Connecticut's Most Haunted Places: Check Out the Top 10

EASTON, CT — It’s that time of year again; time to get creepy, explore haunted places and find out where are the scariest locations in Connecticut. Anyone who grew up close to Fairfield Hills in Sandy Hook knew that when you heard the loud siren, you better run inside the house and lock all the doors and windows. That scary sound meant that someone had escaped. And we had a chance to see what that “someone” looked like up close and personal as elementary school students on a tour of the facility on a school field trip. As a fourth grader, looking at people in an insane asylum behind bars was enough to give you nightmares. And now, apparently, the ghosts of inmates past still linger.

Connecticut has an abundance of haunted places and is also the Monroe, Conn. home of Lorraine and the late Ed Warren, famous demonologists. The Warrens have worked on hauntings that have inspired the films "Amityville Horror," "The Conjuring, "Anabelle" and more. Lorraine Warren continues to lecture with her son-in-law Tony Spera about the supernatural and what to do if you encounter a being from beyond.,>

Here is a list of our Top 10 scariest places in Connecticut.
,>

Have you been to any of these haunted places? Do you know of a haunted site not on the list? Tell us in the comments.,>

1. Dudleytown, Cornwall: Dudleytown, also known as the “Village of the Damned,” has hundreds of accounts of curses, ghostly stories, demons and unexplained events. According to local legend, the founders of Dudleytown were descendants of Edmund Dudley, an Englishman beheaded for treason during the reign of King Henry VII. The Dudley family was cursed and that curse followed them to Dudleytown in Cornwall, Conn. Residents in the area are said to have gone insane, two local women committed suicide, and hikers said they have seen spirits and orbs in the area. Read more by clicking here.
2. Fairfield Hills State Hospital, Newtown: The state hospital opened in 1931 to house criminally insane patients. The patients lived in the 16 buildings that were connected by underground tunnels. It is said to be haunted as a result of the apparent tragic history of patient abuse and questionable deaths. The hospital closed in 1995.
3. Charles Island, Milford: Legend has it that notorious pirate Captain William Kidd visited Milford during his final voyage in 1699 and supposedly hid a portion of his fortune on Charles Island, underneath a huge boulder called Hog Rock. Captain William Kidd cursed anyone who would go looking for his hidden treasure.
4. Curtis House Restaurant & Inn, Woodbury: In a recent Hotel Hell episode, Gordon Ramsey and his team came to give this iconic inn a makeover. During their time there it was said that the ghost of Betsy dwells in one of the rooms. Other accounts state that a male spirit dressed in 17th-18th century attire has been seen in many rooms, along with the ghost of a confederate gentleman in the liquor room.
5. Ed & Lorraine Warren’s Occult Museum, Monroe: This museum is the creation of world-renowned ghost busters Lorraine, and the late, Ed Warren. See the doll that the movie Annabelle was inspired by, the mirror from the true-life story turned movie, The Conjuring, child tomb stones that were used as Satanic altars, Egyptian, and African cursed items, and more. If this won’t scare you, nothing will.
6. Ledge Lighthouse, New London: A picturesque lighthouse is allegedly the after-life home of one of the most distinctive ghosts in the area, the spirit of former keeper “Ernie.” According to Damned Connecticut, in the 1920s or 1930s, the lighthouse keeper was so distraught that his wife had run off with a local ferry captain that he jumped from the roof to his death and has haunted the lighthouse ever since.
7. Hearthstone Castle, Danbury: Located on the grounds of Tarrywile Park and Mansion, the castle is said to have spirits that come out sometimes to mess with hikers by throwing sticks at them. Reports of shadowy figures and glowing orbs in the windows have also been noted.
8. Union Cemetery, Easton: Monroe demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren published the book Graveyard: True Hauntings from an Old New England Cemetery in 1992 all about ghost stories involving this cemetery. Orbs, mists, light rods, and apparitions have appeared in photos people take of the cemetery. The ghost known as ”The White Lady,” has been seen here and in nearby Stepney Cemetery. Another ghost named “Red Eyes is known to haunt the grounds. A person walking by the cemetery at night claims to have seen a pair of red eyes staring at him. When he turned to run he heard footsteps following him.
9. New-Gate Prison, East Granby: In 1773, this became the first prison in the United States, after being used as a mine. New-Gate Prison housed prisoners for 50 years, until 1827, when it was closed. New-Gate Prison has gained a reputation as a haunted spot after people seeing spirits roaming the grounds and hearing “ethereal voices” in the tunnels.
10. The Headless Horseman of Canton: According to Damned Connecticut, around the time of the Civil War, a weary traveler encounters a horseman on the Canton highway and asks for directions to the nearest inn. He points and leaves. After the horseman is gone, the traveler realizes the person he just met was headless.

Which do you think is the scariest? Do you know of a haunted house not on the list? Tell us in the comments or email wendy.mitchell@ patch.com.

*Sources: Haunted Places, Damned Connecticut

Photo by Sam Breach via Flickr Creative Commons