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• OCTOBER 2022
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FUN Breast cancer awareness month
News on research, treatments
Get spooked
Ghosts, witches, hauntings
Apples on tap Visit a local cidery
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on the cover Pumpkin Passage at The Dinosaur Place. photo courtesy of the dinosaur place at nature’s art village
this month 2 0 2 2
photo courtesy of Roger will
O C T O B E R
42
FALL FAMILY FUN Make some memories with these autumn events
october 2022 7
departments CORRESPONDENCE 10 E ditor’s note 11 Catching up
PEOPLE & PLACES 13 She sees dead people
Haunted childhood home led to career in ghost tours Public invited to meet Leffingwell House Museum spirits
TASTE 25 Apples on tap
A growing industry, local cideries make a fun fall outing
32 Restaurant listings
photo by kevin staehly
18 Want to see a ghost?
HOME & GARDEN 37 Ghost-hunting across New England
Team investigates home hauntings, presents evidence to public
18
25 TRENDING 49 Connecticut’s cryptids
Reports of creepy creatures go back centuries
52 5 spooky films with Connecticut ties
54 Turning pages
Books to scare you witless
56 Local finds
Shop unique. Shop local.
LOOKING BACK 59 Righting a wrong Descendants of state’s accused witches renew pardon efforts
64 The legend of the ghost ship
Apparition of sunken vessel—or UFO?—appeared to early shoreline residents photo by magicpiano, cc by-sa 3.0, via wikimedia commons
8
magazine
LIFE CYCLES 71 Dental implant patients benefit from new technology
Brought to you by Shoreline Periodontics
72 Finding support in your community
Waterford-based Smilow offers cancer care nearby
76 Breast cancer treatments continue to push forward
EXPLORATIONS 83 Horror of horrors
84 Husband-wife team seeks answers to unknown
88 Haunted history,
paranormal promenades
Take a day trip to learn about, maybe even encounter a ghost
IT’S YOUR DAY 95 Russell Holmberg
CEO of Holmberg Orchards
photo courtesy of providence ghost tour
Famously haunted Annabelle doll on display at paranormal convention
88
Love Where You Live in all seasons
The A Team of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty specializes in helping people find homes where they love to live. Contact us to find out how we can help you! ALLYSON COTTON | LIZ SQUILLACOTE GARY SCHMID | CORY WINKELMANN
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october 2022 9
correspondence | EDITOR’S NOTE Confluence of the Shetucket River and the Yantic River, Norwich. Photo by Michael Dubenetsky
dear readers,
T
hanks for joining us for this “spooky”
History, too, can teach us a lot about where
issue of The Day Magazine. I admit,
we’ve been as a society and how much we
we may have gone a little overboard
might still have to learn. Following the recent
with our coverage of ghosts and spir-
pardon in Massachusetts of the last wrongly
its and spooks, but as we’ve learned,
accused “witch,” there’s a renewed effort here in
Connecticut is bursting with local
Connecticut to officially exonerate the people—
lore and legend, haunted homes, museums
mostly women—who were accused and, in many
and graveyards, apparitions and visitors from
cases, executed as witches.
beyond the grave. And even more, it’s full of peo-
But let’s face it, for families, especially those
ple who live to tell the stories of the departed.
with small children, October is all about picking
For i n s t a nc e, t he s e c u r it y d i r e c t or at
out the perfect costume, or the perfect pumpkin
Norwich’s Leffingwell House Museum talks
to carve, and maybe taking a family day trip to a
about the spirits he’s encountered there in
local pick-your-own orchard for apples and other
“Want to See a Ghost?” while ghost tour guides
fall crops. In “Fall Family Fun,” you’ll find plenty
in Mystic and the outlying regions share their
of kid-friendly events, activities and destinations
experiences by taking guests on ghost walks in
to fill out the month. Don’t forget to check out
“Haunted History, Paranormal Promenades”
a local cidery, too. We talk to some cider-mak-
and “She Sees Dead People.”
ers in “Apples on Tap” and round up a few of the
We also talk with paranormal investigators who help homeowners rid their houses of spir-
I enjoyed putting this issue together—my first
its in “Ghost-hunting Across New England,” and
as official editor of TDM—and I look forward to
with the organizers and speakers at this year’s
sharing so much more with you as we explore
“The Warrens’ Seekers of the Supernatural”
southeastern Connecticut together. As always,
paranormal convention, scheduled for later
if you have a story idea or know of someone who
this month at Mohegan Sun. There’s a science
should be highlighted in these pages, please
to ghost-hunting, they say, and people believe in
reach out to us. Have a great October!
what they’re doing more now than ever before. What do you think?
10
region’s hotspots for this latest beverage craze.
magazine
Traci Neal, editor
CATCHING UP
reader response
| correspondence
we want to hear from you!
In our August issue, we asked you for some pictures of your funniest Halloween costumes. Thanks to Meghan O’Hara of Niantic for these gems:
December will be here before we know it, bringing with it snow, sleigh bells and steaming mugs of cocoa. Tell us:
What’s your favorite holiday recipe? What’s your favorite way to keep warm on a snowy day? How do you ring in the New Year?
@TheDayMagazine @ thedaymag@theday.com
Cousin Itt
Oompa Loompa
’S SUNDAE
fun facts
ALL ABOUT B L A C K
C AT S
There are lots of myths about black cats that surface around Halloween. Here are some interesting facts about black cats that prove they’re anything but bad luck. There are as many as 22 recognized breeds that can have solid black coloring. Cats were often cared for and fed by poor, lonely ladies who were accused of witchery and as a result, got a bad rep. Some black cats may have faint stripes appear on their coat after they’ve spent the afternoon basking in the sun. The sun’s rays break down the pigment in their fur, revealing their dormant tabby coloring.
Be sure to include the question you’re answering, your name and the town you live in along with your response.
Black cats produce a lot of melanin. This pigment makes their coats black and their eyes a captivating amber shade, an extremely rare eye color in humans. In Ancient Egypt, all cats, including black cats, were considered sacred and worshipped. Every house and temple had at least one cat for luck. Historically, sailors and fishermen believed that having a black cat onboard would bring the ship good luck and guarantee a safe journey (with the added benefit of fewer rats). Fishermen’s wives would also keep black cats at home to help ensure their husbands returned home safely from sea. Researchers at the National Institute of Health discovered that the genetic mutation that causes black fur also protects cats from certain diseases. Since they experience many of the same health issues humans do, including cancer and Alzheimer’s, experts believe studying these fascinating felines may help mankind combat these illnesses as well. adapted from blog.feliway.com/us/10fascinating-facts-about-black-cats
Send your questions, comments, suggestions and ideas to thedaymag@theday.com. Or look us up on social media. You may even be featured on this page in a future issue. By getting in touch with us, you give us permission to reprint your comments.
october 2022 11
people & places ENVIRONMENT
FINANCE
PEOPLE
N E W & N O TA B L E
Mary Harkness Way, Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford. P hoto by Kathy King
BUSINESS
courtney mcinvale knows graveyard spirits
12
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visit the ghosts at Leffingwell House
people & places
She sees dead people HAUNTED CHILDHOOD HOME LED TO CAREER IN GHOST TOURS
Courtney McInvale visits a memorial in Gettysburg National Military Park that commemorates the 27th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment as part of her research for her Civil War ghosts book series. p hoto courtesy of Seaside Shadows
D
By Morgan Rizzo
These dark activities were an everyday occurrence
oors creaking open, flickering lights and even
in the East Hampton childhood home of Courtney
the sounds of footsteps may seem like typi-
McInvale, author and founder of the ghost tour com-
cal occurrences living in an old New England
pany, Seaside Shadows, Haunted History Tours based
home. Parents tell their frightened children
in Mystic.
that old houses do strange things. However,
“A book in and of itself” is how McInvale describes
when strange things turn into dark shadows, blood
the spooky experiences in the old house. As a teen-
smeared on the walls and broken rosary beads, some-
ager, McInvale noticed the spiritual activity turn-
thing is not right.
ing dark, like something malevolent had surfaced.
october 2022 13
people & places Her Catholic mother called in a priest, yet even he was spooked. The family then turned to a couple in Connecticut who had made a name in paranormal circles for their work with ghosts and spirits, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Before their notoriety as investigators of haunted homes made famous by The Conjuring film franchise, the Warrens took house calls for those who thought paranormal activity was taking place. Based on an investigation of the McInvales’ home and interviews with the family, the Warrens told the family they lived in a portal to the other side, says McInvale. Their only option, the Warrens told them, was to complete an exorcism of the home. Lorraine Warren even told the family they had psychic gifts, though that didn’t sit well with the then-teenager. “When I was 15 years old, I didn’t want to be the girl who sees dead people,” she recalls. But as she got older, McInvale started studying history and Above McInvale with a statue of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. photo courtesy of Seaside Shadows below McInvale visits the grave of American Revolutionary War-era spy Col. Benjamin Tallmadge at East Cemetery in Litchfield as part of her haunted history tours. photo courtesy of Seaside Shadows Right Ghost tour participants pause at the site of the Mystic Museum of Art, formerly the storied Emporium building, where McInvale tells them of reported hauntings and paranormal experiences inside. p hoto courtesy of Seaside Shadows
14
magazine
researching the paranormal and spirits; and her
children. Lewis inspired McInvale to tell her stories,
psychic gifts continued to present themselves,
which led to the founding of the company she calls
she says.
