Connecticut is a US state found in the northeastern United States in the New England region and it is bordered with the US states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York and has a coast along the Long Island Sound estuary, connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. The state capital is Hartford and the largest city in the state is Bridgeport.
Despite the state’s relatively small size it still has a wide regional variation in its geography such as rolling hills and mountains in the northwest of the state and in the east of the state there are marshlands and beaches. There are also a number of forests in the state, like there are in many states. The state is named after the Connecticut River that crosses right through the state.
Connecticut is estimated to have the highest per capita income of any state but maintains one of the largest wealth disparities between the top 1% and the 99% of average earners in the US. Some of the largest industries in the state are finance, insurance and real estate. Education, health and social services make up much employment of the state. Other large sectors are broad business, professional services, manufacturing, including a strong gun manufacturing sector, wholesale trade, retail, information services, arts/entertainment/food services, and construction services. Finally, tourism and agriculture also play a role in the economy.
Now let’s move on to the strange and the unexplained of the state of Connecticut!
The oddities in Connecticut are surprisingly interesting for a small state and some of it is downright scary and also the Long Island Sound estuary has often been the subject of harboring various monsters and serpents of the deep, reported throughout much of the state’s history.
So, let’s go over some of them starting with something very odd and terrifying, simply known as the Melon Heads.
The Melon Heads are humans with horribly disfigured faces and there are many stories of how they came about such as them being the offspring of mental asylum escapees who have continued to inbreed or that they are just a very remote colony of detached humans or the descendants of witches. Whatever they are, they are said to be very dangerous and are also cannibalistic, if you are to be driving or walking down the roads they are said to hang around at, you may just be unlucky enough to be preyed upon by them, overpowered and eaten!
The roads they are said to hang around are known as Melon Head roads and many can be found in various areas of Connecticut, with the most known being in Shelton, Milford and Trumbull according to the ctpost, who also say that they are primarily said to be most active around Saw Mill City road in Shelton. The Melon Heads also live in the forests of Connecticut as well.
The Melon Heads overall description is that they have huge heads, often with bulging eyes, as well as thin wiry limbs and that overall, they are generally small and short humanoids. Their face has many other injuries and disfigurements that make them look very ugly.
Remember from the Halloween series a couple weeks back where I talked about black dog motifs and also some black dog mythical creatures from the United Kingdom? Well the state of Connecticut also has their own black dog in a place called Hanging Hills in Southern Connecticut not far from Meriden and within Hubbard Park. The Hanging Hills, as its name suggests, is an 1,800-acre area of mountainous land where a black dog is said to roam, and dependent on how many times you see it can either spell good, bad or very bad luck.
One of the first reported sightings, or which is perhaps also shrouded in some possible legend, goes back to the 1890s, where a geologist claimed to be followed by a black dog for all of the day which eventually vanished into thin air, the story goes on that he returned along with a companion to the Hanging Hills some years later and they witnessed the black dog again, but for the companion this was his 3rd time seeing the dog.
It is said that the 1st time seeing the dog means good luck, the 2nd time means bad luck and the 3rd time means death will soon follow.
After the geologist’s companion had seen the dog, it is said he later fell off a cliff and died in the Hanging Hills.
There is a strong belief in the dog by locals and many also believe that the dog is a specter, in that it isn’t a physical flesh and blood being, but some kind of spirit or entity which is why it can never be tracked down or captured and why it never leaves any trace of its existence and how it can vanish so easily.
It once again fits quite well into the black dog motif and that it is related to ill-tidings and death, but also differs slightly that there can be some good luck from it, which can sometimes be the case with some black dog creatures out there.
Connecticut also has had its own Chupacabra of sorts as well, which was called the Glastonbury Glawackus. Glastonbury is a small town found in Hartford County and during a colder than usual January 1939 the town was terrorized by this creature.
The monster was described as being furry all over and that it was about the size of a large dog and that its fur was all black, but that strangely its face was like that of a cat. The creature stalked the night during this time and many believed it responsible for ear splitting howls during these cold winter nights and also blamed it for the unusual killings and mutilations of the town’s livestock, such as goats and sheep and even some pets such as cats and small dogs as well.
Parties of hunters soon started going through the nearby forests with hunting dogs in an attempt to put an end to this mysterious and scary creature that was causing such a headache and scare to the town and its residents. The creature though was highly elusive and most only reported glimpses and blurs of the creature before it managed to escape.
One hunter who apparently did get a good look at the creature said it was beautiful and black and estimated it to be three feet in length with a two feet long tail, the hunter claimed to shoot at this creature twice but missed it and that it got away.
It is said by the following year the hunters eventually killed a large brown wild dog and claimed that it was the Glawackus and that it was no more, although not everyone believed it to be the actual creature. The Glawackus though has not been seen since that time.
Some explanations have been that it was a misidentified animal such as an escaped big cat, either a mountain lion or a lynx. Others have blamed the Fisher, which is a small carnivorous mammal native to some parts of North America and that can be found living in the wild in the state.
If you head to the Long Island Sound estuary you might be in with a chance of seeing a sea cryptid or two. There have been many reports from the earliest of days and ever since the first settlements arose in what is today Connecticut of various odd sightings of unknown creatures within the Long Island Sound that runs along the whole coast of the state.
These apparent creatures have ranged from the typical large sea monsters and long serpents to giant squids and even more fancifully, mermaids as well. There isn’t anything with a specific name like in many states that have their water cryptids, which is what makes it a bit different, is that nothing seen has stuck around for long enough or had enough of an impact to be named or become specifically notorious, but there are a range of documented sightings over history.
Many of these sightings have been collected here for any of those interested in learning more about the various odd goings on that have taken place along the Long Island Sound. Although in the modern era as usual sightings have since dramatically decreased.
The Connecticut River is also said to have had a sea serpent within it as well. The serpent of this river has also been reported as far back as the first settlements. The monster or serpent that has been witnessed is often described as one of the very long and undulating variety, often in excess of 100ft in length.
One of the first documented sightings of the creature happened close to Cromwell on the river in 1886, sighted by Colonel Stocking and Silas Sage who were out on the river in a small skiff. During this early morning boating they were suddenly knocked from under by something huge which launched them into the air and back down again within their skiff. After this the two men then witnessed a large black head emerge from the river, looking at them with what they described were eyes the size of dinner plates, and that it was at least 100ft in length. Naturally the men quickly headed back to the safety of the shore, but by the time they turned to look back the creature had gone.
After that sighting became popularized many more people and hunting parties went to look for the creature and many claimed sightings and told stories of encounters with it. Now a days the creature has had very little sightings if any at all, with most sightings dating back to before the beginning of the 1900s.
Well there you have it for Connecticut. A range of different creatures and other oddities said to be about the state. Next up we shall explore the strange and the unexplained of the US state of Rhode Island.
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