Connecticut has inspired a couple of scary movies over the recent years, and for good reason. The older the state, the more stories to tell. So here are some tales of the most haunted places in Connecticut that might give you the creepy crawlies. Which do you think is the scariest place in Connecticut? I know they all freaked me out!
1. Fairfield Hills State Hospital, Newtown
Sitting on more than 700 acres, this mental hospital for the criminally insane opened in 1931 to accommodate overflow across the state. Since its closing in 1995, it's been used as a site for a couple of horror films.
The building has underground tunnels and a harsh history, but no stories accompany this haunting. Just a lot of weird stories and odd happenings.
2. Gunntown Cemetery, Naugatuck
As the small sign reads, this cemetery has been around since 1790 and hosts a number of colonial plots and members of both sides of the revolution. It seems many of those buried here are restless and the Warrens put their official stamp on this place as being haunted.
Claims range from the voices of small children laughing, to a man leading his horse across the grounds with a lantern, but a lot of researchers have left here with electronic voice recordings.
3. Sterling Opera House, Derby
Harry Houdini himself once performed on this stage, along with a number of other big vaudeville acts of the past. But after 1945 the building transitioned from place of entertainment to city hall to police substation. But it was eventually abandoned.
Paranormal researchers claim to have heard the sounds of laughter and clapping, found children's hand prints that later disappear, and in some cases, figures appear in photos after development. No one is sure who would be haunting this place, or why.
Despite tales of haunting and a story about a young boy's spirit being trapped here, renovations are being made. So this place may return to its former glory. I wonder if that will upset the spirits.
4. Union Cemetery, Easton
This graveyard is considered one of the most haunted places in the states. Many paranormal researchers have confirmed the hauntings and there was even a book published about the activity here.
The story here is that of the "white lady." People frequently report a pale woman dressed in a long white night gown roaming the cemetery. She gives you a fright, but has no evil intentions.
In fact, she usually comes out at night and stands in the middle of the road. Shaken drivers get out thinking they may have hit someone, but find there's actually nobody around.
5. Remington Arms, Bridgeport
This former cartridge company pushed out thousands of ammunition and weapons in the early 1900s. But in 1988, the business relocated to Arkansas and the Connecticut site was abandoned.
The company suffered from many employee deaths. A couple fell into vats of molten metal, and then an explosion killed seven and wounded eighty.
Night visitors report the shadows of men at work and the sound of hopeless screaming. The grounds also suffer from unexplained bouts of mist.
6. Dudleytown, Cornwall
This town is not only abandoned. It's also cursed. And yet it looks so beautiful. Most are either lured in by the paranormal rumors or the misleading sights.
You can only enter through the woods since the town was swallowed by the trees after the Dudleys died. But only a few have managed to get past the guards and police, as this site now sits on private property. Why anyone would want to own this place is beyond me.
Over the years, people tried to revive the town, but anyone who tried to settle there was met with misfortune. The Warrens, famous paranormal researchers, deemed it demonically possessed.
7. Mansfield Training School, Mansfield
Maybe you've heard of Depot Campus at UConn, but did you know it was formerly the Mansfield Training School? And by training school, they meant mental hospital.
The building was forced to close in 1993 after lawsuits and reports of patient abuse. While some buildings were torn down and others were given to UConn, the dorm remains untouched as a historical building. Maybe because no one wants to go there?
Reports include whispered voices, unexplained sounds, shadows, and spirit orbs. Even after building the museum in parts of the former school, the rumors persist.
8. New London Ledge Light, New London
This quaint looking home is actually a light house. But nobody has lived there since 1939, except for a lingering spirit they call Ernie. Ernie is the ghost of a former keeper who was lost at sea.
For years the Coast Guard took over, but even they were under the impression it was haunted. So they welcomed the light's automation in 1987. Doors slamming, knocking on the walls, boats untying themselves from the ledge, and occasional sightings of Ernie, appearing soaking wet in his rain hat.
All alone in the middle of the sea, poor Ernie committed suicide by throwing himself in to the water after his wife left him for a ferry driver. Researchers have come from as far away as Japan to investigate, and some have claimed a successful exorcism of Ernie, but that didn't stop the reports.
Have you braved any of these famous sites? Know another place that gives its visitors chills? Well don’t tell me, I’m trying to sleep at night.
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