“her baby,” Seaside Shadows.
The same spirits she saw growing up—from colo-
“I think of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song
nial times, the Pequot War, and more—continued
that says, ‘I left a good job in the city, working for the
to come to her, she says, and she frequently noticed
man every night and day,’ but I don’t regret my deci-
things like lights and radios turning on and off
sion,” says McInvale, who now runs tours in three
around her.
states. “Seaside Shadows has blossomed ever since,
“Once you have a haunting like this, you’ll always
and I’m continuing to write, tour and make books.”
be sensitive to it,” says McInvale. “We’re always
When she first founded the company, McInvale
going to be the ones to see the lights f licker first
started by knocking on strangers’ doors, introduc-
because we’re hyper-aware.”
ing herself and asking if they had ghosts in their
After college, McInvale worked for the FBI and
homes or a story to share. Although she got many
Homeland Security but soon realized sitting at
puzzled stares in return, as she began growing her
a desk from nine to five for an office job was not
company, people began to share their stories. “People were coming out from all sorts of shops
for her. She’d met Thea Lewis, a Vermont-based author
and apartments saying they had a story,” recalls
and historian known as the “queen of Halloween”
McInvale. “It ended up being amazing that all of
who made a living leading ghost tours for adults and
these people had all of these experiences.”
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october 2022 15
people & places
above Courtney McInvale of Seaside Shadows gives a ghost tour along the Mystic River. photo courtesy of seaside shadows left McInvale stops during her haunted cemetery tours to talk about particularly active spirits. photo courtesy of seaside shadows right McInvale gives a tour of Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic. photo courtesy of seaside shadows
16
magazine
“When I was 15 years old, I didn’t want to be the girl who sees dead people.” COURTNEY MCINVALE Today, Seaside Shadows hosts a variety of talks, paranormal pub crawls and moonlit graveyard ghost tours in Mystic, Concord, Massachusetts, and most recently in Westerly, Rhode Island, where she began offering tours in the spring. “Sometimes the people believe in ghosts and are there because they want an experience,” says McInvale. “Other times they just want the history of the town from a different perspective.” McInvale says her travels are accompanied by spirits from the 17th century through the 20th century. Her book, Haunted Mystic, dives more deeply into the stories of the spirits that roam the streets and ship docks of Mystic. Her 2016 book, Revolutionary War Ghosts of Connecticut, takes readers to other parts of Connecticut, like the Shaw Mansion where George Washington is claimed to frequently visit. McInvale’s latest, Civil War Ghosts of Connecticut, follows generals and soldiers throughout the state. Her research will continue in the south, where she plans to explore her father’s home state of Georgia for her next book in the Civil War series, she says. To book a ghost tour or to learn more about McInvale and her work, visit seasideshadows.com and courtneymcinvale.com.
october 2022 17
people & places
ghost? Want to see a
PUBLIC INVITED TO MEET LEFFINGWELL HOUSE MUSEUM SPIRITS
18
magazine
Leffingwell House, circa 1961. Photo courtesy of Library of Congress / Public Domain
T
By Jenn McCulloch
“The Leff ingwell House is a monument to
he Leffingwell House Museum in Norwich
Norwich history and it’s very personal and very
attracts more than just history buffs.
hands-on,” said Cam Farlow, treasurer of the
The museum, which highlights the
museum. “Some visitors come for history, some
area’s rich history and houses artifacts
come for paranormal, some come for both. I’ve
“dating from the founding of Norwich
never experienced anything, but people have told
in 1659 through the Civil War,” also sometimes attracts ghosts.
me about their experiences.” The team director of Arrowhead Paranormal,
For the last decade or so, the Leffingwell House
Chad Saunders, said his love of history f irst
has worked with Arrowhead Paranormal to mon-
brought him to the museum. He eventually joined
itor supernatural activity in the building, host
its board of directors and serves as security direc-
ghost hunts and work with other paranormal
tor of the property, built as a two-room home in
groups that wish to investigate there.
1675 before evolving into a pre-Revolutionary
october 2022 19
people & places Arrowhead Paranormal Team
Alexis, investigator
Amanda, investigator
Taylor, psychic medium
Chad, founder and director
Madison,
Jim, senior investigator
social media coordinator
Dave, assistant director
Melissa, merchandising and accounting
20
magazine
Teddy, lead technical advisor (right), with Steve, paranormal investigator
Snow, head spiritual consultant
Front Building: (860) 391-8636 More Antiques in Rear (860) 339-5706 tavern in 1701. By 1776, it was Nor wich patriot Christopher Leffingwell’s townhome.
Thetroveoldsaybrook.com Thetrove@comcast.net
Now 8,500 Sq.Ft. Full of Antiques, Rugs, Jewelry, Furniture, Collectibles and Treasures!
Sau nder s a nd A r r owhe ad orga n ized t hei r f i rst publ ic investigation in 2014. It drew so much interest that they had to turn people away, he said.
1353 & 1383 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, CT
Since then, the group has hosted ghost hunts throughout the year, though the most popular events come in October dur ing the Halloween season. This year, the public can register to join the ghost hunts on Friday, October 28, and Saturday, October 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; 8 to 9:30 p.m.; or 10 to 11:30 p.m.
“I can hear someone walking upstairs when I’m sitting in the tavern room.” CHAD SAUNDERS In addition to the ghost hunts, there will be tarot card readings and vendors selling handmade items, crystals and more. “People expect to see what they see on TV and that’s what we squash right away—it’s not about jumping and screaming; it’s a lot of waiting and you can expect a dark room and weird activity,” said Saunders, explaining a typical ghost hunt.
october 2022 21
people & places
“You are stationed with my [team] throughout the
Saunders and his team have experienced a variety of
house and can use our equipment. Some people bring
paranormal activity over their years at the museum. As
their own, too, so they learn from us and we learn from
head of security, Saunders visits the museum after his
them,” he said.
night shift job.
Two spirits that often make an appearance, said
“I can hear someone walking upstairs when I’m sitting
Saunders, are Hannah, a 9-year-old girl whose stitchwork
in the tavern room, but I don’t get scared—I tell them I’m
is on display and whose name is etched in the glass in the
here to protect the property,” said Saunders.
Washington Room, and Benaja, who Saunders noted is an
When it comes to ghost-hunting, Saunders wants every
older man who often becomes irritated when women are
guest to enjoy their experience. If someone gets nervous
in the upstairs bedroom, as it was historically unaccept-
or scared, they are moved to the equipment area where
able for an unmarried woman to be in a man’s bedroom.
they can monitor things from a distance. He also works
Saunders recalled a time that two female college stu-
to make sure that the investigations don’t overshadow
dents were in the room working on a project and an electromagnetic pump, an investigative device, was “slapped off of the dresser and broke.” “Hannah is quite playful and friendly, and Benaja is a
the museum. “First and foremost it’s a museum,” he said. “There is definitely activity there, but we want to keep the focus on the history and keep the history alive.”
crabby old man who does not like women in the master
22
bedroom,” said Saunders. “When he did damage to my
For more information on Arrowhead Investigations, visit
EM pump, that was the first time I’d seen that type of
arrowheadinvestigations.net. To reserve a ghost tour or a
hard activity in front of my eyes.”
tarot reading, send an email to redlake1945@gmail.com.
magazine
left In this series of photos, a shadow can be seen hiding behind the television in the first photo. In the next two photos, which were taken immediately after the first, the shadow has disappeared. photo courtesy of Arrowhead investigations above The Leffingwell House Museum, built in 1675, has a long history of reported ghost sightings and paranormal activity. photo by johnna kaplan right This photo, taken on a full spectrum camera at Leffingwell House, shows a young girl named Hannah, according to investigators. photo courtesy of Arrowhead investigations
october 2022 23
E N T E R TA I N I N G
R E S TA U R A N T S
photo by Deb Wiedenheft
RECIPES
taste
local apples make the best hard cider
24
magazine
FOOD & DRINK
taste
Apples on tap A GROWING INDUSTRY, LOCAL CIDERIES MAKE A FUN FALL OUTING
A
By Jan Tormay s the leaves change colors and crunch under our feet, the scents of autumn fill the air. It’s the perfect time for a road trip to one of numerous family-owned cideries throughout Connecticut and adjacent states. In laid-back, often picturesque settings, cidery staff members educate visitors on their unique collections of sweet and dry hard ciders, made using recipes from a variety of apples
and other fruit, spices and sometimes added alcohol. Many offer flights, or samplings served on a wooden board.
