Lucy Keyes | The Wachusett Mountain Ghost

Posted: 04.14.2025 | Updated: 04.15.2025

Boston, MA, and the nearby Wachusett Mountain lays claim to an enduring legend that undoubtedly is founded in fact. But, like many legends, holds a likely sprinkling of fiction. All in all, the legendary tale of Lucy Keyes still holds strong today. 

Legend, fact, and fiction are common bedfellows, and these three ingredients are often wildly disproportionate in old tales that have traveled the centuries. Learn the time-tested recipe for a good ghost story on a Boston Ghost Tour.

What Happened To Lucy Keyes?

In Massachusetts, the 18th century is famed for its colonial struggles with British rulers and the nation’s wider quest for independence. Locals, however, know the tale of Lucy Keyes just as keenly. The story of a little girl lost, and a family driven to near madness in the search has been passed down through time as often as war stories of heroism and hardship. 

This legend lingers just as palpably as the search for that little girl on the mountain and the spectral echo that is said to be still heard today.

The Legend Of Lucy Keyes

Today, Mount Wachusett stands tall in the heart of Worcester County, watching over the city on the edge of the horizon. With its stunning open beauty and awesome rugged landscape, it is a popular destination for skiing and hiking. 

In the 18th century, however, those living on the mountain were far more isolated and remote than today’s visitors. One such group of hardy souls was the Keyes family, living on the Eastern slope of the proud mountain.

On the morning of April 14th, 1755, Martha Keyes, wife of local farmer Robert, sent her two eldest daughters, Patty and Anna, to collect sand from the banks of Lake Wachusett. Sand was a common scrubbing agent at the time.

As the sisters headed out into the chilly spring wilderness, unbeknownst to them, their younger sibling, 4-year-old Lucy, had decided that she, too, would follow her big sisters on the journey. Although little Lucy set off on the right path, she would never reach her sisters.

Naturally, the Keyes family was completely devastated by the disappearance of their little Lucy. Searching for Lucy would become the focus of both Martha’s and Robert’s lives. Robert Keyes became obsessed with the search, never losing hope that little Lucy would return to their lives or be brought home. Marth Keyes was utterly heartbroken and driven to near madness. The tale of the little girl lost on the mountain began to travel far and wide. 

Their tale of heartbreak and loss, which enveloped their entire existence, would grow into a local legend and a story that even Hollywood scriptwriters could not ignore.

Some believe a spectral echo of this tragedy still lingers on the mountain today, while debate still rages as to the eventual fate of Lucy. 

The Speculated Fate Of Lucy Keyes

While the definitive truth of Lucy Keyes’s fate will ultimately remain lost in the sands of time, notable theories and an intriguing possible sighting are etched in the minds of all who ponder little Lucy’s demise. 

Theories About Lucy Keyes’s Disappearance

• Captured By Native Americans
• Deathbed Confession
• The Elements

Was Lucy Keyes Captured by Native Americans?

The idea that little Lucy had wandered from the trail only to be abducted or adopted by a Native American tribe may seem fanciful. But the idea is not without precedent. There are numerous accounts of children or even grown men and women being taken by tribes. They either become slaves or, in some cases, become part of the group. 

Robert Keyes would edge into poverty to fund his fruitless and lifelong search for his missing daughter. All the while, Martha Keyes was driven to near madness. Many years after Lucy vanished, a chance encounter would ignite feverish debate on Lucy’s fate. 

Some years later, two traders encountered a Native American tribe near the Canadian border. Among them was one young white woman. The woman spoke very little English other than to describe where she originated from: “Chusett Hill.” 

This apparent broken reference meant that these two traveling traders may have solved the riddle of Lucy Keyes. Impoverished by his search, Robert Keyes tried to investigate further but to no avail.

This chance meeting, however, is the only time this woman was ever spoken to or contacted by outsiders.  

As distressing as this possible outcome might seem, it pales compared to the other most popular theory of where little Lucy went. The suggestion that there was murder on the mountainside still lingers today. 

Littlejohn’s Deathbed Confession

Legend tells of a heinous act carried out by a mountainside neighbor of the Keyes family. Some 70 years after Lucy disappeared without a trace, Tilly Littlejohn sought to clear his conscience before meeting his maker. Littlejohn is said to have written a letter on his deathbed, ultimately confessing to the brutal murder of the innocent little girl.

