Connecticut's Seaside Ghosts

Chapter 1: Ghost Ship of New Haven

 In January of 1647, the New Haven colony invested its meager resources in a grand venture.  A freight ship of 150 tons was specially built in Rhode Island for the colonists.  They stocked it with trade goods, such as furs, that were much in demand on European markets.  The ship embarked upon cold and icy seas.  Unfortunately for the New Haven colonists, it failed to return from its expected three month voyage.

 The famous Reverend Davenport prayed with the townspeople for a sign from God, to show them what had become of the ship, as well as the New Haven men aboard.  One stormy night, more than a year later, they received the answer to their prayers.

After the great storm abated, colonists emerged from their homes to see an amazing apparition in the clouds.  A great ghost ship tossed about among the clouds, as if at sea.  The mast snapped and the ship toppled over, sinking into the depths.   The apparition was witnessed by many, and well documented in contemporary accounts.

Since then, for over 300 years, New Haven's ghost ship has been seen several times, usually just after a storm.

 Chapter 2: For Whom the Bell Tolls

In November of 1846, the steamship Atlantic departed New London's port.  It would crash days later on the coast of Fisher's Island, killing more than 50 aboard.  Most amazing about this tragedy was the rescue of shipwrecked survivors by the ship Mohegan, a day after the wreck.  The crew of the Mohegan claimed they were lead to the wreck site by the sound of the Atlantic's enormous distress bell... a bell which sank beneath the waves during the wreck.

Over the years, many others have claimed to hear the ghostly bell ringing through the fog of Long Island Sound...

Race Rock Lighthouse, constructed on the very reef which sank the Atlantic, is also believed to be haunted.  It was investigated by TAPS for an episode of the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters.

 Chapter 3: Nightmare on Elm Street

For several months in 1850, a preacher’s home and family became the center of nationwide attention as “mysterious noises” and “unearthly doings” frightened and astounded the people of the sleepy little town of Stratford.  Home of the Reverend Dr. Eliakim Phelps and his family, it became the center of poltergeist style phenomena, well documented in the newspapers of the day.  Objects were thrown about the home, strange writing appeared on objects and papers, the children were attacked by invisible forces or levitated into the air.

 Also, whatever entity plagued the family during their stay had a unique quirk for a haunting spirit.  It assembled effigies of people from the clothing of family members, stuffed them with rags to appear like actual people, and posed them reading family bibles or in positions of prayer.

 Some claimed (and still do!) that the haunting was caused by the spirit of Goodwife Ruth Bassett, who had been tried, convicted and hanged for witchcraft 200 years before... and not far from the very spot where the Phelps Mansion was erected.

Chapter 4: Midnight Mary

In New Haven's Evergreen Cemetery, you may find a very unusual gravestone.  It is rough hewn of pink granite, bearing the name of Mary Hart, who died in December of 1824, at the stroke of midnight.  Students from nearby Yale University, and other locals, have dubbed her "Midnight Mary" and an entire canon of curse legends abound of people foolish enough to stand upon her grave at midnight.  An inscription on the tombstone reads:

"The People Shall Be Troubled At Midnight And Pass Away"

According to legend, the poor woman was not truly dead when she had been buried.  Her aunt had horrible nightmares that Mary had been buried alive and insisted that the coffin be disinterred.  When it was, the body was horribly contorted and deep scratched had been clawed on the inside of the coffin lid... at least, that's how the story goes.

Anyone who stands upon the grave at midnight is supposed to meet with a gruesome end...

 Chapter 5: The Essex Rappings

For eight days in January of 1915, the Brown home in Essex was the site of a much-publicized poltergeist style haunting.  Strange rappings communicated a message to their chosen medium, a pretty blond girl named Edna Wood.  She believed the rappings to be communications from the departed spirit of Davey Brown, a teenager who had died 27 years before.

Curious neighbors and reporters came to the home, where Edna, listening and interpreting the rappings, could answer questions put forth to her, and even predict future events or tell of things that happened to missing loved ones far away.

 Chapter 6: The Bridgeport Poltergeist

One of the most publicized, well documented and credibly witnessed incidents of a poltergeist haunting, the events of November of 1974 in a little bungalow on Bridgeport's Lindley Street, are said to have been the inspiration of Steven Spielberg's movie.

For days, flying furniture, strange invisible attacks and other inexplicable events were witnessed at the home by shocked Roman Catholic priests, city police officers and firemen, journalists and television reporters.  It quickly attracted national headlines, and still is a matter of much debate.

The most interesting thing about the Bridgeport Poltergeist haunting is the many credible professionals who put their reputations on the line by attesting honestly to what they witnessed.  Despite enormous pressure from their superiors, friends and co-workers, none of them every recanted their testimony. 

Chapter 7: The Lighthouse Keepers

Ledge Light, off New London's shore, is said to be haunted by the ghost of "Ernie," one of its former keepers.  As the story goes, sometime in the 1920s or 1930s, Ernie served as keeper with his young and lonely wife.  She fell in love with a ferryman and left him, causing the angst-ridden Ernie to plunge from the roof of the lighthouse.  He is said to haunt the place still...  and many Coast Guardsmen who have occupied the place since have claimed to have witnessed apparitions and strange phenomena in the lighthouse.

