The Witch’s Grave

Tucked inside Magnolia Cemetery—Katy’s historic burial ground dating back to 1900—sits one grave that has inspired more shivers, dares, and late-night detours than any other place in town. The cemetery itself reads like a map of Katy’s early history, with headstones belonging to founding families and Civil War soldiers lined up beneath old trees. But it’s the resting place of Barbara Snyder, a German immigrant who died in 1911, that draws curious visitors year after year, especially during Halloween.

Snyder’s grave is better known by its unofficial title: The Witch’s Grave. However, it must be said that the nickname is based on folklore and not facts. Barbara Snyder had no documented ties to the occult or anything remotely witch-related. Her notoriety comes instead from the somber Victorian epitaph etched into her stone. It’s a poem that was common for the era but unsettling enough to ignite generations of ghost stories. It reads:

“Remember me as you pass by,As you are now, so once was I:As I am now, you soon shall be,Prepare for death and follow me.”

The warning tone of the poem became the centerpiece of local lore. According to long-held tales, anyone who recites the lines aloud must leave an offering—often coins—on the top of the headstone, which is conveniently shaped like a shallow bowl. Those who fail to “pay the witch,” the legend insists, risk a run of bad luck. Some stories go further, claiming that mirrors held near the grave reveal a mysterious figure standing just behind the viewer, though no amount of adventurous nighttime visits has managed to verify this.

The myths have only grown over time. For years, a crystal orb once mounted on the stone was rumored to glow, shift, or even lift on its own. The orb often fell victim to student pranks and was removed, reportedly ending up at the Katy Police Department.

Despite the spooky reputation, the site endures less as a place of terror and more as a testament to how local history and imagination blend into lasting folklore. Magnolia Cemetery may preserve the earliest chapters of Katy’s story, but Barbara Snyder’s tombstone remains its most talked-about landmark. An ordinary life transformed into an extraordinary legend.