The letter is said to have described Robert Keyes and Littlejohn’s longstanding quarrel, possibly over land. Some have speculated that Tilly Littlejohn also resented the idyllic existence that the Keyes family enjoyed. 

This gruesome theory, allegedly supported by this handwritten document, describes how, in a fit of rage, Littlejohn cracked Lucy Keyes’s skull on a rock and hid her body in a hollow tree stump. 

The fog of time obscures much here upon closer inspection. The contents of the letter are said to be third-hand knowledge. Someone who claimed to have read the sickening confession recounted the story. It is said that the letter is in the Cornell University archives, but the University has stated that no such letter can be found. 

Littlejohn was one of the first to aid the Keyes family in their extensive search as people flocked to the mountain to search for the little girl. Some suggested that Littlejohn’s motivation might have been to misdirect the search. The man wanted to ensure that Lucy’s remains were never found. In the absence of the physical letter, suspicion and accusations may swirl, but the truth remains obscured.

Lucy Keyes Sucumbs to the Elements

Another possible outcome of this old tale is far less gruesome but no less tragic. Wachusett Mountain, a rugged and unforgiving landscape, was a far more arduous place in the 18th century. Certainly, since records began, the month of April would present a life-threatening scenario for someone who was effectively lost and trapped on the mountainside. 

While the sun may keep temperatures for very early spring hovering above freezing, nighttime would undoubtedly be a very dangerous proposition for a 4-year-old lost in the wilderness. The temperature on the reportedly chilly day would likely have dropped 10 degrees below freezing. This means the chances for survival of an ill-equipped little girl would have been bleak at best. 

While these conditions clearly suggest Lucy would most likely not have survived, this theory, like the others, is missing one key part of the puzzle. Lucy’s remains were never found. While that in itself does not rule out succumbing to the elements, the mystery remains. The long, well-publicized, and extensive search offered no clues about where Lucy went.  

Ghosts On The Mountain

The lack of a definitive answer unquestionably compounded the Keyes family tragedy. Had a body been found, or a theory proved true, the unfathomable pain and grief could have, at the very least, been followed by some resolution and comfort that answers were uncovered.

In the end, the family was tortured by the unknown. The lack of closure drove Robert Keyes to further his search, ending his farm and even seeking government financial assistance in 1765, a full decade after Lucy was lost. He was denied assistance by the government, but he persisted. 

Some wholeheartedly believe that the anguish and pain that flowed down the mountain left a mark that can be felt and heard today. The search for Lucy was a massive and concerted effort. People flocked to aid the family and authorities in what became an expansive and systematic months-long search.

Marth Keyes was distraught and verging on insanity with each agonizing and countless hour. She could be heard night after night, wandering the forest and calling out to her daughter. 

Centuries after all those involved have passed into history, it is said that on dark, cold nights, Martha Keyes’s voice can still be heard crying out, “Lucy! Lucy!” As it was over two centuries ago, these calls have no reply. 

Filmmaker John Stimpson was so drawn to the story of Lucy Keyes that a Hollywood film used the tale for inspiration. “I hike up there all the time. I can’t say I’ve actually heard her voice,” he said during an interview. “But the dogs have sometimes started acting funny, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. My wife and I have certainly had experiences where we’ve both been creeped out.”

Haunted Massachusetts

Stimpson is not alone. Locals have reported figures in the dark trees and claim that Lucy and her mother’s souls are bound to Wachusett Mountain. If the tragic pair still search for each other and perhaps peace, they are not alone. There may never be an end to the search for little Lucy Keyes.

To learn about some of the most haunted places in Massachusetts, book a Boston ghost tour with Boston Ghosts. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. To read about other haunted locations nationwide, check out our blog. 

Sources:

• https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/looking-for-lucy-keyes-45adec8be28e
• https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/ma/princeton/KMAPRINC39/date/2024-12-26
• https://www.thegardnernews.com/story/news/2013/10/31/legend-lucy-keyes-spans-generations/11323249007/
• https://newengland.com/travel/massachusetts/mount-wachusett-ghost-of-lucy-keyes/
• https://www.telegram.com/story/opinion/2021/03/31/al-southwick-story-lucy-keyes-mount-wachusetts-lost-toddler/4822373001/