Your Guide to the Craziest and Creepiest of Connecticut

Connecticut is said to be one of the creepiest states in the country. With an abundance of paranormal activity and urban legends, Connecticut is the place to be for all spooky sensations and sites. Here’s a list of the creepiest spots to visit in Connecticut — if you dare.

1. Down’s Road

Located in Bethany, Down’s Road is considered “one of the most haunted places in town.” Urban legends of mysterious paranormal activity haunt the path. People have reportedly seen UFOs, ghosts, and a small yeti-like monster. Others claim to experience unexplained feelings of dread and fear, accompanied by apparitions and bizarre scratches along the outsides of parked cars.

2. Gunntown Cemetery

Unlike most haunted places, the Gunntown Cemetery in Naugatuck has no legend to explain its chill factor, other than the fact that it’s a cemetery. People have claimed to have heard children’s laughter, seen a boy playing who suddenly disappears, and sighted a man carrying a lantern up a path. Additionally, there have been popular reports of strange mists and “spirit orbs.”

3. Holy Land USA

Holy Land USA was once Connecticut’s religious amusement park, created by evangelist John Geco during the 1950s. With a miniature Bethlehem and other biblical settings, it was considered the world’s greatest religious amusement park. The park closed to the public in 1984, has since been abandoned, and is now home to rumors of spirits and paranormal beings roaming the area.

4. Salem Gardner’s Lake

At the bottom of the 30-foot-deep lake lies an intact house full of legends. The house is said to have sunk after its inhabitants tried to move it across the frozen lake, This legend gets creepier: The family was unable to get its heaviest possessions out of the house, including their piano. Therefore, fishermen claim to hear odd, faint piano music while fishing on the lake.

5. Little People Village

After being an ornamental garden that was abandoned years ago, the Little People Village is an official roadside attraction surrounded by rumors. According to one legend, a man lived alone in the stone house in the forest and began hearing voices. The “little people” he heard commanded him to build the village and throne, which is considered cursed for those who sit on it. The man, eventually driven mad by the voices, killed himself.

6. Dudleytown

Dudleytown was founded in part by the Dudley family, a family with a curse and a tragic end. At first, the settlement built by the family was thriving, but it soon started to deteriorate until it eventually was abandoned. According to legend, due to the Dudley curse, anyone who tries to inhabit the village is met with the curse that causes freakish death, which is rumored to be anything from demonic possession to suicide.

7. Fairfield Hills State Hospital

Like many old mental facilities, Fairfield Hills State Hospital used cruel and inhumane treatments on its patients. The now-abandoned mental institution has claims of haunting and paranormal activity on the grounds. Additionally, the mental hospital has underground tunnels running under the facility, which are supposedly home to restless spirits.

8. New London Ledge Lighthouse

Built in 1909, the New London Ledge Lighthouse sits atop a three-story building. Over the years,  many of those on duty have reported all sorts of paranormal activity, such as doors opening and closing themselves, unexplained knockings, bed sheets flying off of beds, cups moving around, TVs and radios turning on and off, and the fog horn spontaneously sounding on its own. Also, the ghost of a tall, bearded man in a slicker and rain hat has been spotted.

9. Remington Arms

Remington Arms is an abandoned factory with a history of random tragic deaths. The abandoned factory has a creepy history of workers falling into boiling vats of metal, as well as freak explosions. There have been reports of shadowy figures wandering the factory, as well as eerie lights and voices, according to the locals.

10. Union Cemetery

Located in Easton, the nearly 400-year-old Union Cemetery is considered one of the most haunted spots in Connecticut. The ghost of the White Lady is the most popular phenomenon. Legend has it that the White Lady is the spirit of a woman who was murdered in the 1940s after she killed her husband. Others believe it’s the body of a woman who died during childbirth, and is roaming the earth searching for her lost child.

11. Old Newgate Prison & Copper Mine

Located in East Granby, the Old Newgate Prison & Copper Mine has a long history. Opened in 1707, Newgate started out as the first copper mine in the United States. After being unprofitable, the mine turned into a prison. Over the years, rumors have circulated of spirits and voices in the mine’s tunnels.