#Mysteries of Dudleytown

[rebeccare]

The Enigma of Dudleytown: Unveiling the Mystery of the Vanishing Town - ...

[rebeleden]

Watch "TRUE HORROR: "Dudleytown" Insanity Disease of Dark Entry Forest Mystery" on YouTube

[myhauntedsalem]

Mysteries of Dudleytown

In the early part of the 1740’s, Thomas Griffis bought a plot of land that would later be considered the first lot in Dudleytown.

In northwestern Connecticut are the remains of a small township that was given the name of Dudleytown. The homes of this once thriving village that was nestled in the surrounding mountains are long gone, but it would seem that the spirits of those who once dwelt here still remain. There are many tales of ghosts, mysterious happenings, demonic beasts, horrible curses and a dark and violent history that starts with the very founding of America itself. Today, all that is left of Dudleytown are the sad remains of some stone foundations and the holes that once were used as cellars to store root vegetables and other foods during the winter months. The roads that were at one time well traveled are now no more than narrow foot paths where only hikers, and the devoted ghost hunter, will bother to traverse.

The land today has changed very little and looks very much as it did when Griffis settled there. It is a thickly forested landscape and rocks lie strewn on the ground where Dudleytown once stood. The land lies covered in shadow from the mountains and receives little sunlight. The woods have been given the name of “Dark Entry Forest”.

In the beginning, the land where Dudleytown would later sit was owned by a man named Thomas Griffis. He and his family were the first to settle in that particular region in the early 1740’s. A village began to spring up a few years later in 1747 when Gideon Dudley arrived on the scene and it was through him the small village became known as Dudleytown. Gideon’s two brothers soon followed him to the area and settled there as well. It was the Dudley’s who were said to be responsible for a curse that was laid upon the village and it is this supposed curse that many say is responsible for the horrors that roam the area to this day.

According to both recent and older accounts, this curse had its start in England in the year 1510. Edmund Dudley, one of the patriarchs of the family, was sentenced to death and beheaded for being part of a plot to overthrow King Henry VIII. It is said that a curse was placed on the family due to this treasonous behavior. It is said that this curse was that all of the Dudley descendants would be plagued by unrelenting by horrors and death would hound them until every last one of the Dudley descendants were wiped from the face of the earth. Believers of the curse swear that the Dudley family then began having a rather nasty run of bad luck.

John Dudley, who was Edmund’s son, made his own attempt to get control of the British throne by having his son, Guilford, marry Lady Jane Grey who was next in line for the crown. Lady Jane was queen for a short time upon the death of Edward VI, but the plan quickly failed and Lady Jane and Edmund and Guilford Dudley were all executed. Soon afterwards, Guilford’s brother returned from France after a stint in the military. He brought with him a vicious plague that spread to his officers and troops. The sickness eventually spread throughout the country, killing thousands of people. John Dudley’s third son, Robert, who was also the Earl of Leicester, decided to leave England and travel to the New World. It would be Robert’s descendant William, who would later settle in Guilford, Connecticut. Abiel, Barzallai and Gideon, William’s descendants, would later buy the land that became Dudleytown.

The village rested in the middle of three large hills, which is why it looked dark even at noon. Settlers began to trickle into the area. The Tanner, the Jones, the Patterson, the Dibble and the Porter families all settled in Dudleytown. Iron ore was discovered and the little village prospered for a while. Even so, goods such as food, cloth, tools, etc. had to be purchased from towns down the mountain because Dudleytown never had any stores, schools, churches nor even a cemetery. Dudleytown was also known for its timber, which was used to make wood coal for the Litchfield County Iron Furnaces in Cornwall and other towns.

In spite of the obvious prosperity though, there were strange deaths and bizarre occurrences at Dudleytown from the very beginning. There was an unusually high number of people who went insane and quite a few people who simply vanished and were never seen or heard from again.

Abiel Dudley lost his entire fortune and eventually his mind. Abiel was made a ward of the town, and in his final years he wandered around aimlessly, mumbling incoherently about “strange creatures in the woods” and unable to care for himself. Abiel died in 1799 at the ripe old age of 90, which was unusual in itself during this time period when people were lucky to live into their 30s or 40s. William Tanner, one of Abiel’s closest neighbors, was also said to have gone insane. Oddly enough, Tanner lived to the age of 104 and according to records, Tanner also would talk of “strange creatures” that came out of the woods at night. Whether or not these creatures were supernatural or the product of a senile mind is impossible to say.

The records that are still in existence from the Dudleytown tell of strange illnesses, disappearances, numerous cases of people going insane, reports of strange creatures roaming the area at night, although it seems that most of the reports were from those folks who had been declared insane.

After the Civil War, Dudleytown began to die and most of the remaining families simply packed up and moved away. The small village soon became the haunt of birds, small animals, and began to be reclaimed by the forest.

