Urban Legends: Dudley Town

I  love urban legends, especially creepy ones. I've neglected the horror aspect of this blog so I thought I would talk about some of my favorite ones. Today I will be focusing on one, because there is a lot here! Also disclaimer: I do not claim that any information in this legend is 100% true. It's what I have been told over the years. 

I grew up with my fair share of local legends. There are quite a few popular ones told from generation to generation in my town. One such involves many of the locals convinced that a certain business in town has a resident ghost in the basement.

Image from Hauntedrooms.com

New England is very old and filled with tons of legends and stories. One of those that has always fascinated me is that of Dudley Town. If you live in Connecticut and have even the slightest interest in the paranormal (I have a huge interest and have had many experiences) then you of course know about Dudley Town. It resides in Cornwall, CT. It is essentially a ghost town in the middle of a forest. Nothing remains but the foundations and basements of the abandoned homes.

Satellite view from Google Maps of where Dudley Town is located

As with any legend, the story differs slightly depending on who is telling it. Basically, Dudley Town is Connecticut's most famous ghost town. Legend has it that Dudley Town is cursed. In 1510, a man named Edmund Dudley was beheaded for plotting to overthrow King Henry the VIII. According to legend, a curse was placed upon Dudley's descendants proclaiming that all of his descendants would experience death and tragedies. After this incident, many terrible things happened to this family.
In 1745 a man named Thomas Griffis bought some land in Cornwall, CT that would later become Dudley town. In 1747 the Dudleys began settling here starting with Gideon Dudley, then with Gideon's brothers Barzallai and Abiel in 1753. From there, strange things began happening.

It is said that many deaths and suicides occurred. Most notable being an epidemic that struck in 1774. The entire household of Adoniram Carter was killed. His brother, Nathaniel completely distraught moved himself and his family to Binghampton, NY. His wife and infant child were murdered by native Americans. His other three children, two daughters and a son were kidnapped. His daughters were held for ransom and his son stayed with the captors. That's some crazy shit!

In 1792 Abiel Dudley's good friend and neighbor Gershon Hollister was killed while building a barn at William Tanner's home, who was also a friend/neighbor to Abiel. Tanner lived until the age of 104 but he went insane. He often claimed to see strange creatures in the woods at night.
Abiel died in 1799. He was the only Dudley that stayed in Dudley Town. The others moved away and lived long lives without any influence of a curse. Abiel lost his entire fortune and then his mind. Unable to pay his debts he became a ward of the state at the age of 90.

Another well known tragedy is that of a General Herman Swift's wife Sarah Faye being struck by lightning on their front porch, dying instantly in 1804. He then went insane after losing his wife.
By 1899 Dudley Town was mostly deserted. Many of the residents went insane before their deaths. One of the last residents, John Patrick Brophy lost his wife to Tuberculosis (referred to as consumption back then). Soon after his two children disappeared into the forest never to be seen again. Then, not long after that the home of Mr. Brophy burned to the ground by an unexplained fire. He then disappeared into the forest and was never seen again.

Although deserted another known death after that did happen in connection with Dudley Town. A man named Dr. William Clarke bought land in CT in the early 1900s, including Dudley Town. He built a summer home for himself and his wife Harriet Bank Clarke. One weekend, Dr. Clarke had to go to New York for an emergency leaving his wife in their summer home by herself. He returned 36 hours later to find that she had gone insane. She claimed that strange creatures came out of the forest and attacked her. Soon after she committed suicide. He, being Dudley Town's last resident left after that.

People say that Dudley Town is cursed. That there is a ton of paranormal activity here including alleged demonic possessions. The Warrens (Ed and Lorraine. They are renown paranormal investigators. They were depicted in the movie The Conjuring. They are most famous for investigating the Amityville Horror case.)  have even investigated here. I have heard many accounts of them being asked about Dudley Town and not wanting to talk about it. Though it is not as famous/well known as it used to be, ask anyone in their mid 30s or older and they will probably have a story to tell. People have mixed experiences: some have seen and experienced odd things in Dudley Town. Others have experienced absolutely nothing.

I have heard many accounts of people feeling watched or uneasy there.

A lot of people claim to see unexplained odd lights, hear things and even feel as if they are being touched, pushed or scratched. Some people say that it will be a bright sunny day, and when they enter the forest it will be pitch black and silent. Many say that there are no birds.  A lot of people say that satanic rituals and demonic sacrifices happened there. Apparently police have found animal sacrifices in the past.

I have an aunt that has been to Dudley Town with a group of friends, probably in the 90s. She did not get far though! She claims that they got into the forest and their flashlight - with new batteries died. They of course hauled ass out of there too scared to venture any further. 

Unfortunately, it is now illegal to go into Dudley Town and people get in trouble for even being close to it. After The Blair Witch Project came out, it prompted many people to try to investigate for themselves. Many people trashed the place and causing trouble. They ruined it for everyone else. Dudley Town is now private property owned by the Dark Entry Forrest Association. The DEFA was actually founded by Dr. Clarke in 1924! I believe it was founded to protect others from the forest.  From my many years of research, they are pretty sketchy about the level of protection of this place. There are actually a lot of sketchy things about this organization. They claim they are protecting and preserving the nature but won't grant passes to anyone serious about observing. Which is strange, because every other nature preserve here is open to the public.....they are also typically owned by the state.

They have local and state police constantly patrolling the area as well as very hefty fines (last I've heard it was at least $75, if not in the $100 mark now) just for walking near it. The people that live near Dudley Town are pretty fierce about catching people that try to sneak in. Apparently an elderly woman resorts to pretty rude means. 

I have always wanted to see it for myself.  I used to dabble in some paranormal investigating. Even if nothing were to happen and all of the stories ended up being BS, it still would be interesting to see. It's history! Even if a lot of people died there, I like to think that no matter where you go something died. This earth is very old so you never know!

I do know where it is located and have been by the entrance to the road that it is on a many times. Sadly, trying to visit is not worth the fine/possible arrest!

I hope you all enjoyed this spooky story! I will do another urban legends post discussing my favorite scary games that have urban legends attached. I know there are a lot of skeptics out there, which is why I don't really talk about my paranormal experiences here. If there is anyone that would be interested in such a post, let me know. Just don't call me crazy. I prefer eccentric!

Xoxo

Stay spooky