History & local legend
Saint Martin Catholic Church stands on Route 982 in New Derry, Westmoreland County. The parish developed as a meeting place for Catholic families living near the older Mount Carmel log church and families closer to the railroad. Its original brick church was dedicated in September 1856.
A short account submitted to Ghosts of America by a writer named Ian describes a disturbing figure outside the church: a woman dressed entirely in black, with long white hair and a wrinkled face. Ian said she appeared to hover and had no visible eyes. Ian’s story was circulating online by 2009.