During the final days of Dudleytown one rather strange and mysterious event came to light, and no matter how hard the skeptics try to disregard and debunk this odd occurrence in Dudleytown, even they can not give a reasonable explanation for the event.

In 1901, when the population of Dudleytown had dwindled to nearly nothing, one of the last residents of the town, John Patrick Brophy, suffered a slew of misfortunes. His first wife died when she was struck down by a sudden illness and then his two children vanished into the forest right after his wife’s funeral. The children were never found. Shortly after the disappearance of his children, Brophy’s house was burned to the ground in a mysterious fire and not long after, Brophy himself disappeared and was never seen again. Shortly after these string of bizarre occurrences, Dudleytown officially ceased to be, and began to be reclaimed by the land.

Tales of spooky lights, misty apparitions, and strange incidences began to surface in the 1940’s when visitors to the old ruins reported seeing these strange things. Today, those folks who have made the long trek to visit the place show photographs of spooky mists that seem to show creepy faces peering out at the observer, and say they get feelings of terror, see mysterious lights, sights and hear creepy sounds. Many folks report that they have experienced being touched, pushed and scratched by unseen hands. Many say that this area was once the land belonging to the Mohawk tribe and they left it when the ground became “soured”, or cursed.

Whatever the reasons for the strange and spooky occurrences in the area once known as Dudleytown, one thing is for certain, this remote part of Connecticut will remain a favorite place for thrill seekers and ghost hunters for many years to come.

[mythicallore]

Urban Legends: Connecticut

Dudleytown

Why it's creepy: Often cited as a “dark vortex,” rumor has it that any visitor that steals an artifact from Dudleytown will have a curse put on them and their family. Dudleytown forest visitors report seeing just about every kind of paranormal phenomena you could think of: People describe an unnerving lack of wildlife in the area as well as floating orbs of light and sinister “wolf-like” black shadows, murmurs and disembodied voices, as well as a feeling of general dread. Add on the fact that there’s a mysterious group called “the Dark Forest Association” that polices the grounds with militant force and you’ve got yourself a serious case of the what the hell is really going on here?

Where it came from: The curse of the ill-fated Dudleys began back in jolly ol’ England, where Edmund Dudley was beheaded for conspiring against King Henry VII. This treacherous act apparently unleashed a curse on the rest of the Dudley clan, which emigrated from Guilford, England to Cornwall, Connecticut in 1748. They helped establish a community centered around the town’s then-thriving iron industry before a series of untimely disasters befell the family. These calamities included a series of mysterious deaths which, in turn, inspired madness and suicide among the Dudleys, several of whom disappeared into the woods never to be seen again. The remaining residents very sensibly ditched the town, which has been abandoned ever since. -- Janelle Albukhari

[deadliveevents]

Mysteries of Dudleytown: Abandoned Town In Connecticut. In the early part of the 1740s, Thomas Griffis bought a plot of land that would later be considered the first lot in Dudleytown. In northwestern Connecticut are the remains of a small township that was given the name of Dudleytown. The homes of this once thriving village that was nestled in the surrounding mountains are long gone, but it would seem that the spirits of those who once dwelt here still remain. https://anomalien.com/mysteries-of-dudleytown-abandoned-town-in-connecticut/ . . . . www.deadlive.co.uk #deadlive #deadliveevents #psychicreadings #ghosthunts #hauntedvenues #ghosthunting #spookynights #psychicevents #ghosthuntingequipment #psychicnights #hauntedhouse #hauntedinn #hauntedpubs #hauntednights #northwestghosthunts #hauntedcastles #hauntedhalls #ghostscaughtoncamera #spookyevents #hauntedengland #liverpoolghosthunts #tarotreaders #mediumship https://www.instagram.com/p/CH5CbMqlrLl/?igshid=103qo4s82s8nm

[newenglandspooks]

The abandoned village of Dudleytown, Connecticut has become known for its history of suicides, murders, vanishing children, and madness. The town was founded by the Dudley family, whose ancestors had immigrated from England. The immigration had been a choice following the beheading of their father, Edmund Dudley, for treason. It is said that a curse was placed upon the rest of the family as further punishment for the betrayal against their homeland. This curse would settle with the Dudley family in Connecticut and spread like a sickness.

