The Curse of the Bronze Lady

 

Photo from Find-a-Grave
Submitted by Jan Franco

Deep in the heart of Headless Horseman territory and located within the same cemetery where author Washington Irving lies, is an often-overlooked legend. It is the Curse of the Bronze Lady of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

When General Samuel R. Thomas, a wealthy coal and railroad baron and Civil War veteran, passed away from heart disease suddenly on January 11, 1903, he left behind three children and a widow. Samuel married Ann Porter in 1872 and was obviously deeply grieved over losing her beloved husband. She initially had him buried in a private mausoleum/crypt but felt that a man of such wealth and stature deserved a more fitting memorial. 

She hired sculptor Andrew O'Connor who created the bronze statue of a woman, seated in mourning. He named the statue appropriately 'Grief.' Unfortunately, Ann was appalled by the work. She believed the face was too melancholy and dismal; she wanted a happy countenance overlooking her husband's final resting place. (Theresa's side note: No one really knows why Ann was so persistent about having a 'happy faced' statue, but I'm kind of wondering if the mourning widow wasn't as unhappy as she wanted people to believe. After all, she had actually been left out of Samuel's newspaper obituary altogether! Or perhaps this was just a way to get out of paying the princely sum of money it would have cost her to commission such a piece.) Either way, Ann was displeased, and demanded O'Connor try again.

O'Connor obliged and created a second head for the statue, one with a more cheerful look. Ann approved of the new design, but it never made its way onto the statue. Instead, O'Connor hurled the head to the ground, where it smashed to pieces at Ann's feet (very Headless Horseman coded). He basically told her that his first design was perfect, and how dare she question his art. 

Photo from Find-a-Grave
Submitted by David M. Habben

And so, the Bronze Lady retained her original face. Ann would pass in 1944. Her body was cremated, and her ashes were interred in the mausoleum alongside her husband's body. Shortly after, the legends of the Bronze Lady curse would arise. 

Gaining popularity throughout the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's, especially with local teenagers, the legends of the curse are quite varied, depending on who is telling the story. There are those who state that anyone foolish enough to insult the statue or slap its face is instantly cursed. A simple touch of the cheek is enough to warrant a long run of bad luck. But it's when one chooses to sit in the statue's lap that things get REALLY weird. 

Some say that simply sitting in the lap at all is curse-worthy. Others say if you sit on her lap, jump down, and spin around three times, you'll be cursed. In another variant, those same actions are believed to BREAK the curse, should it be acquired through some other means. I especially like the variant where if you sit on the statue's lap and then go look into the keyhole of the mausoleum, you'll see a ghost!

Yeah, sometimes the Bronze Lady doesn't want to 'curse' you.... she just wants to be spooky. She may give you the ability to see ghosts through the keyhole, or she might simply be seen walking around the cemetery on dark, moonless nights. If she isn't seen, she may be heard; the mournful cries of the Bronze lady will get louder the closer you get to the burial site. In yet another variant on the lap-sitting, legend says that if someone sits in her lap, she'll cry tears of blood. And, back to the mausoleum itself, if you're not brave enough to look through the keyhole for ghosts, perhaps you'll be brave enough to knock on the door. You won't see ghosts, necessarily, but you'll be plagued with bad dreams. 

If you ever find yourself in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, visiting the grave of Washington Irving, or one of the many, many other famous authors and others to be buried within this hallowed ground, don't forget to stop by and pay your respects to the Bronze Lady. At the very least, DON'T INSULT HER!

Sources and Further Reading:

Find-a-Grave Entry for Samuel R. Thomas

The Bronze Lady of Sleepy Hollow: NY Ghosts Blog. 13 May 2025

The Bronze Lady: The Other Spooky Legend of Sleepy Hollow that You've Never Heard Of. The Lineup. Article by Jessica Ferri. Published 24 October 2017

Times Union (Brooklyn, NY)
12 January 1903