Also believed haunted is Penfield Reef Light, a lighthouse only a mile offshore from Fairfield.  Its keeper, Fred Jordan, died in December of 1916, while rowing to shore to visit his family for Christmas.  His spirit has been witnessed several times since, and may still continue to rescue shipwrecked unfortunates...

 Chapter 8: Secret Deaths at Seaside

Built in the 1930s as a tuberculosis hospital for children, Waterford's abandoned Seaside Sanatorium has seen several uses.  After WWII, it was a geriatric home for the elderly, and in more modern times a hospital and home for the mentally retarded.  In its last incarnation, it was renamed the Seaside Regional Center, until its abandonment in the 1990s.

During its time as the Seaside Regional Center, claims of abuse and neglect made newspaper headlines, prompting government investigations.  Also, the mysterious death and cover-up of young Lisa Barry provoked a major investigation and lawsuit.

Today, the abandoned hospital seems quite active with Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), as our paranormal investigative team found out...

 Chapter 9: Haunted Battlefield

Fort Griswold battlefield and park in Groton, was the site of one of Connecticut's hardest fought battles... and one of its most grisly massacres.  On September 6th, 1781, a colonial militia defended the small fort from an attack by the forces of the traitor, Benedict Arnold.  British regulars assaulted and took the fort, suffering heavy casualties.  American casualties were light, only about 10... until the American commander, Colonel Ledyard surrendered the fort.

As a token of surrender, Col. Ledyard handed his sword the the British commander, who promptly stabbed the American officer to death.  The Americans had already lain down their weapons and were defenseless as the British opened fire.  More than 80 Americans were massacred on the spot.

Now, several paranormal groups have obtained good EVP from the battlefield, including our own...

Chapter 10: Norwich Insane Asylum

 Few places in Connecticut, if any, are considered to be as haunted as the infamous Norwich State Hospital.  Its mysterious and abandoned ruins once housed the state's very worst Criminally Insane, from 1904 till 1971.  The inmates were subjected to abuse and experimental procedures that would shock and horrify us today.  Former employees of the Asylum claim the maximum security building, Salmon Hall, and the tunnels running beneath it, to be the most haunted of the sprawling complex.

The site was frightening enough to be used as the setting for an episode the VH1 television show, Celebrity Paranormal. 

Armed with recording equipment and infrared cameras, our team investigated these claims.  We explored the Administrative Building, the Chapel, and of course Salmon Hall, with its eerie caged rooms, iron frame beds, and hydrotherapy tank.  Our findings were shocking...

 Chapter 11: Thrice Cursed Island

Charles Island, off the shore of Milford's Silver Sands beach, has a peculiar and fascinating history.  It has been used a haven for local Indians, pirates and smugglers, a hotel, a factory, and as a religious retreat for Roman Catholic priests.  Also well documented are its legends of pirate gold, protective ghosts, and a triple curse; first by an angry Indian chieftain, second by the infamous pirate William Kidd (believed to have buried treasure there...), and third by a mysterious Mexican emperor.

According to legend, two boys found the pirate gold, but were scared off by a ghastly apparition...

 Chapter 12: Captain Grant Miracles

Captain Grant's Inn, in sleepy little Poquetanuck, has been the site of some extraordinary phenomena.  Built in 1754, it has a rich history, having served as a barracks for Revolutionary War soldiers and later as a stop on the Underground Railroad.  It is believed, by its owners and several guests, to be haunted by the spirit of Mercy Adelaide Grant, wife of a sea captain who died at sea in 1810.  The spirits of the Grant children have also been heard and seen.

The most amazing and unique quality of the Captain Grant haunting is the peculiar restorative qualities its spirits are said to sometimes have.  The apparitions have apparently manifested for select persons in need, curing them of drug addiction, terminal illness, and other maladies...

Chapter 13: Remington's Restless Shades

Neglected and abandoned in downtown Bridgeport, the remaining buildings of the historic Remington Arms Factory sit.  In its heyday it employed 17,000 workers and supplied arms and munitions for the American military throughout both World Wars.  It has been the site of workers strikes, strange deaths, and violence as well as productive industry.

From its humble beginnings as a small munitions factory in 1867, to its take over and vast expansion by Remington Arms in 1912, until its eventual abandonment in modern times, a single event has dominated the site: the horrific explosion of 1942 that claimed several lives and sent bullets and debris rocketing through nearby homes.

Today, many locals believe the old skeletal red brick buildings to be haunted by black, shadowy figures that flit past the gaping windows.  Are these the restless shades of the explosions victims?

 Chapter 14: Milford's Unquiet Past

The Milford Historical Society, on Milford's High Street, has on its property three colonial buildings; the Bryan-Downs House, the Stockade House, and its most famous, the Eells-Stow House.  This last is named for the Revolutionary War hero, Captain Stephen Stow, who served as the town's medical doctor during the American Revolution.

When a British prison ship dropped of a boatload of American prisoners-of-war, all infected with smallpox, the people of Milford overcame their fear of the dreaded disease and came to their aid.  Captain Stow personally treated many of them, for which he paid with his own life, and is now buried with them in one mass grave in Milford Cemetery.

WIth the cooperation of the Milford Historical Society, our paranormal team investigated all three properties.  Our best results were from the Eells-Stow House, in which our recording equipment picked up something quite interesting...