The Melon Heads

In the woods of Ohio, Michigan, and Connecticut, nearly identical legends tell of small humanoids with enormous, bulbous heads. They’re said to be the result of medical experiments on institutionalized children - hydrocephalic survivors who escaped to live in the forests. The Melon Heads represent one of America’s most widespread regional cryptid legends, appearing in three states with remarkably similar stories.

The Legend

Common Elements

Across all versions, the Melon Heads are described as:

• Small humanoid creatures
• Possessing enlarged, bulbous heads
• Living in isolated wooded areas
• Descendants of medical experiment victims
• Feral and potentially dangerous
• Nocturnal, avoiding daylight

The Origin Story

The typical backstory involves:

• An isolated institution (asylum, hospital, or orphanage)
• A cruel doctor conducting experiments
• Children with hydrocephalus or cranial deformities
• Eventual rebellion or escape
• The children fleeing to the woods
• Their descendants still living there

Ohio Version

Kirtland/Chardon Area

The Ohio Melon Heads are said to inhabit:

• The woods around Kirtland and Chardon in Lake County
• Near an institution called “Wisner Road” or similar
• The area around King Memorial Road (Crybaby Bridge)

The Story

According to Ohio legend:

• Dr. Crow (or Crowe) ran a secret institution
• He performed experiments on orphaned or abandoned children
• The experiments caused hydrocephalus (enlarged heads)
• The children eventually killed Dr. Crow
• They burned the institution
• They fled into the surrounding forest
• Their inbred descendants remain

Associated Locations

Ohio legend trippers visit:

• Wisner Road (often closed at night)
• King Memorial Road
• Various covered bridges in the area
• Wooded areas around Kirtland

Michigan Version

Allegan County

The Michigan Melon Heads inhabit:

• The woods around Felt Mansion
• Saugatuck and Laketown Township areas
• Near the old Junction Insane Asylum (fictional or demolished)

The Story

The Michigan version claims:

• The Junction Insane Asylum performed experiments
• Children with hydrocephalus were the subjects
• When the asylum closed, the children were abandoned
• They survived in the woods, breeding among themselves
• They remain hostile to outsiders

Felt Mansion Connection

Felt Mansion is a real historic building:

• Built in 1928 as a private home
• Later used as a Catholic seminary
• Now a public historic site
• The Melon Heads are associated with the surrounding woods

Connecticut Version

Fairfield County

Connecticut’s Melon Heads are found:

• Around Trumbull, Shelton, and Monroe
• In the woods near Velvet Street and Dracula Drive
• Near the site of a former children’s asylum

The Story

The Connecticut version involves:

• A facility for children with developmental disabilities
• A fire that destroyed the building
• Children escaping into the forest
• Their descendants still living there
• Attacks on parked cars and trespassers

Velvet Street

Velvet Street in Trumbull is famous for:

• Alleged Melon Head sightings
• Being a dark, isolated road
• Attracting legend trippers
• Police patrols to discourage visitors

Are They Real?

No Documented Institutions

Despite the legends:

• No “Dr. Crow” has been historically verified
• No asylum matching the descriptions has been found
• No records of the described experiments exist
• The institutions appear to be fictional

Possible Inspirations

The legend may have originated from:

• Real institutions for disabled individuals (now closed)
• Children with actual hydrocephalus seen historically
• Fear of developmental disabilities
• Stories about feral children

Medical Reality

Hydrocephalus:

• Is a real medical condition
• Causes enlarged heads if untreated
• Was poorly understood historically
• Could inspire fear in uneducated observers
• Individuals with hydrocephalus were sometimes institutionalized

Cultural Analysis

Why Three States?

The independent emergence of similar legends suggests:

• A common American fear or archetype
• Shared cultural anxieties about institutions
• The legend traveling and adapting
• Similar landscapes inspiring similar stories

What They Represent

The Melon Heads embody fears of:

• Medical experimentation
• Institutional abuse
• Abandonment of vulnerable children
• The “other” living among us
• Inbreeding and genetic degradation

The Appeal

The legend persists because:

• It’s specific enough to seem real
• It has named locations to visit
• It involves relatable fears
• It creates exciting legend-tripping opportunities
• Multiple states claim ownership

Sightings

Reported Encounters

Witnesses describe:

• Small figures with large heads
• Eyes that reflect light
• Screams or gibberish vocalizations
• Being followed or chased
• Creatures emerging from woods at night

Evidence

Physical evidence is lacking:

• No photographs clearly show Melon Heads
• No bodies have been found
• No DNA evidence exists
• Sightings rely entirely on testimony

Visiting the Locations

Ohio

• Wisner Road (difficult to access, often patrolled)
• King Memorial Road (public road)
• Chardon area woods

Michigan

• Felt Mansion grounds (public historic site)
• Surrounding forest areas

Connecticut

• Velvet Street (public road, heavily patrolled)
• Monroe/Trumbull wooded areas

Warnings

• Private property trespassing is illegal
• Police actively patrol legend-tripping areas
• The creatures (if real) would be human beings deserving respect
• Most “Melon Heads” encounters are other legend trippers or pranks

Legacy

The Melon Heads represent:

• Regional variation of a common legend
• American anxiety about institutional care
• How folklore develops and spreads
• The endurance of location-based horror

In three different states, people believe small creatures with huge heads live in the woods - the survivors of terrible experiments, abandoned and forgotten.

They probably don’t exist. No evidence supports the legends. No institutions match the stories.

But in the dark woods of Ohio, Michigan, and Connecticut, people continue to search. They visit the roads named in the legends. They peer into the darkness, hoping and fearing to see something staring back.

Something with a head too large.

Something that shouldn’t exist.

Something that, according to the legend, was made that way by people who should have known better.

The Melon Heads are probably fiction. But the fear behind them - the fear of what we do to the vulnerable, and what they might become - is very real.