Odd and Strange Places In Connecticut

Many people are unaware that Connecticut is the 4th smallest state in the United States and it was founded in the mid-1600s. Connecticut played an important part in early American history and is one of the original thirteen colonies.

Connecticut is not only filled with many urban legends but also odd and unusual places. Some places in Connecticut are historic and some are considered haunted. There is a little bit of everything to enjoy.

Fairfield Hills psychiatric hospital

Fairfield Hills is an abandoned psychiatric hospital in Newtown, Connecticut. Fairfield Hills first opened in 1931 and finally closed its doors in 1995. The psychiatric hospital had 16 buildings that were all connected by underground tunnels and sat on 100 acres. Fairfield Hills held over 4,000 patients who were mentally ill, criminally insane, and some who were alcoholics. Only 20 doctors were in charge of Fairfield Hills.

The treatments that patients received were cruel and barbaric. Patients had been subjected to frontal lobotomies, hydrotherapy, psycho-surgery, and electric shock therapy. The hospital also had its own morgue and crematory incinerator for the patients who died while in care.

The Village of the Little People

The Village of the Little People is located in Middlebury, Connecticut, and considered one of the creepiest places in the state. The Village of the Little People is a mini town made up of little houses around the size of dollhouses. It is set in the woods and is next to an old crumbling house.

There are two legends about the Village of the Little People. The first legend is about a married couple who lived in the house over 100 years ago. The man's wife was believed to be a witch and claimed that there were fairies all around the property. She told her husband that the fairies needed houses, so he built miniature houses with complicated designs, including thrones.

The second legend is about a man who lived alone and started hearing the voices of the Little people. The man built the village after the little people asked him to. After years of working on making the Village, it is said that he went insane. People claim that it is haunted by the spirits of the Little People. Visitors who claim the place that there is a feeling of dread at the Village of the Little People.

Dudleytown

Dudleytown, also known as the Dark Forest, is located in Cornwall, Connecticut, and is considered one of the most haunted places in the US. Dudleytown was founded sometime in the mid-1700s by the Dudley brothers who were from England. The brothers created a community that contained houses, farms, and ironwork that did well at first. After Dudleytown reached its peak, the population declined, and according to rumors, the Dudley brothers were cursed.

Some families succumbed to illnesses and died. There was an attack on the town by local Indians and children were reported kidnapped. Nathaniel Carter had been killed in the attack along with his wife and child. It didn't stop there.

General Heman Swift, who served in the Revolutionary War lost his wife in a freak accident in Dudleytown. General Swift's wife had been walking through town and she was hit by lightning and killed. Tragedy continued to follow the town for about maybe 60 years before it became a ghost town. The last tragedy was when John Brophy's wife died, his kids disappeared and he burned his house down to the ground.

Old New-Gate Prison

Old New-Gate Prison is a former prison and was the first copper mine in the United States mine site and is located in East Granby. It originally opened in 1707 but by 1773, it had been used as a prison.

The prisoners were placed down the mine's 25-foot shaft where they were held underground. The prisoners were infested by lice and lived in dark smelly, rooms that were filled with bugs. Many prisoners tried to escape and some prisoners were executed, while others died from illness or diseases. The men were also severely tortured. The prisoners endured floggings, being held upside down for hours, and being put in a stockade. The prison was finally closed in 1827.

Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery was established in the 1700s and is located in Easton. It has been reported that the Lady in White makes occasional appearances in and around the cemetery. Reports have been very frequent and have even included police and firefighters.

Paranormal investigators Ed and Loreen Warren looked into the hauntings. Union Cemetery does not allow visitors after dusk and local authorities take violations seriously.

Gungywamp

Gungywamp is located in Groton and is an archaeological site that dates back to 2000-770 BC. The site covers an area of 270 acres and many Native American artifacts have been discovered. Artifacts found have included pottery fragments, utensils, arrowheads, and animal bones. Gungywamp has a stone circle and numerous stone chambers were located underground. You can hike through Gungywamp or take a guided tour.

Charles Island

Charles Island is off the coast of Milford. According to legend, there is a buried treasure on the island. In 1699 during Captain Kidd's last voyage, he hid part of his treasure somewhere on the island before he faced a trial in Boston, Massachusetts.

It is said that Captain Kidd placed a curse on the island to anyone who found his buried treasure. To this day no one has found his treasure. You can visit the island but you have to watch tide times so that you don't get stuck during high tide.

Plum Island

Plum Island is an 840-acre island located eight miles off the Connecticut shore. It was opened in the 1950s and owned by the United States government. The island is used to study dangerous animal diseases. Scientists who work on the island handle active strains of the most contagious diseases in the world.

Anyone who works on the island has to take a ferry to reach it and has to be decontaminated before they are allowed to go home for the day. The facility is scheduled to be closed in 2023. Environmental groups are trying to prevent the sale of the Plum and turn the island into a nature preserve.

Crypt at Center Church-on-the-Green

The Crypt at Center Church-on-the-Green is located in New Haven. The crypt is under the Center Church and contains 139 gravestones and possibly 5,000 and 10,000 unidentified graves around the church. The cemetery that the church is built over the cemetery dates back to 1687.

The cemetery has some of the earliest settlers buried there. Benedict Arnold's wife Margaret is buried in the crypt, and President Rutherford Hayes' family is also there. The church itself was built in 1813. Bricks were placed over the dirt around the graves to help with moisture and to preserve the untouched gravestones.

Candlewood Lake

Candlewood Lake is a man-made lake that sits in Fairfield / Litchfield counties. The lake was built in the 1920s by Connecticut Light & Power. The lake is two miles wide, 11 miles long, and has a depth between 40- 90 feet. Candlewood Lake is a beautiful destination place to visit and relax.

The reason why Candlewood Lake is strange is that there is a small town called Jerusalem under the water in the New Milford section. The families who had been living there were all relocated. They left their belongings behind, such as cars and tractors. Some structures and roads were left, along with the town's cemetery. At least, the bodies were moved from the cemetery and moved to a new resting place.