Bethany Goldman pours cider at the Yankee Cider Company’s taproom in East Haddam in 2022. P hoto by Brianna Hartman
Even though hard cider represents just 1 percent of alcoholic beverage sales, “it has grown exponentially in recent years,” according to Rich Alterman, writing on foodinstitute.com. Market researchers said hard cider sales totaled $494.4 million, an 11 percent increase, in 2020, according to Alterman, and the North American cider market is projected to grow to $4.66 billion by 2026 as consumers seek out alternative alcoholic beverages. Most local cideries are an extension of previously opened wineries, but provide a niche of added farm value for orchards and fruit-growers, especially during apple harvest time in the fall. Here are some cideries that offer tastings, family-friendly events, farm stores and more.
october 2022 25
taste HOLMBERG ORCHARDS & WINERY, GALES FERRY
above Visitors enjoy tasting ciders and wines at Holmberg Cider Barn in Gales Ferry in the fall of 2019. p hoto courtesy of Holmberg Orchards right Holmberg Orchards offers a variety of craft ciders in cans. photo by Catherine Dzilenski
Experience a festive fall atmosphere on the weekends
were doing, said Holmberg, who oversees greenhouse
between noon and 5 p.m. at Holmberg Orchards & Winery,
operations and tree fruit production. He lives on the farm
a 150-acre farm at 12 Orchard Lane in Gales Ferry.
with his wife, Christine, and their children, Andrew and
Stop by the 1850s tasting barn to sample hard ciders and wines while savoring a cider doughnut. Then hop
raised there.
aboard a tractor-hay ride, pick-your-own apples, pears,
“There was virtually no market for hard cider. And
peaches and pumpkins, and test your sense of direction
then in the last especially five to 10 years, it has not only
in a corn maze.
become popularized, but I’d say normalized, where you
“It’s funny. Usually the kids can do it in five to 10 min-
start to see it on menus: beer, wine and cider, which
utes. It takes adults about 20 minutes. It’s so strange
Holmberg described as a “euphoric” moment, along with
kids for whatever reason have an intuition that escapes
seeing three hard cider tents set up at the Newport Folk
adults,” said Russell Holmberg, who owns the farm,
Festival a few years ago.
which has been in the family since 1896, with his parents, Richard and Diane Holmberg. Before leaving, stop by Holmberg Orchards’ retail farm market, open seven days a week all year long except for a
“We sell more cider in a month than we sold in our first two years in business,” he said. Since the 1940s, the Holmberg family has also been selling sweet, nonalcoholic cider every fall.
few holidays, at another part of their farm at 1990 Route
“We treat our sweet cider with UV (ultraviolet) light
12 in Gales Ferry and purchase corn, fruit, sweet/hard
to make sure that there are no pathogens in there that
cider, wines, baked goods and prepared foods.
can make anybody sick,” said Holmberg. “So we have the
Utilizing 35 varieties of apples, as well as peaches, rasp-
same degree of food safety that we’d have from a pasteur-
berries, blueberries, black currants and grapes grown on
ized product, but because we do it with UV light, our juice
their farm, the Holmberg family has been making a vari-
hasn’t been heated, so all the natural flavors and aromat-
ety of hard ciders and wines for the last 15 years.
ics are there. It’s cold processed. We really feel it’s a bet-
When the Holmbergs were f irst establishing the cidery/winery in 2007, customers didn’t know what they
26
Heidi, who are the fifth-generation of Holmbergs to be
magazine
ter product with the UV treatment versus pasteurization,” he said.
october 2022 27
taste YANKEE CIDER CO. AND STAEHLY FARM & WINERY, EAST HADDAM Have fun walking about a portion of the Staehly Farm orchard and picking your own fruit near 23
year-round in 12- and 22-ounce bottles as well as growlers. They also offer a variety of wines.
Petticoat Lane in East Haddam—the site of Yankee
Ordering a tasting f light, or sampler, “is a great
Cider Company’s 100-year-old barn taproom, which
way to get your feet wet,” said Kevin Staehly, taproom
is open this fall every Thursday and Friday from 4 to
manager and son of Chris (cider and winemaker) and
8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.
Gail Staehly, who have owned a Christmas tree farm
Utilizing most of the 40 to 50 varieties of apples,
on the property since 1985, and founded Staehly’s
as well as peaches, rhubarb and other fruit grown
Farm & Winery in 2014 and Yankee Cider Company
on their 100-acre farm, the family produces about 30
in 2016.
varieties of hard cider, which include 12 on draft, lim-
For those who have only tasted commercial hard
ited editions and seven standard options, produced
cider brands, Staehly added, visiting a local farm is
above Yankee Cider Company won 2018 Best of Connecticut Wine and Cider, Blueberry Breeze Wine and New England Dry Hard Cider at the Big E (Eastern States Exposition) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. p hoto by Kevin Staehly right Yankee Cider Company in East Haddam produces apple hard ciders and fruited hard ciders like Peach Brandy Barrel Aged. photo by Kevin Staehly
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“a great way to start getting into that real, true, straight-from-thefarm craft cider.” Ya n k e e C i d e r C o m p a n y wa s recent ly awa rded “Best C on ne c t ic ut C ide r ” for t he fourth year by the Eastern States Exposition Gold Cider & Perry Competition, and was named “Reserve Champion” second runner-up for Best of New England this year. Hard cider’s popularity has been growing dramatically in Connecticut since 2014, said Staehly, who graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, that same year. Hard cider began to climb in popularity on the West Coast around that time, he said. “The prediction was that by right around 2022 to 2030, we’d really be hitting our stride on the East Coast with it as well,” said Staehly. “Not to be funny, but what kind of upset the applecart was the hard seltzer,” he said. “In terms of the alcoholic beverage industry, it just took off out of nowhere and started sucking up a huge portion of the market share.” The Staehlys also offer pasteurized nona lcoholic sweet cider from a local farm, as well as wine-tastings at their farm winery, located on another portion of the property at 278 Town Street in East Haddam. They’re open May through December on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. and periodically offer craft classes.
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Worship Services 10 am Every Sunday At The Historic Road Meetinghouse 903 Pequot Trail, Stonington, CT 06378
Rev. Norm Erlendson (860) 759-6720 www.fccstonington.org october 2022 29
American Fusion Cuisine
fresh, local, organic, sustainable, artistically driven ingredients
Casual Fine Dining
inviting & contemporary bar atmosphere, seasonal outdoor dining
above Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery’s bar with flights of wine and hard cider. photo by Deb Wiedenheft below Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery serves patrons outside on downtown Westerly’s Sunday Funday. photo by Deb Wiedenheft
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magazine
taste TAPPED APPLE CIDERY & WINERY, WESTERLY, RI For an entirely different experience, step over the state line into downtown Westerly, Rhode Island, and discover Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery at 37
doesn’t have all that much f lavor, compared to a hard cider.” One of Tapped Apple’s hard ciders, called “First Bite,” is also “pretty low calorie,” Wiedenheft said.
High Street. Tapped received Best of Rhode Island and Silver
Hard ciders can be purchased as four-packs (cans)
and Bronze awards at the Eastern States Exposition
or individually. Along with wines, hard cider can also
Gold Cider & Perry Competition this year and
be purchased in 32- or 64-ounce refillable growlers.
the highest Choice Winery ranking of five venues
Utilizing apples from Sunset Farms in North
i n R ho de Isla nd by
Scituate, Rhode
ChoiceWineries.com.
Island, Tapped Apple’s
In business since
4 , 0 0 0 -s qu a r e -fo ot ,
Aug ust 2017 a nd
of f-s it e lo c at ion i n
ow ne d by pa r t ner s
Westerly now contains
John Wiedenheft III
35 to 40 holding tanks.
a nd h is son, John
Only two fermenting
Wiedenhef t IV, this
containers remain at
venue features seven
the taproom.
ty pes of hard cider,
Their of ferings
including apple, cran-
i nclude ha rd cider,
berry, peach and blue-
m a ny non a lc ohol ic
berry, and seven dif-
beverages, a variety
ferent wines, includ-
of white and red apple
ing one with apple and
w i ne s a nd a s ele c -
black cherry.
tion of cheeses, crackers, cured meats and
A colorful wooden
Hauser chocolates.
sign of a tapped apple let s v isitors k now they’re approaching
Tapped Apple Cidery & Winery’s exterior sign alerts you to its location at 37 High Street in Westerly. photo by Deb Wiedenheft
Outside seating is available in the spring
this welcoming, upscale venue with its white-and-
and fall during Westerly’s Sunday Fundays. Enjoy
reddish-brown painted brick interior, bamboo and
playing shuff leboard and board games stored on
tile flooring and a 20-foot, red-mahogany curved bar
bookshelves. Attend one of Tapped Apple Cidery &
and façade, which replicates a wine barrel.
Winery’s events, which include art exhibits, psy-
Even though their wine sales have gone up incre-
chic presentations or comedy performances, some
mentally, John Wiedenheft III said “hard cider is
of which are private, ticketed affairs. They’re open
really where the growth” is. He attributes it to peo-
Friday from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday from noon to 8 p.m.
ple becoming bored of hard seltzer, which “really
and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
For more information about upcoming events and to confirm business operating hours at all three venues, go to holmbergorchards.com, staehlys.com, yankeeciders.com and tappedapple.com.
october 2022 31
taste | RESTAURANT LISTINGS ASIAN
FAMILY STYLE
GIULIANO’S BAKERY
PINK BASIL
GROTON TOWNHOUSE RESTAURANT
Hometown bakery known for crispy bread, rolls and pastries. Also serving breakfast sandwiches. Come see us for our large diverse variety of baked goods. Open daily 5 a.m.–8 p.m.
Our menu reflects the time-honored traditions of authentic Asian cuisine. With influences from Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, our dishes can transport you around the world in one bite. Open Monday–Friday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 12–9 p.m.
