to avoid trouble and vexation.”

Hannah passed of natural causes the following day, but something strange was said to have happened the night of her burial. With deep snow and slick ice covering the ground, it made it difficult for the bearers of her coffin to carry it from her home to the gravesite. Going against her wishes, the coffin was loaded onto a sled and while en route, the coffin began to shake and came loose. This happened twice, so the coffin bearers decided to try their damndest to carry her to her final resting place. After they buried   her, they traveled back towards her home to discover the cottage completely engulfed in flames.

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What do I think happened? I think the grief of losing her husband, the financial difficulty, and horrible rumors made against an innocent woman pushed her into seclusion. I think Hannah used the fact that she was feared to get what she could not appropriately provide for herself. I also think she died alone over a harsh New England Winter, and was probably not found for a long while because no one dare visit her. There’s a sense of sadness I feel whenever I read about this legend.

Hannah’s remains are located at Gregory’s Four Corners Burial Ground, located on Spring Hill Road in Trumbull, Connecticut.

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