The curse began to manifest in 1774 when a family of the town lost six members to an unidentified epidemic, and though the remaining grieving members moved away, the misfortune followed them when three of them were murdered and final two children were kidnapped to Canada. Abviel Dudley, the oldest brother of the town founders, went insane, “raving that he saw weird animals and terrifying green creatures” (x). Sarah Faye, wife of General Heman Swift (who served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War), was struck by lightning on the front porch of their Dudleytown home. The Brophy family lost their wife and mother to consumption and their two children vanished mysteriously. These are only a few of the examples of tragedy that occurred during the town’s years of occupancy. However, with a bit of research, one can discover that most of these misfortunes can be rationalized due to circumstances such as decaying rye (which causes hallucinations) and events that were unfortunately common during those particular eras. Additionally, it was uncovered by a descendent of the founding Dudleys that their family has no relation to Edmund Dudley, and he himself has lived a life no more cursed than the average person’s. There are plenty of those who still swear the land holds dark energy, such as famed paranormal researcher Ed Warren, and those who believe that Dudleytown is part of a larger government conspiracy. No matter what one believes, perhaps it is for the best that Dudleytown remains uninhabited.

Sources: x x x 

Photo by @knoshy (on Instagram)

[creepyamericana]

The Village of the Damned

Dudleytown, Cornwall, Connecticut is frequently referred to as “The Village of the Damned.” Many consider it to be one of, if not the, most haunted places in Connecticut and possibly even in New England.

It was founded in the 1740s by a man named Thomas Griffis but later it got the name Dudleytown due to a good amount of the Dudley family moving over and settling in the area. The reason the Dudleys are significant is that the patriarch, Edmund Dudley worked for King Henry VII and was beheaded for treason. Purportedly, when Edmund was executed, a curse fell over the Dudley family and it followed them over to the United States. However, local historians say that there is no evidence that the settlers of Dudleytown were actually related to Edmund. It would be interesting to look into how the connection was formed in the minds of locals as this legend grew.

The area itself is pretty wooded and was cleared to be farmland. However, it was abandoned in the late 1800s. The legend involves the town succumbing to some sort of mass hysteria/madness and throughout the years, members of the Dudley family dying violent and horrific deaths. These deaths included a woman being struck by lightning and several suicides. Additionally, Thomas Dudley, supposedly one of the sons of Edmund, was found hacked to death and the murderer was never brought to justice. You can read a little more on those deaths here, on a National Geographic site. On top of the deaths, there were also claims of demons, hoofed creatures, and children that went missing, though of course all of this is difficult to verify. While these are interesting tales, there are speculations that the final abandonment of the settlement could have been due to the settlement being too far away from potable water or even that the land intended to be farmed was not viable for that reason, though it begs the question as to how the settlement lasted for approximately 150 years if either of those scenarios are the case.

One of the paranormal claims by locals and visitors is that the forest being eerily still and silent. This is interesting in particular given that the area has been owned by a private organization called the Dark Entry Forest Association, named after the road that is near the area but has since been changed to Bald Mountain Road, for over 80 years. This association is apparently pretty secret and difficult to find any information on. Additionally, it has the area heavily guarded (big fines for parking or for being caught walking around [read the comments on this flickr photo about it]) because their intent was to plant trees and help grow the natural ecosystem of the area. If that’s the case, why is it so quiet? If nothing else, the area is supposedly quite dark, even on a sunny day. Additionally, the site is said to have an air of sadness to it. Some people still believe in the curse that was placed on the Dudley family and advise others not to take anything from the site to avoid taking the curse home. Other paranormal claims include orbs, light anomalies, smoke/mist (ectoplasm?), mysterious voices, and, of course, ghosts. Here’s a short account of one paranormal experience.

In fact, paranormal investigators/demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Connecticut’s most famous paranormal investigators) have visited the site and declared it haunted, including it in their seminars. Does that give it some credence? I’d think so.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3 (this one is particularly interesting because it was a post originally made in 1999 and reposted in 2005 but it contains a lot of good pictures and also a comparison chart between this town and the “upcoming” movie The Blair Witch Project), Source 4 (this one has a somewhat interesting video at the end), Source 5, Source 6

[myhauntedsalem]

Mysteries of Dudleytown

In the early part of the 1740’s, Thomas Griffis bought a plot of land that would later be considered the first lot in Dudleytown.

In northwestern Connecticut are the remains of a small township that was given the name of Dudleytown. The homes of this once thriving village that was nestled in the surrounding mountains are long gone, but it would seem that the spirits of those who once dwelt here still remain. There are many tales of ghosts, mysterious happenings, demonic beasts, horrible curses and a dark and violent history that starts with the very founding of America itself. Today, all that is left of Dudleytown are the sad remains of some stone foundations and the holes that once were used as cellars to store root vegetables and other foods during the winter months. The roads that were at one time well traveled are now no more than narrow foot paths where only hikers, and the devoted ghost hunter, will bother to traverse.

The land today has changed very little and looks very much as it did when Griffis settled there. It is a thickly forested landscape and rocks lie strewn on the ground where Dudleytown once stood. The land lies covered in shadow from the mountains and receives little sunlight. The woods have been given the name of “Dark Entry Forest”.