284 Main Street, Niantic 860-739-5495; nianticbakery.com
We are a family-style restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. We also have a large assortment of fresh-baked pies and cakes daily. Open daily 6 a.m.–9 p.m. 355 CT-12, Groton; 860-449-0355 grotontownhouserestaurant.com
27 Coogan Boulevard, Building 3B, Mystic 860-245-4470; pinkbasilct.com
BARBECUE
FINE DINING
NOBLE SMOKEHOUSE
BAKERY
85 MAIN
DEKE’S BAGELS
WE LIVE, BREATHE AND SMOKE BARBECUE! With a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University, our chef Christopher Lusk is excited to present our unique sauces and flavors to you. Open Wednesday–Thursday 12–7 p.m.; Friday–Saturday 12–8 p.m.; Sunday 12–7 p.m.; Monday 4–7 p.m.; Closed Tuesday
Deke’s Bagels sells fresh bagels, sandwiches, muffins, coffee, smoothies and more. Order online or come visit our Niantic or new Guilford location. Open 7 a.m.–2 p.m. 157 West Main Street, Niantic 1013 Boston Post Road, Guilford 860-739-9509; dekesbagels.com
4 Roosevelt Avenue, Mystic 860-415-9564; noblesmokehouse.com
Price range Online ordering Open late
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Take out
Breakfast
Brunch
Delivery
Entertainment
Lunch
Outdoor dining
Cash only
Fresh, contemporary fare, seasonally influenced. Fresh seafood, steaks and locally grown produce. High-quality sushi and full raw bar. Enjoy creative cocktails while dining on our patio, weather permitting. Open Sunday–Wednesday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Thursday 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; Friday–Saturday 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. 85 Main Street, Putnam 860-928-1660; 85main.com
Dinner
Kids’ menu
Alcohol served Twitter
Call ahead Instagram
JAPANESE
NANA’S BYREK
SAMURAI NOODLE
Authentic Japanese ramen noodle soup, Asian barbecue and sushi in downtown Mystic. Noodles are made fresh daily on site. Happy hour 4–6 every day. Open Monday–Friday 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 12–10 p.m.
SEAFOOD
J & R SEAFOOD
At Nana’s Byrek everything is made fresh daily, in house. We offer the following: pizza, byrek, entrees, grinders, paninis, quesadillas, salads, dessert, catering, birthday parties. Kids make their own pizza. Open Tuesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday 12–8:30 p.m.; Closed Monday 316 Boston Post Road., Waterford, CT 860-437-3030; nanasbyrek.com
27 West Main Street, Mystic 860-415-9317; samurainoodlemystic.com
J & R Seafood market is much more than fresh seafood. Enjoy market-made chowders, prepared meals, made-to-order food menu, catering options and raw bar events! Open daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m. 45 Williams Avenue, Mystic 860-415-4656; jrseafoodmarket.com
Retired Armed Forces Association
WOODFELLAS PIZZA
FRIDAY FISH FRY
PIZZA
184 PIZZERIA
Family-owned and operated, located in the Haley Brook Plaza, on Rte. 184. Check out the GRAB & GO fridge—varieties change daily. Pizzas, grinders, sandwiches, wraps, calzones. Open Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–7 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; Closed Sunday 2440 Gold Star Highway, Mystic 860-245-0800; 184pizzeria.com
Woodfellas opens second location in New London in the former space of 2 Wives! Serving quality food! Contact us regarding our Rolling Pizza Truck and New Mobile Salute Bar Cart! Open Wednesday–Friday 4–9 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 12–8 p.m.; Closed Monday–Tuesday The Velvet Mill, 22 Bayview Avenue, Stonington; 860-715-9663 woodfellaspizza.com
Open to the public every Friday. Enjoy chowder, lobster rolls, fish & chips and more! PLUS join us on the second Saturday each month from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. for breakfast. Open Friday 3–8 p.m. 135 Garfield Avenue, New London 860-447-0055; armedforcesretirees.org/home
october 2022 33
taste | RESTAURANT LISTINGS SPORTS BAR
THE STUMBLE INNE
THAI
C.C. O’BRIEN’S
THE SPICE CLUB
Friendly Irish sports cafe serving a variety of pub food. Award-winning burgers and wings with sports on 23 TVs! Pool and darts. 28 draft beers. Serving food Tuesday 3–9 p.m.; Wednesday–Thursday 11 a.m.–9.p.m.; Friday–Saturday 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sunday 12–9 p.m.; Bar open later
Great food, happy hour, live music, pool tables, darts, trivia, karaoke. Nominated for best burger! Open Monday–Saturday 3 p.m.–12 a.m.; Sunday 1–10 p.m.
We serve healthy, home-cooked Thai, sushi and Pan-Asian cuisine in a casual, family-friendly environment. Open since 2012. Open Monday–Friday 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4–9 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday 12–9 p.m.
8 Mechanic Street, Pawcatuck 860-599-2034; ccobriens.com
90 Halls Road, Old Lyme; 860-434-2342 facebook.com/thestumbleinne
239 Main Street, Niantic 860-451-8121; thespiceclubct.com
To advertise your restaurant on these pages, email thedaymag@theday.com
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home & garden GARDENING
DECOR
Keyboard Pond, Deep River. p hoto by Brian Alpert
R E A L E S TAT E
investigating haunted homes
36
magazine
ADVICE
home & garden
Ghost-hunting across New England TEAM INVESTIGATES HOME HAUNTINGS, PRESENTS EVIDENCE TO PUBLIC
I
By G.A. Peck t’s unlikely that Christopher O’Connor and David Bray will forget where the two business partners met for the first time. They were “ghost hunt-
ing” at a private home in Enfield that dates back to 1771—the “Enfield Demon House” as it’s known in paranormal circles. D u r i n g t hei r i ndep endent i nvest igat ion s of t he notor ious property, they began talking about their interest in the paranormal and how they had a common gift for seeing and communicating with the dead. O’Connor’s first experiences with spirits came when he was just a small child. He recalled how his mother also had the “gift,” and that for much of his life he and his mother kept it a secret, even from close family and friends, and for the years he served in the Navy as a corpsman. In his 30s, he decided to no longer hide his ability, but to put it to good use helping others. In February 2016, after their meeting in Enf ield, O’Connor and Bray co-founded the Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society. The group travels the state and
Chris O’Connor, co-founder of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society, walks into a home investigation in Columbia. Photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society
october 2022 37
New England, conducting paranormal investigations at private and historic homes, businesses, cemeteries and land sites where owners or caretakers report unexplained phenomena—visions, voices, sensations and smells. Today, the team has expanded to six members, including Eli Freund, a former journalist who is the society’s research analyst. O’Connor and Freund joined TDM via Zoom recently to talk about their investigative work and the group’s mission “to change the paranormal field one case at a time.” Freund conducts all the interviews with clients prior to an investigation, and does a deep dive into a property’s history. But he doesn’t share the information with the team, so that they can remain objective as they gather and analyze evidence. Other team members often don’t even know the address until they’re dispatched to the site. They’ve investigated places all across Connecticut, including homes with historic significance. But the age of a home doesn’t necessarily correlate to hauntings, they explained. “We investigated a housing development in Canterbury that was built in the 1950s,” O’Connor said. “We had 16 paranormal stories reported to us, so we began investigating the neighborhood for the historical society. But
NANCY MESHAM HEIDI HOSS HILARY REID WENDY VISGILIO
it was clearly the land and not the houses, and it was creepy.” Spirits can become attached to land, inanimate objects, even people, they said. “Because we’re in New England, everything is so old—older than any other part of the country, because these were the first colonies established, and we have houses dating back to the 1600s,” Freund said. The team deploys a number of high- and low-tech tools to gather evidence—a digital voice recorder known as a “Spirit Box,” video and thermal imaging cameras, an electromagnetic field meter, even an old-fashioned flashlight. The electromagnetic field meter is a versatile device. It can detect the presence of spirits, they said, and can also be used as a communication tool, asking spirits yes or no questions during the investigation. If the answer is yes, the meter illuminates.
