I have often thought that this is a particularly rich time of year. The ancient Celts had the festival of Samhain to mark the end of summer and beginning of winter. In the next few days it will be Halloween (our modern celebrations can be traced back to Samhain). All Saints Day is November 1 and All Souls Day is November 2 in the Christian calendar. I have no idea if these are just any other days for you, or if you are off to some fun Halloween party or happily gearing up for trick or treaters arriving in droves in your neighborhood!
For the past nine years I lived in Colchester Federated Church’s parsonage, which happens to be right next to Colchester’s Burying Ground (once owned by the church I served).* The cemetery dates back to 1713. Sometimes parishioners (and even people around town!) would ask if it was strange to live next to a cemetery. Did anything spooky ever happen? There was one time when my dog (now of blessed memory, Fritz the Foxhound) and I were outside in the back yard together. He was staring intently at the cemetery and his hackles were up. He was a foxhound and had a nose like you wouldn’t believe. Fritz was intently focused on something, pointing to something as he was bred to do. But no one was there! Seemingly just the quiet cemetery. That was a little disconcerting, and I never really knew what to make of it.
Over the years, I became oddly protective of my neighbors in the cemetery. Bored teenagers hung out there a lot. As long as they didn’t get into any mischief, we were fine. Halloween week seemed to ramp up the visits to the old burying ground. So much so that one year members of the Colchester Historical Society gave cemetery “ghost” tours where they dressed up as the “ghosts” of some of the more notable citizens buried there. We went from grave to grave hearing stories about who is laid to rest in that hallowed ground. It was fascinating and made me even more appreciative of these old burying grounds all throughout New England and the hidden histories we can sometimes discover right next door.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Lauren
P.S.
If you are interested in this sort of thing, Connecticut’s Tourism Office has shared places to visit along the Connecticut Haunted History Trail. The full map and information can be found here: https://ctvisit.com/articles/connecticuts-haunted-history-trail
*Colchester Burying Ground, https://www.colchesterct.gov/parks-facilities/pages/colchester-burying-ground
The Orange Peal Pastor’s Note 10/28/26
Photos by Rev. Lauren Ostrout.
