Even if ghosts aren’t your thing, the strange history behind this place will still make you curious.
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The haunting tales that surround this strange Connecticut town make you wonder if those stories might be the reason why it’s now completely off-limits to visitors.
In a country as open and vast as the United States, it’s easy to assume that you can freely explore almost anywhere. But that assumption doesn’t always hold true.
There are a few hidden corners of the nation where entry is forbidden, and we’re not talking about top-secret military installations or government test sites either.
Back in the early 1740s, a small group of settlers decided to build their lives in a quiet area within Cornwall, Connecticut.
Most of them came from one family known as the Dudleys, and they chose to name their settlement after themselves — naturally calling it Dudleytown.
Nestled deep within a shadowy valley known as Dark Entry Forest (and honestly, that name alone sounds like a warning), the community began as a modest farming town. But by the 19th century, many families had moved away, searching for more fertile land elsewhere.
Dudleytown is located in Cornwall, Connecticut
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As it turned out, leaving may have been the best decision those families ever made, because the people who stayed behind didn’t meet such good fortune.
When a man named Nathaniel Carter moved into Dudleytown, tragedy struck quickly. Six members of his family fell ill and died from cholera. The surviving relatives fled to New York to start over, but fate was cruel — they were killed not long after settling on new land.
Another resident, Gershon Hollister, was helping his neighbor, William Tanner, construct a barn when he died unexpectedly. Afterward, Tanner became fixated on talking about strange beings that supposedly emerged from the woods at night — a claim another neighbor later confirmed.
In 1804, yet another tragedy struck. General Herman Swift was living in the town when his wife, Sara Faye, was killed after lightning struck their porch. Overcome with grief, the general passed away soon after her death.
As the years passed, the pattern of eerie events continued. More residents died under mysterious or tragic circumstances, and countless locals claimed to have seen unusual creatures lurking in the trees that surrounded the town.
The town is closed to the public
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By the dawn of the 1900s, nearly every resident of Dudleytown had either died or disappeared. When the last family vanished, the town was left silent and completely abandoned.
Not long after, a man named Dr. William Clarke stumbled upon the area and decided it would make an ideal spot for a peaceful second home. But after returning from a trip to New York in 1918, Clarke found his wife terrified, insisting she had seen something — or someone — moving among the trees.
Deeply unsettled, Clarke soon left the area. Still, he later helped establish the Dark Entry Forest Association to protect what remained of the site and its surrounding woodland.
Today, Dudleytown sits quietly in private hands, marked only by crumbling cellar holes and old stone foundations. Visiting is strictly prohibited to prevent trespassing and vandalism.
Despite this, thrill-seekers and ghost hunters still find their way in. Many claim to feel invisible hands brush against them or hear whispers as they explore what’s left of the haunted ruins.