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38
magazine
home & garden
“Hollywood has not helped paranormal science.” CHRISTOPHER O’CONNOR Above David Bray, co-founder of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society, and Eli Freund, investigator and research analyst, use an infrared camera and a Spirit Box to capture evidence at a home in Westport. photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society right The team captured an image, believed to be the deceased previous owner, during a home investigation in Westport. photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society
october 2022 39
home & garden “We use a flashlight as a communication tool as well,” Freund said. “We have one of those screw-top flashlights, and we set it to a particular spot, so that it stays off. But if something turns it just a little bit, it will turn on. “We’ve been shocked by some of the responses. We’ll ask a question like, ‘Henry, are you here?’ And the flashlight turns on, though no one is near it,” said Freund. Investigations are rarely one-and-done. The team often returns to a site to investigate further. “When we first started, I created a grading system between zero and five—zero, meaning we found nothing. Houses often fall within the two to three range, which creates more questions than answers, so we’ll go back and gather more information. We had one case in Ridgefield, Connecticut, where we investigated four times.” O’Connor estimates that about 5 to 7 percent of their cases can be considered “paranormal.” Much of what people think is paranormal can often be debunked or attributed to psychological proclivities. In November 2021, the team investigated the Windham Inn, which has, over centuries, operated as a hotel, tavern and apartment complex. Unoccupied and falling into disrepair, there’s a philanthropic effort underway to save the historic structure and preserve its history. The ECPS team seized the opportunity to investigate the property and raise awareness about preservationists’ plans. A full accounting of the experience is available on the ECPS website, easternctparanormal.com. They invited the public to a presentation of their findings, and about 100 people came to the reveal. “We did catch multiple voices on our recorders saying things, but the premium piece of evidence we captured is an apparition manifesting in a room,” Freund recalled. “When we did the presentation for the community, we saved it until the end, and we kept teasing it. … People actually gasped when we showed them.” At a home in North Haven, the team captured video of what they said was an apparition of a little girl. It’s such a high-quality image that several production companies that produce ghost-hunting shows have offered to buy the copyright. But the team isn’t in the business for the money or the fame, they said. There’s no charge for investigations, and they freely share their findings with the public. Instead, they’re each motivated by their personal passion and quest for answers about spirits, the
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above Ghostly cat eyes can be seen underneath a table during an investigation at Captain Grant’s Inn in Preston. The team could not debunk or recreate the photo. photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society top right Chris O’Connor, co-founder of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society, has utilized his gift as a paranormal investigator for over 15 years. He began to communicate with earth-bound spirits as a child. photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society middle right David Bray, co-founder and lead investigator of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society works as a licensed orthopedic massage therapist, exercise physiologist, cadaver lab assistant and martial arts instructor. He’s also a strong clairsentient medium and empath. photo courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society bottom right Eli Freund, is an investigator and research analyst with Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society, using his background as a former journalist to help the team discover pertinent information that brings context to possible hauntings. p hoto courtesy of Eastern Connecticut Paranormal Society
afterlife and science. And they share a common goal to help their clients find answers, get validation, learn about history and become more comfortable coexisting with otherworldly spirits. This is a highly educated group. Several members have master’s degrees. Bray is pursuing his doctoral degree. One teammate is a former Hartford police officer and detective. “Hollywood has not helped paranormal science,” O’Connor said, lamenting how special effects and narratives about spirits have muddied the waters, encouraging people to believe the absurd and disbelieve what they may see with their own eyes. “We definitely differentiate ourselves as a group by the amount of care that we put into each investigation and with each client,” Freund said. “Sometimes we follow up with clients for years and come back years later if something else has occurred. The other thing that differentiates us is that we don’t sensationalize anything. There are a lot of teams that do. If we don’t find anything, we don’t find anything.” October and November tend to be busy months for the ECPS team. They travel the state giving presentations about their work, often at local libraries. A calendar of their appearances is available on ECPS’ Facebook page.
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cover story
fall family
u n f
42
magazine
MAKE SOME MEMORIES WITH THESE AUTUMN EVENTS
N
By Jenn McCulloch
othing says fall more than kids in costumes, apples and pumpkins, and family fun at local farms. We’ve rounded up some family-friendly activities to keep you busy every
weekend of October. Get lost in a corn maze, take selfies with costumed dinosaurs, prowl an after-hours jack-o-lantern trail at the zoo, pick a peck
of apples, or search for the perfect pumpkin in a local pumpkin patch.
BOO BASH AT THE BEACH
Sunday, October 23, 11 a.m.; Port n Starboard; 98 Neptune Avenue, New London WHAT TO EXPECT: Boo Bash at the Beach returns to Ocean Beach for its second year hosted by Events by Robin. There will be more than 50 local vendors on hand to pass out treats as children trick or treat from table to table. Vendors will also be selling their wares including jewelry, candles, children’s books, clothing, toys, home decor and more. There are also free photo and activity stations. A $2 entry fee is collected and proceeds will benefit local food pantries. WHAT YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE: “We held the first Boo Bash last year and it was so fun,” said Robin Sieczkowski, owner of Events by Robin. “We love the event as it is a safe place for the kids to have fun and for parents to be able to come with them and support local vendors as well. … There’s a little something for everyone.” FOR INFORMATION: search 2nd Annual Boo Bash at the Beach! on Facebook.
october 2022 43
cover story JACK-O-LANTERN SPECTACULAR
Through October 31, 6–10:30 p.m. Roger Williams Park Zoo; 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI WHAT TO EXPECT: The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is a family-friendly trail with more than 5,000 pumpkins illuminating the pumpkin trail at the zoo, which stays open after hours for the event. In addition to the artistically carved pumpkins, there will be Halloween displays and on select nights, there will be meet-andgreets with costumed characters. All tickets must be purchased online in advance. Friday to Sunday tickets are $21 for ages 13 and up and $18 for children ages 2 to 12; weeknight tickets are $18 for ages 13 and up and $15 for ages 2 to 12. WHAT YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE: “Put down the remote, shut down the streaming and don’t miss this year’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular celebrating 75 years of television,” said Corrie Ignagni, manager of digital communication. “Share in the nostalgia of your favorite TV shows, artistically carved on thousands of pumpkins. From Betty White to Walter White, this year’s Spectacular has something for everyone. Feast your senses on Rhode Island’s biggest and greatest walk-through pumpkin spectacular.” FOR INFORMATION: rwpzoo.org/jols
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magazine
FALL ON THE FARM
Through October 30 Scott’s Yankee Farmer, 436 Boston Post Road, East Lyme Pick-your-own: 291 North Bride Brook Road, East Lyme WHAT TO EXPECT: Fall fun at Scott’s Yankee Farmer includes pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, wagon rides and a corn maze with a Deep Sea Adventure theme for 2022. All activities are open Thursday through Monday with weekday hours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekend hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The two-acre corn maze also includes game stations with storyboards and picture stations hidden in the corn. Weekend admission is $3 (or $2 with online reservations). The corn maze is $8 during the week and $12 on weekends, which includes a wagon ride. Wagon rides are $4. WHAT YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE: “We have been doing this for so many years that now it’s fun to have friends of my grown children come with their kids or people we have known for years come with their grandchildren,” said Karen Scott, who operates Scott’s Yankee Farmer with her husband Tom, son Colin, and his girlfriend Abbi. “It makes us feel happy and appreciative that so many people have such fond memories of their own that they want to share it with the next generations.” FOR INFORMATION: scottsyankeefarmer.net
october 2022 45
cover story PUMPKIN PASSAGE
Weekends in October The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art Village 1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike, Oakdale WHAT TO EXPECT: Pumpkin Passage is the annual Halloween event at The Dinosaur Place. There is fun for all ages with a trail of lights, inflatables, maze, 20-foot slide, ax-throwing and bounce houses. At the end of the trail, there’s cocoa and marshmallow-roasting around a huge raised fireplace. Pumpkin Passage is open at 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays throughout October. WHAT YOUR FAMILY WILL LOVE: “Families love to create fall memories at Pumpkin Passage with our dressed-up dinosaurs along the trail,” said Anastasia Lange, marketing director. “There are lots of unique photo opportunities and that cocoa with marshmallows at the end is everyone’s favorite.” FOR INFORMATION: naturesartvillage.com or “Pumpkin Passage at The Dinosaur Place” on Facebook
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Stonington Borough. P hoto by Carolyn Baker-Reck
BOOKS
trending
locally legendary creatures
48
magazine
spooky films with local connections
turning pages book reviews
trending
Connecticut’s cryptids REPORTS OF CREEPY CREATURES GO BACK CENTURIES
C
By Dirk Langeveld
This Halloween, get familiar with some of the state’s
onnecticut, at first glance, seems like an unlike-
most famous cryptids, and maybe keep a closer eye on
ly home for cryptids—creatures that have never
the surrounding woods or waters on your next outing.
conclusively been proven to exist, despite purported evidence ranging from sightings to video footage.
After all, the state is one of the most densely populated
AQUATIC CREATURES—OR APRIL FOOLS?
In 1993, the Hartford Courant reported that the state
in the nation. Although there are considerable swaths of
had hired consultants to examine rumors of very large
preserved wilderness, a mythic creature might stand lit-
aquatic creatures living in the state’s reservoirs. A crea-
tle chance of evading notice amid Connecticut’s inter-
ture up to 30 feet long in Reservoir 6 on Talcott Mountain
states, shopping plazas and suburban developments.
had been seen so frequently that it earned the nickname
However, Connecticut has had a rich history of spooky
“Rezzie.”
folklore and legends, and cryptid tales are sure to find
An international research team theorized that the
an audience. On Facebook, the Connecticut Cryptid
creatures may have made regular migrations before
Investigative Society posts regular updates about their
becoming trapped when the construction of the Saville
field investigations of the unknown.
Dam blocked the east branch of the Farmington River.
october 2022 49
trending The team’s analysis included pictures of a “giant long-necked cryptid with flippers,” but admitted
taller than their vehicle.
that they could not rule out the possibility that “this
Connecticut’s most famous sasquatch is argu-
is just a water-borne wrapper of unknown origin
ably the “Winsted Wildman.” In August 1895, Town
stuck to the camera lens.”
Selectman Riley Smith was out with his bulldog
The date of the publication? April 1.
