The Legend of Lucy Keyes
How can a four-year-old girl disappear without a trace? Robert Keyes moved his family to Princeton, Massachusetts in 1751, purchasing 200 acres of land on the South-Eastern slope of the Wachusett Mountain. Four years later on April 14th, his daughter Lucy (4) followed her sisters to Wachusett Lake for some sand. This adventure in the woods would be her last. Lucy never returned home.
The townspeople created search parties, drained the lake, but came up empty-handed. Lucy's mother, Martha scoured the woods, calling for her. Night after night, she searched the woods. Her grief overwhelmed her sanity. She died in 1786 never knowing what happened to her daughter.
There are many theories as to what happened to Lucy Keyes. There was a letter found after Martha and Robert Keyes had died. This letter was from the Keyes' neighbor Tilly Littlejohn written on his deathbed. He had a quarrel with the Keyes over property line. and resented the family's happiness. When he spotted Lucy Keyes wandering in the woods all alone, he struck her head with a rock several times. Then, concealed her body in a hollow log and went home. He joined the search party. As the townspeople thoroughly combed the woods, he feared the discovery of her body. Littlejohn retrieved her body and buried it under a fallen tree, placing stones and dead leaves over it. Then built a fire over it to conceal his crime even further. The body was never found even after the discovery of the letter. Whether any of this is true, I don't know.
Littlejohn presented the theory of Lucy being taken by Indians. Claimed he had seen some in the area to shift any suspicions off of himself. Indians took children all the time. White men traveling in Canada came across an Indian tribe who had a white girl with them. The only bit of English she knew was "Chusetts Hill". Wachusett is classified as a mountain but looks more like a hill. It was never confirmed whether the girl was Lucy or not.
Something else to consider. Lucy was four years old at the time of disappearance. A number of things could have happened to a girl that young in the woods alone. She could have been attack by wild animals. Only problem with this theory is there was no trace of her found. If she was killed by animals there would be tracks, blood, pieces of her clothing, or something left behind for someone to find.
It is believed Lucy and her mother Martha haunt on or around Wachusett Mountain. A Lifetime movie was made about this little girl called the Legend of Lucy Keyes.
The townspeople created search parties, drained the lake, but came up empty-handed. Lucy's mother, Martha scoured the woods, calling for her. Night after night, she searched the woods. Her grief overwhelmed her sanity. She died in 1786 never knowing what happened to her daughter.
There are many theories as to what happened to Lucy Keyes. There was a letter found after Martha and Robert Keyes had died. This letter was from the Keyes' neighbor Tilly Littlejohn written on his deathbed. He had a quarrel with the Keyes over property line. and resented the family's happiness. When he spotted Lucy Keyes wandering in the woods all alone, he struck her head with a rock several times. Then, concealed her body in a hollow log and went home. He joined the search party. As the townspeople thoroughly combed the woods, he feared the discovery of her body. Littlejohn retrieved her body and buried it under a fallen tree, placing stones and dead leaves over it. Then built a fire over it to conceal his crime even further. The body was never found even after the discovery of the letter. Whether any of this is true, I don't know.
Littlejohn presented the theory of Lucy being taken by Indians. Claimed he had seen some in the area to shift any suspicions off of himself. Indians took children all the time. White men traveling in Canada came across an Indian tribe who had a white girl with them. The only bit of English she knew was "Chusetts Hill". Wachusett is classified as a mountain but looks more like a hill. It was never confirmed whether the girl was Lucy or not.
Something else to consider. Lucy was four years old at the time of disappearance. A number of things could have happened to a girl that young in the woods alone. She could have been attack by wild animals. Only problem with this theory is there was no trace of her found. If she was killed by animals there would be tracks, blood, pieces of her clothing, or something left behind for someone to find.
It is believed Lucy and her mother Martha haunt on or around Wachusett Mountain. A Lifetime movie was made about this little girl called the Legend of Lucy Keyes.
Comments
- 12 year old posted this :)
80 times never get sick of it
I am a direct decendent of the Robert keyes family.
after seeing the movie..." the legend of lucy keyes"..I must say in all honesty...and I speak for ALL of Robert keyes decendent's....the movie was a total insult to the truth of what happened to lucy.....and after watching this film..3 time's...I have come to the conclusion that the only perpose was to make money off of the family that this tragedy happen to.
and yes....I have heard the voice and seen the vision's of Martha keyes in the wood's of mnt.wachusett.I have also been touched by her hand....I have no doubt of this.
so please in honor of the Robert keyes family....look at this movie for what it truly is......NO MORE THAT FICTION
my sister had come home from school telling me about a project she has top do for English. a ghost story of sorts. and the Name Lucy Keyes popped into her head, so we brainstormed for a bit at the thought of how the name sounded so familiar, so we asked our mother about it. she told us that yes she had told us the story, but only after my sister had an imaginary friend named Lucy who would have her draw portraits of her in mud on the side of the house. though the name Lucy is a very common name for her, using it as short story characters and such. though we have never lived in Massachusetts. We've lived in West Virginia our whole lives, four generations of the Kees family that I know of have anyways.