In the beginning, the land where Dudleytown would later sit was owned by a man named Thomas Griffis. He and his family were the first to settle in that particular region in the early 1740’s. A village began to spring up a few years later in 1747 when Gideon Dudley arrived on the scene and it was through him the small village became known as Dudleytown. Gideon’s two brothers soon followed him to the area and settled there as well. It was the Dudley’s who were said to be responsible for a curse that was laid upon the village and it is this supposed curse that many say is responsible for the horrors that roam the area to this day.

According to both recent and older accounts, this curse had its start in England in the year 1510. Edmund Dudley, one of the patriarchs of the family, was sentenced to death and beheaded for being part of a plot to overthrow King Henry VIII. It is said that a curse was placed on the family due to this treasonous behavior. It is said that this curse was that all of the Dudley descendants would be plagued by unrelenting by horrors and death would hound them until every last one of the Dudley descendants were wiped from the face of the earth. Believers of the curse swear that the Dudley family then began having a rather nasty run of bad luck.

John Dudley, who was Edmund’s son, made his own attempt to get control of the British throne by having his son, Guilford, marry Lady Jane Grey who was next in line for the crown. Lady Jane was queen for a short time upon the death of Edward VI, but the plan quickly failed and Lady Jane and Edmund and Guilford Dudley were all executed. Soon afterwards, Guilford’s brother returned from France after a stint in the military. He brought with him a vicious plague that spread to his officers and troops. The sickness eventually spread throughout the country, killing thousands of people. John Dudley’s third son, Robert, who was also the Earl of Leicester, decided to leave England and travel to the New World. It would be Robert’s descendant William, who would later settle in Guilford, Connecticut. Abiel, Barzallai and Gideon, William’s descendants, would later buy the land that became Dudleytown.

The village rested in the middle of three large hills, which is why it looked dark even at noon. Settlers began to trickle into the area. The Tanner, the Jones, the Patterson, the Dibble and the Porter families all settled in Dudleytown. Iron ore was discovered and the little village prospered for a while. Even so, goods such as food, cloth, tools, etc. had to be purchased from towns down the mountain because Dudleytown never had any stores, schools, churches nor even a cemetery. Dudleytown was also known for its timber, which was used to make wood coal for the Litchfield County Iron Furnaces in Cornwall and other towns.

In spite of the obvious prosperity though, there were strange deaths and bizarre occurrences at Dudleytown from the very beginning. There was an unusually high number of people who went insane and quite a few people who simply vanished and were never seen or heard from again.

Abiel Dudley lost his entire fortune and eventually his mind. Abiel was made a ward of the town, and in his final years he wandered around aimlessly, mumbling incoherently about “strange creatures in the woods” and unable to care for himself. Abiel died in 1799 at the ripe old age of 90, which was unusual in itself during this time period when people were lucky to live into their 30s or 40s. William Tanner, one of Abiel’s closest neighbors, was also said to have gone insane. Oddly enough, Tanner lived to the age of 104 and according to records, Tanner also would talk of “strange creatures” that came out of the woods at night. Whether or not these creatures were supernatural or the product of a senile mind is impossible to say.

The records that are still in existence from the Dudleytown tell of strange illnesses, disappearances, numerous cases of people going insane, reports of strange creatures roaming the area at night, although it seems that most of the reports were from those folks who had been declared insane.

After the Civil War, Dudleytown began to die and most of the remaining families simply packed up and moved away. The small village soon became the haunt of birds, small animals, and began to be reclaimed by the forest.

During the final days of Dudleytown one rather strange and mysterious event came to light, and no matter how hard the skeptics try to disregard and debunk this odd occurrence in Dudleytown, even they can not give a reasonable explanation for the event.

In 1901, when the population of Dudleytown had dwindled to nearly nothing, one of the last residents of the town, John Patrick Brophy, suffered a slew of misfortunes. His first wife died when she was struck down by a sudden illness and then his two children vanished into the forest right after his wife’s funeral. The children were never found. Shortly after the disappearance of his children, Brophy’s house was burned to the ground in a mysterious fire and not long after, Brophy himself disappeared and was never seen again. Shortly after these string of bizarre occurrences, Dudleytown officially ceased to be, and began to be reclaimed by the land.

Tales of spooky lights, misty apparitions, and strange incidences began to surface in the 1940’s when visitors to the old ruins reported seeing these strange things. Today, those folks who have made the long trek to visit the place show photographs of spooky mists that seem to show creepy faces peering out at the observer, and say they get feelings of terror, see mysterious lights, sights and hear creepy sounds. Many folks report that they have experienced being touched, pushed and scratched by unseen hands. Many say that this area was once the land belonging to the Mohawk tribe and they left it when the ground became “soured”, or cursed.

Whatever the reasons for the strange and spooky occurrences in the area once known as Dudleytown, one thing is for certain, this remote part of Connecticut will remain a favorite place for thrill seekers and ghost hunters for many years to come.