SERPENTS ON RIVER AND SEA
While these reservoir sightings were simply a
gag, others have made earnest reports of strange
when he was startled by a “wild, hairy man of the woods, six feet in height.” Additional sightings followed elsewhere in the Litchfield Hills and southern Berkshire County. There was speculation that the creature was an escapee from a mental asylum, or a gorilla that had fled a circus.
aquatic creatures in the state. Most notably, there
The Winsted Wildman was ultimately attributed
were several sightings of a sea serpent off Stratford
to Lou Stone, a reporter for the town’s Evening
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Citizen newspaper. The Museum of Hoaxes in San
In the first sighting in 1878, an assistant engineer
Diego suggests that Stone fabricated the story to
on the steamship State of New York said he saw a
drum up newspaper sales, but that it unexpectedly
creature’s head rise above the water before diving,
attracted wider notice, resulting in a flood of new
with its body forming an arc “under which it would
sightings and creating general unease in the town.
have been easy to drive a team of oxen.” In 1895,
Although the museum states that Stone earned
another ship’s crew witnessed a sea serpent that
the unflattering nickname “Winsted Liar,” he still
seemed to be disturbed by the approach of the ves-
gained some degree of fame by penning numerous
sel. A year later, another sighting reported a 200-
stories concocting strange creatures one could sup-
foot creature in the Long Island Sound with pea-
posedly find around the town.
green whiskers.
The Winsted Wildman legend briefly resurfaced
In 1886, a New York Times article recounted how
in the late 20th century. Two men reported see-
numerous people witnessed a serpent rise from
ing an eight-foot-tall hair-covered creature walk-
the Connecticut River in Middletown. “Out of the
ing near the Crystal Lake Reservoir in 1972, and
froth rose a big black head as large as a flour bar-
two years later a pair of couples at the Rugg Brook
rel and with eyes as big as small plates,” the report
Reservoir spotted a mysterious six-foot-tall crea-
read. “The head kept rising higher and higher until
ture. One skeptic dismissed the sightings, saying
10 feet of the neck appeared. The men didn’t stop to
they followed a spate of Bigfoot sightings during
make a long or thorough examination, but they feel
the early 1970s and that the witnesses had proba-
sure that the sea serpent must have been a clear
bly misidentified a bear.
hundred feet long.”
SASQUATCHES
50
the road and estimated that it was at least four feet
MELON HEADS
The Melon Heads are perhaps Connecticut’s
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has
most famous cryptid, although similar legends
recorded sightings of large, hairy, bipedal creatures
have emerged in Michigan and Ohio. The tales of
in every state except Hawaii, including 21 sightings
people with unsettling cranial features confront-
in Connecticut. Nearly half of these occurred in
ing vehicles on secluded wooded roads are well-
rural Litchfield County, although three have been
known enough that several routes have been des-
reported in New London County since 2005. Most
ignated as “Melon Head Roads.” These include
recently, two people driving through Pachaug State
Saw Mill City Road in Shelton and Velvet Street in
Forest in 2019 spotted a strange creature crossing
Trumbull.
magazine
The Melon Heads have been described as having swollen heads and facial deformities, with thin, spindly limbs. Rumors say the creatures subsist on small animals and foraging, though they have sometimes been blamed for the disappearance of
unfamiliar environments, stories of scary encounters on isolated roads became more common.
GLAWACKUS
When cats and small animals began disappear-
humans. One popular story holds that the Melon
ing in Glastonbury in early 1939, residents came
Heads once accosted a group of teenage girls in a
to suspect a supernatural or unnatural cause. The
baby blue Ford Granada and absconded with the
disappearances corresponded with sightings of a
vehicle, which is still sometimes spotted.
creature with dark fur and a long tail, described as
There are various origin stories for the Melon Heads. One suggests that they began as a group of
uttering blood-curdling screams and looking like a mix of a bear, a cat and a dog.
people banished for suspected witchcraft during
Concerns about the creature became pro-
the colonial area. Another says they were inmates
nounced enough that a hunting party was orga-
in an asylum for the criminally insane in the region
nized in January 1939, although nothing was found.
who escaped after a devastating fire. Their appear-
The Courant covered the proceedings with tongue
ance is typically blamed on cannibalism and
firmly planted in cheek, running the headline,
inbreeding.
“Guffaws of Glastonbury Glawackus Greet Gloomy
However, it has also been posited that the Melon
Gang of Gunners.” The “glawackus” moniker, a port-
Heads legend simply reflects the growth of the sub-
manteau of Glastonbury, wacky, and an ending
urbs after World War II. As more people moved into
meant to sound “Latin and authentic,” stuck. There was speculation that the glawackus was a fisher cat or a rogue big cat like a mountain lion or a puma. A New England spelunking group photographed a mockup of the creature in a cavern to drum up interest in cave exploration. The mystery was seemingly resolved in July 1939, when hunters trapped and killed a large brown dog. A second spate of sightings followed in the 1950s, with another brief resurgence in 1966. In that year, a group of prominent residents, most notably Essex First Selectman Escott MacWhinney, were riding horses when they saw a bear-sized creature with a “small piggish, almost human face, and two sets of ears.” MacWhinney dubbed the creature a “glowackus,” saying it gave off an eerie incandescence. This incident was ultimately attributed to Alfred Knapp, who owned a large amount of woodland in the area and also ran a charitable organization for children to experience camping. Knapp admitted that he got MacWhinney to help him concoct the hoax as part of his knack for incorporating ghost stories into his experiences.
october 2022 51
trending
5 spooky films with Connecticut ties
T
By Kitty Williams
here is a power in the juxtaposition of horror and familiarity—something especially terrifying about scary films set in our own backyards. When we see something unsettling that could theoretically happen in “Anywhere, U.S.A.,” sure, it is a bit frightening, but when we see that same something happening in places we know or have visited, it is petrifying. If you’re planning a scary-movie marathon this spooky sea-
son, consider streaming these locally filmed or Connecticut-themed movies.
52
The Haunting in Connecticut (Hulu)
Disconnected (Tubi free)
This 2009 horror film directed by Peter Cornwell opens
Filmed in Waterbury, this 1984 film directed by
with a haunting declaration that immediately sends
Gorman Bechard is a slasher movie. In it, a woman
shivers down your spine: “BASED ON A TRUE STORY.”
named Alicia allows a man into her home to use the
Moving to a new home always brings feelings of
phone, and she becomes unnerved when he disap-
excitement and uncertainty. In a horror film, you know
pears. The strangeness continues when she keeps
that a family moving to a new home foreshadows sen-
receiving mysterious phone calls, made worse by
sibility-rattling catastrophe. And that is exactly what
emerging news of serial killings in town. Further com-
happens. Though the filming location was Canada,
plicating things is that her personal-life drama gets
this film was obviously set in Connecticut.
entangled with the killings.
magazine
My Soul to Take (Prime Video) This 2010 f ilm was direc ted by Wes Craven, who also directed the well-known Nightmare on Elm Street. In this horror film, a serial killer, known locally as Ripper, dies, and on that same night, seven children are born in the same town. One of the seven, Bug, begins to exhibit strange behavior and we slowly learn that there is a dark and spooky depth to his past. The school used in this film was none other than Connecticut’s Tolland Middle School, when it was unused because of its transition from a high school to middle school.
Kiss of the Damned (Prime Video) In this 2012 horror-romance film, Djuna is a screenwriter visiting Connecticut on a writing getaway. While there, she falls in love with a man named Paolo, played by Milo Ventimiglia. Paolo falls for her as well, even after learning she is, in fact, a vampire. He embraces this new after-dark lifestyle and finds he loves it. However, things get complicated when Djuna’s unstable sister, Mimi, visits them.
Violent Midnight (Prime Video) Set in a New England town where rumors spread quickly, this 1963 horror film tells the story of Elliott, whose father is mysteriously murdered on their hunting outing. The town suspects Elliott of the murder. As other murders take place, the suspicion grows and intensifies until the killer is finally revealed. This film was not only made in Connecticut, its world premiere in 1963 was at E. M. Loew’s Theater in Hartford.
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october 2022 53
trending | TURNING PAGES
Books to scare you witless
T
By Betty J. Cotter
he first movie that scared me witless was the 1946 mystery, The Spiral Staircase, the story of a serial killer who targets women with disabilities. It starred Dorothy McGuire as Helen, a mute woman working as a live-in companion for a crotchety
old lady named Mrs. Warren, played by Ethel Barrymore. The Spiral Staircase was based on a novel by Ethel Lina White called Some Must Watch. White, an
unknown today, did brisk business as a British mystery writer—a little more twisted and less proper than Agatha Christie, perhaps. Several of her books were adapted for the screen, including The Wheel Spins, which became Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes. How well I remember watching The Spiral Staircase unfold in black and white on TV. As the killer, unseen, eyes Helen standing on the staircase, we enter his perspective. Where her mouth should be, he sees a blur of nothing. Now we know she is his next intended victim. At 11 years old, I found everything about the movie horrifying. The way it took us, the viewers, into the mind of a killer was particularly unsettling. I’m not sure I even knew what a serial killer was at that point, though my older sister had a penchant for true crime novels and may have used the term. But I realized there were sick people in the world, and women were often their targets. What scares us? All art is an act of imagination, and we are most afraid when we can imagine ourselves as a victim. Seeing Dorothy McGuire with her mouth erased was heady stuff for a rising sixth-grader. If they are so frightening, why do we read horror novels and watch scary movies? Perhaps it’s a controlled way to confront our fears of the unknown, a way to manage anxiety. As we focus on spooky tales this month, the horrors they hold vary from the supernatural to the banality of evil. Some of these selections are straight-up mysteries, while others enter the realm of the fantastic. Whichever book you choose, put yourself in the hero or heroine’s shoes, trying to outrun an unseen enemy.
