Have you ever been to a ghost town? There's an interesting one in Connecticut that I'm going to share with you today...but unfortunately no trespassers are allowed. At least we can still discuss it and see if the story peaks your interest.
One version of the the story of Dudleytown supposedly starts across the ocean in England when Edmund Dudley was cursed upon his execution that was ordered by King Henry VIII. The curse supposedly stated that all Dudley descendants would be surrounded by horror and death. Now, why the curse was placed on the Dudley family and by whom, I have no idea. Why the curse was not placed on King Henry VIII is another thing I don't understand as you would think he would be more deserving of a curse than the Dudley family. But...what do I know?
According to this version of the story, it looks like the curse took hold on the Dudley family. Edmund's son, John Dudley, wanted to control the British throne. Which, curse or no curse, I'm guessing that anyone trying to take over the British throne was not going to have a good outcome. Anyway, John arranged for his son, Guilford, to marry Lady Jane Gey who was next in line for the crown. When Edward VI died, Lady Jane became Queen for a short time, but all did not work out as Lady Jane, John Dudley and his son, Guilford, were all executed.
Another son of John Dudley, who was a military officer, came back to England after being in France for a while. He, unfortunately, brought back a plaque that killed many British officers and eventually spread across the country, killing thousands more.
John Dudley had a third son named Robert. He was Earl of Leicester. He decided to leave England and went to the "new world". Robert's son, William, settled in Guilford, Connecticut. Descendants of William - Abiel, Barzallai, and Gideon - later bought some land in Cornwall township.
This area was in the middle of three large hills, farming was not that great but people tried to stick it out. There was iron ore discovered nearby. People would have to travel to Cornwall for supplies. There were no stores, shops, schools or churches. If a person died in Dudleytown, they would be taken to Cornwall for burial.
As of 1854, there were 26 families living in Dudleytown. Even though the farming was bad, Dudleytown had timber. They burned the timber and used it to make wood coal for Litchfield County Iron Furnaces in Cornwall. Over time, the furnaces were relocated closer to the railroad and the bigger industrial towns that had started and the timber was no longer needed.
The three water-powered mills that Dudleytown had also closed down because the trip down the mountain to deliver products was too long of a trip.
It is said that there was an unusual high death rate in Dudleytown along with many people going insane in the area. Reports were made of people people completely vanishing without a trace. At one point in time, only Abiel Dudley was the only Dudley in town and it's said that he ended up losing his fortune and went insane. He died at the age of 90 in 1799.
In 1792, Gershon Hollister was killed while building a barn for William Tanner. William Tanner later went insane. It's said that William lived to 104 years old and was "slightly demented". In my opinion, if you live to 104, I would expect a bit of dementia, but I don't think that qualifies you as "insane". So, what was William - insane or slightly demented because of old age? Maybe a little bit of both?
Supposedly William Tanner told people about "strange creatures" he would see coming out of the woods at night. Are these creatures part of his "dementia" or do they actually exist in the area that is Dudleytown?
A plague went through Dudleytown in 1759 and the Adoniram Carter family did not survive. In his grief, Nathaniel Carter moved he and his family to an area of Delaware wilderness. This area was Native American territory and Nathaniel, his wife, and his infant child were killed. His other three children were abducted and taken the Canada and were sold. The son, David Carter, remained with his captors and ended up marrying a Native American lady and eventually returned to the U.S.
General Herman Swift, served in the Revolutionary War under George Washington, had a home near Dudleytown. His wife, Sarah Faye, was struck and killed by lightening. Supposedly Herman ended up going insane and died shortly thereafter. Was that due to the Dudley curse..or maybe just grief over the loss of his wife?
Dudleytown really started failing after the Civil War. Many people started packing up and moving out of the town. One of the last residents that remained was John Patrick Brophy. In 1901, he lost his wife to consumption (which is tuberculosis and not over-eating like I thought years ago when I first heard about people "dying of consumption"). It's been said that shortly after John Patrick died, his two children disappeared into the forest and were never seen again. Why? I have no idea... Some time later, the Brophy house burned down.
Over time, the remaining homes began to deteriorate and the forest reclaimed the area.
Some years later, Dr. William Clarke came to Cornwall and purchased 1000 acres of land, which included Dudleytown. He built a vacation home there and he and his wife Harriet Bank Clarke, spent weekends and summers there until 1918.
During one weekend stay, Dr. Clarke was called away for an emergency in New York. Harriet stayed at the vacation home to enjoy the rest of her weekend. When William came back about 36 hours later, he found Harriet to have gone insane. She told him about "strange creatures" that came out of the forest and attacked her. Harriet ended up dying of suicide.
Another version of the story is that the residents of the town unintentionally placed the cursed themselves..with all the "cursing" they did while they struggled to farm and keep the timber and water mill businesses going. Makes me wonder how "cursed" I am with all of the cursing moments I've personally had.
OK...moving on from the history lesson. If you're still with me, thank you...I greatly appreciate it. Let the ghost story officially begin!
The ghost side of the story began in the 1940s. People checking out the abandoned town claimed to have overwhelming feelings of terror, seeing apparitions, seeing mysterious lights, the feeling of being touched, pushed or scratched. Some researchers refer to the area as a "negative power spot". That doesn't sound so great...
The location has been called the "Village of the Damned". Were some of the stories about people going insane actual demon possessions? Are there still "strange creatures" in the forest?
Are previous residents haunting the area? Are they the apparitions that have been sighted? What are the mysterious lights people have seen? Is a spirit lost, trying to find its way through the forest?
What remains in the Dudleytown village may never be fully known, but the overall spookiness will probably last for a long, long time.
As I sad in the beginning, we can't actually go into Dudleytown and check it out/investigate. The town is owned by the Dark Forest Entry Association and they have closed it to the public after years of vandalism.
If anything, it's a great story to tell your friends around a campfire.
-- Audre
Photo by: Pinterest
Photo by: thescarecamber.com
Sources:
thescarechamber.com
Comments