Ghost stories from a former cemetery superintendent
When Luke Conroy moved into Oak Hill Cemetery’s superintendent’s house with his wife in 1989, he expected to live among the dead. He didn’t expect to hear them moving around upstairs.
The first strange experience came shortly after they settled into the large house. Over the years, other unexplained encounters followed, some involving fellow cemetery workers and others occurring when Conroy was alone.
Oak Hill Cemetery, established in 1848, is one of Nyack’s most historic places. Its winding roads, wooded slopes, and over 24,000 monuments are familiar to generations of visitors. Few, however, knew its grounds as well as Conroy, who lived and worked there.
In a recent conversation, Conroy recalled a series of incidents that have stayed with him long after his years as caretaker ended.
Footsteps in the Attic
The superintendent’s house is surprisingly large. Above the second floor is a spacious attic reached by an interior staircase. Two small rooms occupy part of the third floor, with considerable open space beyond them.
One night, shortly after the Conroys moved in, Luke had gone to bed while his wife was in the bathroom brushing her long blonde hair. She heard footsteps overhead and woke him. Luke wasn’t particularly concerned and went back to sleep.
A little later, she woke him again. This time she had heard a door opening, followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged across the attic floor. Luke got up to investigate. At the door leading to the attic, one of their cats was sitting and staring intently at the closed door, as though something were on the other side.
He climbed the stairs and searched the attic. Nothing was there.
During his years in the cottage, Conroy discovered old cemetery ledgers dating back to Oak Hill’s founding. He sometimes wondered whether he had disturbed something that should have been left alone.
Eventually, he converted one of the attic rooms into a retreat of his own. He enjoyed playing darts and installed a dartboard there. But he never felt entirely comfortable in the room. Whenever he went upstairs, he experienced the distinct sensation that someone was standing behind him. Even more unsettling was the feeling that whoever it was did not want him there.
The sensation returned repeatedly. He never saw anyone.
The Woman Who Disappeared into a Hedge
Conroy wasn’t the only person who experienced something unusual at Oak Hill.
Two brothers, Charles and Joe White, worked on his grounds crew for years. They knew the cemetery’s roads, paths, and monuments as well as anyone.One day, while working together in one of the older sections, they noticed a woman walking through the cemetery.Neither recognized her. As they watched, she walked directly into a hedge and disappeared.
Both brothers saw it happen.
It was broad daylight, and there was no apparent explanation for where the woman had gone. The brothers later told Conroy what they had witnessed.
A Stranger on the Cemetery Road
Conroy had a regular evening routine. After finishing work, he walked his two black Labrador retrievers along Route 9W toward the hospital parking lot, then returned to the superintendent’s house.
One evening at dusk, as he neared the house, he noticed a young woman walking toward him along the cemetery road. She appeared to be in her twenties or thirties, with long, straight brown hair. She wore ordinary contemporary clothing, nothing that suggested a figure from another time.
Conroy was heading east. The woman was walking west, directly toward him. As they approached, he prepared to say something about his dogs. But the woman looked straight ahead, apparently unaware of his presence. His younger Labrador noticed her and began wagging its tail.
They passed side by side without speaking or making eye contact. Conroy found it odd that she had ignored him so completely. A moment later, he turned to look behind him.
The woman was gone.
There was no sign of her on the road.
Someone Standing Behind Him
Not every strange encounter involved seeing an unexplained figure.
One afternoon, around four o’clock, Conroy’s landscaping crew finished work and went home. He decided to stay a little longer to trim the grass around some headstones with a weed whacker.
He was working alone when he suddenly experienced an overwhelming sensation that someone was standing directly behind him. It was more than the ordinary feeling of being watched. He sensed anger, even hostility, as though someone resented his presence and wanted him to leave.He turned around, but no one was there.
The experience reminded him of the uncomfortable feeling he had repeatedly encountered in his attic room. This time, however, the sense of anger was particularly strong.
He could see nothing to account for it.
The Grave Digger Who Stopped Working
Another incident involved a grave digger who had come to Oak Hill to prepare a burial site.
Conroy met the man and showed him where the grave was to be dug. The digger decided to get his backhoe and begin immediately. That was unusual. Grave digging was ordinarily done with two workers because the backhoe operator could not see everything happening inside the excavation.
Conroy returned to the superintendent’s house. After thinking it over, he decided to go back and help. When he approached the burial site, he saw that the digging had begun. But the backhoe engine was stopped, and the operator was sitting silently in his seat.
Conroy asked what was wrong.
The man explained that while digging, he had suddenly felt that someone was standing right beside him. He dismissed the sensation as probably nothing.
But he had stopped digging.
These accounts are based on a recent conversation with Luke Conroy, former Superintendent of Oak Hill Cemetery, who generously shared his recollections of living and working on the grounds.
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About the author
Mike Hays has lived in the Nyacks for 38 years. After a career as an executive at McGraw-Hill Education in New York City, he now focuses on researching, writing, and interpreting local history.
He serves as Treasurer and past President of the Historical Society of the Nyacks. He is also a Trustee of the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center and Historian for the Village of Upper Nyack. In these roles, he works with community partners to preserve historic resources and expand public understanding of the area’s past.
Since 2017, he has written the popular Nyack People & Places column for Nyack News & Views. The series chronicles the history, architecture, and personalities of the lower Hudson Valley.
Hays has also developed museum exhibitions, written interpretive materials, and led well-attended walking tours that bring Nyack’s history to life.
He is married to Bernie Richey. He enjoys cycling, history walks, and winters in Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @UpperNyackMike.