The Night Ocean by Paul La Farge (Penguin Press, 2017) You can’t get much more horrifying than H.P. Lovecraft, the Providence writer whose otherworldly creations still generate legions of fans. In a homage to Lovecraft, La Farge wraps his novel around the mystery of the writer’s fictional “Erotonomicon,” which might be a thinly disguised record of his gay relationships. La Farge spins a tale reminiscent of the Lovecraft novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, in which a man escapes an insane asylum to chase down the body of an ancestor, and the short story he co-wrote, “The Night Ocean,” in which a vacationing artist is lured by the siren song of ocean creatures. For more on the man behind the monsters, the W. Scott Poole biography, In the Mountains of Madness (Soft Skull, 2016) details Lovecraft’s enduring cultural legacy, from Stephen King novels to video games.
54
magazine
The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon (Doubleday, 2015) In rural Vermont, a motel with a replica of the Tower of London is the setting for this heartstopping tale of lies, secrets and the supernatural. Two sisters, Margot and Piper, and their childhood friend Amy have tried to forget what they encountered one summer at the motel, but the past has caught up with them—including the parallel story of Amy’s aunt Sylvia, a Hollywood wannabe in the 1950s. Hitchcock references abound in this eerie tale, which tries to answer the question that Sylvia posed to the famous director: “Do you believe in monsters?” The inimitable Cassandra Campbell narrates the Random House audio version.
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) Silvie is a spirited 17-year-old who has been dragged on a re-enactment adventure with her parents, who are British Iron Age enthusiasts. Her father, Bill Hampton, is a bus driver who takes his hobby a little too literally, and as this “vacation” drags on, his malevolence only increases. While Silvie and her mother cope with the rigors of historically accurate living, from basket-weaving to skinning rabbits for lunch, Hampton’s darker purposes begin to emerge. Moss has written this novella without quotation marks, as though grammar were just one more modern convention to be discarded. As a consequence, the story barrels along to its horrifying climax.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster, 2017) The British writer Ruth Ware has quickly earned the mantle of the next Agatha Christie. Her tightly plotted, breathless mysteries keep readers guessing until the end. In this novel, travel writer Lo Blacklock is already suffering the traumatic effects of being a crime victim when she takes an assignment aboard an ocean liner. The Aurora may be luxurious, but Lo’s room and the ship itself are contained spaces from which there is no escape. When Lo sees something horrifying from her deck, she can’t forget it, and what she knows puts her in mortal danger.
The Asylum by John Harwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013) “Am I crazy?” is not an idle question for Georgina Ferrars, who wakes up in an insane asylum in Victorian England. Told that she has admitted herself under a different name, and a woman claiming to be her is alive and well in her house, Ferrars is in a deadly race to prove her identity and unmask the impostor. Who would want to dispose of her in this way, and why? The Blackstone audiobook, narrated by Rosalyn Landor, is expertly paced.
october 2022 55
trending | LOCAL FINDS
Shop unique. Shop local. A
B
D C
A. TEA LEAF READING CARDS
Want a glimpse into the future? Channel your inner witch and master the ancient art of reading tea leaves with the help of these cards. Learn about different teacup zones, common symbols and their meanings to find some of the answers you’ve been looking for. $8.99 The Cloak and Wand; 27 Coogan Blvd #2B, Mystic; 860-980-3215; thecloakandwand.com
B. AUTUMN PASTURES
Shades of autumn are captured through luminous pastels by award-winning artist Elaine Juska Joseph. Joseph uses color theory and optical mixing to capture the viewer’s attention in her pastel art, with the Percheron and Belgian draft horses on her farm in Lisbon as frequent subjects of her work. Pastel on paper framed under glass. $1,000 Elaine Juska Joseph Fine Art; elainejuskajoseph.com
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magazine
kind of These are le cat ra like wea b ans! um toys for h
C. THE INTERNATIONAL OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL
Environmental film festivals around the world are coming to the Mystic Aquarium October 15–16 to showcase 12 hours of ocean documentaries, including films curated for the Connecticut and Rhode Island coast. Join for two days of screenings and discussions on kelp forests and harvesting, coral reefs, ocean ecosystems and New York waterways. $15/ticket, $75/pass Green Planet Films Presents the International Ocean Film Festival; 55 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic; 860-272-6278; bit.ly/IOFFMYSTIC
We’ve got prehistoric, supernatural and fall finds for October!
Happy shopping!
Keep an eye out for Sundae’s pawprint of approval on any item that might be purr-fectly suited for a cat (or other pets) to enjoy!
You’ll also find out why I like it!
Contact thedaymag@theday.com to feature your product.
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E. DINOSAUR MODELS
These educational and museum-detail quality relics are a great find for history buffs and dinosaur lovers. Various types and sizes of the models are available. $15–$200 CEL Fine Collectibles & Appraisers; 321 Main Street, Niantic; 860-333-4260
Local author Lisa Hall Brownell’s Gallows Road (Elm Grove Press, 2022) takes readers on a harrowing journey of love, betrayal and injustice set in colonial New London. Inspired by true events in 1750s Connecticut, this fiction novel sheds light on an often-forgotten chapter of America's past. $18.95 At time of print, it was on sale for $17.62 Books on the Pond, 289 Narrow Lane, Charlestown, RI; 914-450-9598; bookshop.org
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october 2022 57
looking back LOCAL & REGIONAL
PA S T T O P R E S E N T
Old Red Inn, Lyme. p hoto by Peggy Traskos
HIS TO RY
Seeking pardons for accused witches
58
magazine
The “Phantom Ship” of new haven
looking back
Righting a wrong DESCENDANTS OF STATE’S ACCUSED WITCHES RENEW PARDON EFFORTS
W
By Mary Ellen Fillo
“It’s a sad story,” said Paslov, an English profes-
hen Lena Paslov was a child, Hallow-
sor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and nine
een included dressing up as a witch
generations removed from Young, who was the first
for the tradi-
recorded person executed
tional trick-
for witchcraft in the then-13
or-treat fes-
colonies. Young’s daughter
tivities. It was “just for fun,”
and Paslov’s distant cousin,
with little thought to any-
Alice, also faced condemna-
thing but the frivolity of
tion in Massachusetts in the
the fun costumes and free
1670s but was not hanged. “You think of witches
candy. Yea rs later, when she
a s s o m e k i n d o f f a i r y-
began studying her geneal-
tale thing, just a charac-
ogy and working on a mas-
ter that you dress up as at
ter’s thesis on witchcraft
Halloween,” said Paslov.
in Connecticut, the idea
“Then, when I learned I was
of such perceived “ev il”
a descendent of someone
human beings took on a
falsely accused of being a
ver y d i f ferent mea n i ng
witch, you look at it in a dif-
when she learned she was a
ferent way and I realized
descendent of Alse “Alice”
what a grave injustice it was
Young, a Windsor resident,
that was going on then. She
who, in 1647, was hanged in
was a blameless victim.”
Hartford after being falsely
Ac c or d i n g t o Nat a l ie
accused of being a witch.
B e l a n g e r, m a n a g e r o f
Paslov is one of a growing
a d u l t p r o g r a m s at t h e
group of descendants and
C on ne c t ic ut H i s t or ic a l
interested parties including the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project who are once again pres-
A page from Connecticut’s Code of 1650, being a compilation of the earliest laws and orders of the General Court of Connecticut, published in 1822. i mage courtesy of ConnecticuT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Society, records show 34 people, primarily women, we r e for m a l ly c h a r ge d between 1647 and 1697. Of
suring the Connecticut legislature to take formal
those, 11 were executed for alleged “crimes” that
action exonerating the men and women who were
experts agree were based on rumors, delusion, igno-
accused and/or executed here in the 17th century.
rance, hysteria or misguided religious beliefs.
october 2022 59
looking back “It’s time Connecticut came to terms with a dark tie to its past and brings justice to the memory of those who suffered.” LENA PASLOV
“ They of ten used w itchcra f t a s a n explanation for things that could not be explained,” said Belanger, who coordinates the programs on the history of witchcraft in Connecticut for the society. “They didn’t understand science then, there was a gender hierarchy, cultural differences and it came down to religious beliefs and that witchcraft worked with the devil.” Now, 375 yea rs later, a r med w ith a pet it ion , t r ac t ion f rom neig hbor i n g Massachusetts, where the legislature recently exonerated the last of its infamous “Salem witches,” and a growing swell of support to pardon those who were falsely accused here, the coalition has found an advocate in Democratic state Rep. Jane Garibay, and is hoping to finally secure legislative pardon for the accused. “It’s a wrong that should be righted,” said Garibay, who represents Windsor and Windsor Locks. Garibay is researching how best to get the request through legislative red tape and come to an agreement to formally clear the names of those who were charged as witches. “These people were wronged. It makes me think of today’s women and things that are happening with women’s rights today, women were targeted back then,” she said. “And it goes beyond the accusations,” she continued. “People lost their farms, had to give kids up for adoption, there were a lot of wrongs stemming from all of it. Exoneration and apology is the least we can do for these descendants.”
