The Dudleytown Curse
A colonial village in the Connecticut woods where every family met tragedy. Madness, suicide, and mysterious deaths plagued residents until the town was abandoned. The forest reclaimed it.
Deep in the forests of Cornwall, Connecticut lie the remains of Dudleytown—a colonial settlement that seems to have been cursed from its founding. Every family who lived there met with tragedy, madness, or death, until the town was abandoned and the forest reclaimed it.
The Dudley Curse
According to documented accounts, the curse may trace to England:
- Edmund Dudley was beheaded in 1510 for his role in Henry VII’s reign
- The Dudley family was allegedly cursed for generations
- Descendants who founded Dudleytown brought the curse to America
Whether or not this origin is true, tragedy followed Dudleytown’s residents.
The Settlement
Dudleytown was founded around 1740 by the Dudley family and others. At its peak, it was a small but functional community in the Connecticut hills. Then things began to go wrong.
The Tragedies
The Gershon Hollister Tragedy (1792): Hollister was killed by lightning. His wife went insane, and the family disintegrated.
Mary Cheney’s Madness: General Hezekiah Swift’s wife Mary went mad while he was away. The circumstances were never explained.
John Patrick Brophy: His family was killed in an 1804 epidemic. He went insane and claimed demons haunted the woods.
The Carter Family: William Clark moved his family to Dudleytown in the early 1900s. After a trip away, he returned to find his wife had gone completely mad—she claimed creatures from the forest had visited her.
The Abandonment
By the late 1800s, Dudleytown was essentially abandoned:
- Families left or died out
- No new settlers would come
- The forest grew back rapidly
- Buildings crumbled into the undergrowth
The Dark Entry Forest Association
In 1924, a group formed to preserve the area as a nature sanctuary. They called themselves the Dark Entry Forest Association—a name that reflects the area’s reputation. The organization still exists and restricts access to the site.
Modern Phenomena
Those who have entered Dudleytown report:
- Overwhelming feelings of dread
- Hearing voices in the woods
- Seeing shadowy figures
- Cameras and electronics malfunctioning
- Being touched by unseen hands
- Orbs and strange lights
- Time seeming to pass differently
The Silence
Many visitors note an unnatural silence:
- No birds sing
- Animals avoid the area
- Even insects seem absent
- The quiet is oppressive and wrong
Access Issues
The Dark Entry Forest Association prohibits entry:
- Trespassing is actively prosecuted
- Police patrol the access roads
- Violations result in fines
- The organization cites “nature preservation”
Some believe they’re hiding something; others note that trespassing and vandalism were destroying what remains of the historic site.
Skeptical View
Skeptics point out:
- Mortality was high in colonial times everywhere
- Small communities magnify tragedies
- The “curse” grew in the telling
- No supernatural explanation is necessary
However, the concentration of tragedy remains striking.
Legacy
Dudleytown represents:
- New England’s dark folklore tradition
- The power of place to accumulate story
- How landscape becomes haunted
- The fine line between history and legend
Whatever the truth, something about those Connecticut woods feels wrong to virtually everyone who enters.