Union Cemetery

The final resting place of Tillie Smith, the murdered kitchen maid of Centenary University. Her marble monument was paid for by locals who contributed money to provide her with a proper burial.

Union Cemetery in Hackettstown holds the remains of one of New Jersey's most tragic figures: Matilda "Tillie" Smith, an eighteen-year-old kitchen maid at Centenary Collegiate Institute. On the night of April 9, 1886, Tillie asked janitor James Titus to let her back into the dormitory after the 10 p.m. curfew. Instead of helping her, Titus attacked, attempting to rape her and strangling her to death when she resisted. Her body was discovered the next morning outside Taylor Library on campus.

The murder shocked the small town of Hackettstown. When it became clear that Tillie had no family to provide a proper burial, the townspeople collected donations to give her a dignified resting place. On November 24, 1887, a marble monument was unveiled at Union Cemetery, paid for entirely by community contributions. The simple but powerful inscription reads: "She died in defense of her honor."

James Titus was convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to hang, but successfully appealed. He served nineteen years in prison before a confession led to his parole in December 1904. In a strange twist of fate, when Titus died in June 1952, he too was buried at Union Cemetery—not far from the woman he murdered.

Tillie's spirit appears unable to rest. The most commonly reported apparition is a "Lady in White"—a young woman in a flowing white dress and white shoes, sometimes carrying flowers. She has been seen walking near the cemetery's edge, approaching parked cars, and even climbing into vehicles before vanishing. In the summer of 1975, four visitors independently reported encountering this spectral figure, their descriptions matching accounts that had circulated for decades. Some witnesses describe seeing a white shadowy form resembling a young girl with what appear to be knife wounds.

But Union Cemetery is only half of Tillie's haunted territory. Her ghost also frequents the Centenary University campus where she was killed. Students and staff report her walking among the oak trees on the grounds, floating along ceilings in South Hall, and appearing backstage at the theater—reportedly her favorite location. A repair technician working near a swinging light fixture heard a disembodied voice say "Get me out of here" and refused to return. Stereos and CD players in dormitories turn on by themselves, footsteps echo through the locked and empty South Dorm, and mysterious laughter has been heard in the church building near midnight.

Tillie's legacy extends beyond the paranormal. In 2002, Centenary Theater commissioned a theatrical production telling her story, and the college's on-campus grill is named "Tillie's" in her memory. According to campus legend, her image appears in a sorority photograph taken after her murder—a photo now kept under lock and key. Whether visiting her grave at Union Cemetery or walking the grounds where she met her violent end, Tillie Smith remains one of New Jersey's most enduring and sympathetic spirits.