Connecticut has a long and storied history, so it follows that it would boast epic otherworldly phenomena too. Thinking about taking a trip to the state’s spookiest locations? Here are seven of the most haunted places in Connecticut for your Halloween hitlist.
Scariest Places in Connecticut
1. Norwich State Hospital, Preston
Hospitals tend to be breeding grounds for the paranormal, but Norwich State Hospital is particularly creepy. Built in 1904 and abandoned in 1996, patients endured years of mistreatment – sterilized, holed up in solitary confinement and sometimes killed. Alledged current residents include the ghost of a man who hanged himself and two former employees who were killed in a hot water heater explosion in 1919. Visitors have reported floating lights, moving shadows and strange voices. A private developer now owns the imposing buildings and it’s difficult to get too close due to the security guards, but there’s enough to give you the heebie-jeebies from across the road.
2. 1754 Hours (Curtis House Inn), Woodberry
Curtis House Inn opened in 1754, making it the state’s oldest inn, so it’s hardly surprising it’s got a few ghosts in the closet. Lots of guests have reported unwelcome bedfellows and peculiar incidents – TV remotes going missing, disembodied voices, mysterious footsteps, and so on. In 2014 Gordon Ramsey stayed there for his TV show Hotel Hell and reportedly met a ghost called Betty who locked him in his room. Story goes that the place is packed with former owners, guests and the vengeful souls of employees who checked in, but never checked out…
3. Gunntown Cemetary, Naugatuck
Deep in Naugatuck you’ll find a tiny cemetery dedicated to solders who died fighting in the Revolutionary War. That’s over two centuries of paranormal activity to get stuck into. Visitors have reported a lantern-carrying man leading horses, a small boy playing, a black dog and incessant (and disembodied) children’s laughter. Famed “demonologists” Ed and Lorraine Warren rated it as “officially haunted” too.
4. The Bruce Museum, Greenwich
The Bruce Museum is one of the most haunted places in Connecticut. Local legend tells that two Irish servants working at Belle Haven mansions in the late nineteenth century fell in love. He would play his flute to her while she watched on, prettily. Then one day, he disappeared. The young woman was left heartbroken, moved back to Ireland and died of tuberculosis. Not long after this, people started reporting sightings of two ghosts lurking outside the museum – a young man playing the flute and young woman listening. Others have reported a menacing voice ordering the two into the mansion. The pair refuse to enter, claiming that if they do, they’ll never be able to leave. They vanish every time.
5. Seventh Day Baptist Cemetary, Burlington
A trip to an abandoned cemetery is probably the easiest way to bump into a ghost. Seventh Day Baptist Cemetary is a particularly safe bet, because it dates all the way back to the eighteenth century. One of its most famous paranormal residents is the ‘Green Lady’, once known as Elisabeth Palmiter. Elisabeth died while looking for her husband during a storm. She drowned in the swamp and now re-appears every now and then as a green mist or a woman wearing a green dress.
6. Dudleytown, Cornwall
Dudleytown was never a real town, but people did live here from the 1700s. By the early twentieth century, everyone had abandoned it. Why? According to local lore, a man from the Dudley family plotted a failed coup against Henry VIII. The family fled to America – to none other than Dudleytown – but a curse followed them. Anyone who tried to live in the town was bombarded with misfortune, grizzly deaths and suspicious suicides. Creepy eh? This local legend actually inspired the plot for the Blair Witch Project too.
7. Abigail’s Grille and Wine Bar, Simsbury
You wouldn’t expect somewhere so trendy to have such a sinister not-so-well-kept secret. Legend has it that the restaurant has a resident ghost, called Abigail. Back in the 18th century, when it was known as The Pettibone Tavern, it was a popular joint with soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War. The owner, John Pettibone, allegedly decapitated his wife Abigail after catching her canoodling another man. She’s been hauting the place ever since, lurking in the ladies bathroom and rearranging furniture.
