Unravelling The Haunting At Jay’s Grave

  • By Sam Ashford
  • First Published: September 16, 2024
  • Last Updated: September 13, 2025

Kitty jay

Jay’s Grave is an ancient burial site nestled within the landscape of Dartmoor, in Devon on England’s southwest side. According to legend, it marks the final resting place of a troubled soul – a suicide victim from the late 18th century.

Dartmoor is synonymous with folklore – where tales of spirits, pixies, and mysterious events occur. From the cruel Cutty Dyer spirit haunting Ashburton to the enchanting Fitz’s Well near Princeton, the moorland is steeped in eerie and enchanting mythology.

Join us, as we step back in time to unravel the secret of Jay’s grave and the blasphemous suicide that denied her a Christian burial back at the turn of the century.

Top Rated

Who Was Kitty Jay?: A Devon Legend

Mary Jay was a poor young woman who hung herself in an outbuilding on one of Dartmoor’s farms in the late 18th century.

And her upbringing – while “normal” for this impoverished era – was just as bleak.

Records suggest Jay was an orphaned baby girl taken to the Poor House in Newton Abbot. During these times, the Poor House gave children names based on the alphabetical order they had progressed to, hence the letter “J”.

Best Selling

While “J” was given to prostitutes, she inherited the name Mary, thus becoming: Mary Jay.

Mary remained at the Poor House until her teens. Later on, she went to work on a Canna farm, outside Manaton in the Devon countryside. This is where she was given the nickname “Kitty” and was known as Kitty Jay from then on.

Note: There are slight variations to the story of Kitty Jay. One example includes author Robert Dymond’s 1876 rendition: “A simple mound and unwrought head and foot stones by the roadside marks the site of a more modern grave. A poor old woman, called Kay, having hung herself, was laid here under crossroads without the rites of Christian burial.”

This opens the discussion if Jay was indeed an old woman called “Kay”, or if the author got the “K” from “Kitty” confused with her surname.

What happened next?

While working on the farm, Jay met her lover – the farmer’s son. The two began a whirlwind love affair and Kitty soon fell pregnant.

Now, this was quite a scandalous stunt back in the day.

Because of this, the farmer banished her from his land out of disgrace and embarrassment. The farmer’s son also accepted no responsibility and shunned Kitty to the wayside.

Note: Another version of the story goes that the farmer’s son assaulted Kitty Jay, but there’s no evidence to prove these accusations.

How did Kitty Jay die?

Kitty – alone, young and pregnant out of wedlock – had no hope of finding employment elsewhere. This tragic event drove Kitty to the brink of insanity, as she fell into the depths of depression.

The only “rational” thing poor Kitty Jay thought to do, was to commit suicide.

She hung herself from an outbuilding on a nearby farm.

Where Is Kitty Jay’s Grave?

Kitty’s Grave is situated at a crossroads “between the Tor and the road to Chagford” near Manaton in southeast Devon.

Due to silly 18th-century laws and regulations, “felo de se” (a.k.a crime against oneself) was considered blasphemous and Mary Jay was not allowed to be buried on consecrated ground.

Instead, her body was brutally disposed of and placed in a grave at a crossroads near Manaton, southeast of Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England.

It’s assumed a stake was driven through her heart as this was common practice at this time. Old countrymen believed this prevented their restless souls from haunting the living realms.

Creepy Occurances At Kitty Jay’s Gravesite

The weird thing is that there are always fresh flowers when you pass Jay’s Grave – sometimes garden flowers, sometimes wildflowers.

Nobody knows where these flowers come from.

Some say the yellow posies are the same colour as those that Kitty and the farmer’s son used to pick together…

Some believe the pixies of Dartmoor Forest watch over Jay’s grave and keep the gravesite adorned with fresh flowers. Others think author Beatrice Chase was someone who did this before she died in 1955.

Motorists have also caught a glimpse of a dark, hooded figure at nightfall when approaching Kitty Jay’s gravesite.

More Dartmoor Folklore

As mentioned, Dartmoor is doused in mystery and folk tales.

Here are a few other local ghost stories:

  1. Cutty Dyer, a hostile spirit near King’s Bridge Ashburton, apparently throws drunks into a nearby river. Or, when feeling extra malevolent, he slits their throats and drinks their blood before dumping their bodies in the river…
  2. Fitz’s Well is a holy well known to be visited on Easter morning by youths and maidens. It’s found near Okehampton and Princetown in the Dartmoor countryside.Legend has it that John Fitzford and his wife were ‘led by pixies’ after getting lost in the moorland mist. The pixies tricked them and said the spell would be broken if they turned their coats inside out…

    Needless to say, they escaped unharmed but woke up in a spring which they drank from. This led them to build Fitz’s Well in gratitude – engraved with I.F. 1568.

  3. Childe’s Tomb is a stone cross found on the Dartmoor moorland.Childe – Lord of the Manor of Plymstock – killed his horse and climbed inside the carcass to escape a dreadful blizzard. However, he still froze to death but managed to write his will – in blood on a granite stone.

    Tavistock Abbey monks claimed his land after he stated whoever found his body would inherit his estate.

  4. “Yeth Hounds” are said to roam the moorlands at night, bringing bad luck to anyone who sees them. This ancient legend is said to have inspired Arthur Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” novel.
  5. Bowerman’s Nose is a tall stone stack believed to have been the body of a huntsman called Bowerman. Apparently, he was not afraid of witches – as many countrymen were in those days – and spiteful witches turned his body into stone when he was out hunting.
  6. Dartmoor pixies are mystical creatures that often play tricks and pranks on travellers. Sometimes, they’ll just steal your belongings; other times they’ll lead you astray…
  7. The Legend Of Vixen Tor is the largest granite stone mound in Dartmoor and is believed to have been home to a wicked witch named Vixana. She maliciously tricked travellers in the mist, causing them to drown in a nearby bog.

FAQs

Can I visit Jay’s Grave?

Yes, Jay’s Grave is open 24/7 and has become a popular ghost-sighting hotspot in Newton Abbot. Just remember to take your ghost-hunting equipment, like thermal cameras and dowsing rods, along with you – you never know what or who you might see…

Has Jay’s Grave ever been opened?

Yes, the last resting place of Kitty Jay was opened in around 1860 “by order of Mr. James Bryant in the presence of his son-in-law, Mr. J.W. Sparrow”. This was done as a type of autopsy that confirmed the bones and remains were indeed female.

What’s the earliest account of Kitty Jay?

According to the Dartmoor Resource, an early newspaper account published in the North Devon Journal traces the origins of Kitty Jay back to January 1851.

Final Thoughts

By exploring Kitty Jay’s story, we’ve caught a glimpse into the harsh realities of 18th-century England.

Was it indeed a love affair gone wrong, or did something far more sinister contribute to her untimely death?

The story of Kitty Jay serves as a haunting reminder of the secrets buried beneath the rugged beauty of Dartmoor’s countryside – one that’s etched with mystery, folk tales and legend…

If you’ve enjoyed this article about famous female ghosts, check out more on SpiritShack’s website.

References

Sam Ashford
Sam Ashford - Author

Hey, I'm Sam Ashford! I'm a ghost-hunting expert, writer and founder of SpiritShack. My mission is to help people like yourself learn about spirituality and how to hunt ghosts!