60
magazine
Images on these pages are from The Kingdom of Darkness, a 17thcentury collection of “authentick” records and accounts of witches, demons and supernatural occurrences. Images in the book include at far left, a depiction of a ceremony led by a female healer possessed by the devil; at left, Anne Bodenham the witch invoking spirits into a magical circle to learn the future; and below, a German city set on fire by a woman with “carnal knowledge” of the devil. images courtesy of ConnecticuT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
There have been repeated efforts to secure some kind of legislation or formal apology over the years. Former state law maker and head of the powerful Judiciary Committee, Mike Lawlor, a criminal justice professor at University of New Haven, recalled in 2008 when a teenager and her mother launched a renewed effort to exonerate those who were executed as witches, an attempt that failed. “I hope it does go forward this time,” said Lawlor. “In hindsight of history, the charges and executions were ridiculous and an example of religious extremism gone wild. It was an injustice.” When the issue was brought before the state legislature, he said, “not too many people knew about it happening
october 2022 61
looking back in Connecticut. They were more familiar with the Salem witch trials. I am not sure it was taken too seriously.” Ideally, he added, “The legislature could acknowledge what happened and use it as an opportunity to educate people. It is a teaching moment.” Speaker of the House, Hartford Democrat Matt Ritter says the legislature is empathetic and that it will be up to supporters to get lawmakers and committee chairs to take notice. “The fact that Massachusetts recently took action adds to the compelling narrative,” Ritter said. “It is an unusual request and there needs to be a groundswell to garner support this time around.” Southington resident Justin Friar, a professional genealogist, said he wants two things as a descendant of several of those who were accused or executed: amends for families and a corrected historical record. “It is embarrassing in some ways to be a descendant of someone who is recorded in history as a w itch,” said Friar, whose charged or executed ancestors include Lydia Gilbert of Windsor, Nicholas Disborough of Hartford, and a couple, Andrew and Mary Sanford, from the Milford area. “Bad blood needs to be corAbove An entry in the journal of Windsor Town Clerk Matthew Grant recording the death of Alice Young. It reads “May 26 47 Alse Young was Hanged.” photo courtesy of Lena Paslov right A brick on the Windsor town green inscribed with Alice Young’s name and date of her execution. photo courtesy of Lena Paslov
rected,” he said. “This is not just lore. It is all documented and it ruined reputations and there is no recovery from execution. It’s about honoring those who have been marred.”
62
magazine
Connecticut aut hor Bet h Caruso, whose 2015 book, One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging, emphasizes that the exoneration effort is about educating people about the travesty and how such things happen as well as righting the wrong. “I think more and more people are becoming aware of the wrong of what happened to these people thanks to social media and the huge social media campaign going on this time to get it rectified,” said Caruso. Caruso and fellow victim advocate Tony Gr iego established t he Facebook site, C T Witch Memorial, designed to educate the public about the witch trials and efforts to acknowledge the victims. “The timing is good. We have gained more and more credibility and we have more traction than in the past,” Caruso said. “People are
FRESH BEER BREWED HERE !
appalled that what they thought only happened in Salem happened here too.” For descendants, the expectations and the hopes are simple: They want the state to take the steps necessary to acknowledge and correct a historical wrong so that the dead may rest in peace. The move would restore pride in their families’ heritage, they say. “ We c a n l e a r n f r o m h i s tory,” said Paslov. “And it’s time Connecticut came to terms with a
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dark tie to its past and brings justice to the memory of those who suffered.”
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looking back
The legend of the
Residents watch the Phantom Ship depart on its journey in 1646 in this painting, Embarkation of the Phantom Ship by Jesse Talbot, circa 1850, which is on display at the New Haven Museum. Photo courtesy of the New Haven Museum
64
magazine
ghost ship APPARITION OF SUNKEN VESSEL—OR UFO?—APPEARED TO EARLY SHORELINE RESIDENTS
D
By Phil Hall uring June of 1647, a tremendous
England, creating a direct sales channel that eliminated the Massachusetts middlemen.
thunderstorm struck the colonial
A mega-vessel dubbed The Great Shippe
settlement in New Haven. When
was commissioned for construction in Rhode
the weather cleared, the settlers be-
Island. Unfortunately, the workmanship was
gan to gather along the shoreline of
subpar and the ship navigated the local waters
Long Island Sound to witness the presence of
in a lopsided manner. It was impossible not to
a ship approaching from the horizon. Many
notice The Great Shippe was anything but
believed it was The Great Shippe, a massive
great, and the blessing bestowed upon it by
cargo vessel that sailed from their port six
the Rev. John Davenport affirmed its wobbly
months earlier but was believed to have been
condition: “Lord, if it be thy pleasure to bury
lost at sea.
these our Friends in the bottom of the Sea,
But there was something very wrong with
they are thine; save them!”
the approaching vessel—it did not ply the
Nonetheless, the New Haven merchants
waves, but seemed to float in the air. And as
loaded The Great Shippe with wheat and fur
the ship drew closer, it appeared to fall apart
pelts that represented the colony’s most val-
while sailing through the sky before it com-
ued commodities. But by the time the vessel
pletely vanished.
was ready to sail, time was no longer its ally—
Centuries later, the incident remains a
the maiden voyage took place in January 1647
mystery of legend and lore. An epic poem
and the temperature was so frigidly bitter
was inspired by the apparition, along with
that the ship was frozen in ice at dockside and
two classic paintings and endless specula-
needed to be carved out into freedom. When
tion over what the settlers may or may not
it finally cast off across the Long Island Sound,
have seen. Known as the “Ghost Ship” or the
it was already listing to one side for an awk-
“Phantom Ship,” the cloud-borne vessel is a
ward journey.
disturbing denouement to a harrowing chapter in local history.
The Great Shippe never made it to England, and how long it managed to stay af loat in
The roots of this story began in 1646 when
the Atlantic is anyone’s guess. By June 1647,
the merchants of New Haven found their for-
the New Haven merchant community had
tunes limited because they needed to chan-
resigned itself to the ship’s loss at sea.
nel their export goods through the fee-en-
But when the apparition appeared six
acting ports in Massachusetts Bay in order to
months after The Great Shippe departed, it
reach the English markets.
was assumed to have been the missing ship
The merchants pooled their resources
returning to port.
to commission a vessel that would trans-
The R ev. Ja mes Pier pont, whose eye-
port their goods directly from New Haven to
witness account is believed to be the only
october 2022 65
looking back
The Phantom Ship by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow In Mather’s Magnalia Christi,
An hour before the sunset
Of the old colonial time,
Of a windy afternoon,
May be found in prose the legend That is here set down in rhyme. A ship sailed from New Haven, And the keen and frosty airs, That filled her sails at parting, Were heavy with good men’s prayers. “O Lord! if it be thy pleasure”— Thus prayed the old divine—
A ship was seen below, And they knew it was Lamberton, Master, Who sailed so long ago. On she came, with a cloud of canvas, Right against the wind that blew, Until the eye could distinguish The faces of the crew.
“To bury our friends in the ocean,
Then fell her straining topmasts,
Take them, for they are thine!”
Hanging tangled in the shrouds,
But Master Lamberton muttered,
And her sails were loosened and lifted,
And under his breath said he, “This ship is so crank and walty I fear our grave she will be!” And the ships that came from England, When the winter months were gone, Brought no tidings of this vessel Nor of Master Lamberton. This put the people to praying That the Lord would let them hear What in his greater wisdom He had done with friends so dear. And at last their prayers were answered:— It was in the month of June,
66
When, steadily steering landward,
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And blown away like clouds. And the masts, with all their rigging, Fell slowly, one by one, And the hulk dilated and vanished, As a sea-mist in the sun! And the people who saw this marvel Each said unto his friend, That this was the mould of their vessel, And thus her tragic end. And the pastor of the village Gave thanks to God in prayer, That, to quiet their troubled spirits, He had sent this Ship of Air.
surviving first-person description of what hap-
Collections Manager Mary Christ observed that they
pened, wrote that the ship on the horizon matched
are among the most sought-after works by visitors to
the dimensions of the lost vessel and was close
the museum.
enough that “a man might hurl a stone on board
“Not long after I started working here six years
her.” The apparition appeared for a half-hour,
ago and I saw these paintings, everyone said these
according to Pierpont, before it frayed into an air-
are two of the best-known paintings in our collec-
borne wreckage and vanished from sight.
tion and people really liked them,” she said. “Being a
“Her main-top seemed to be blown off, but left
New England historical society, a lot of our audience
hanging in the shrouds; then her missen-top; then
are folks interested in their own family genealogy.
all her masting seemed blown away by the board:
We have some descendants of early colonists visit-
quickly after the hulk brought unto a careen, she
ing us, including descendants of people who would
overset, and so vanished into a smoky cloud, which
have been on the Ghost Ship—they had other family
in some time dissipated, leaving, as everywhere else,
members who stayed behind in New Haven.”
a clear air,” Pierpont wrote, adding that his theolog-
But what exactly did the New Haven colonists
ical colleague Rev. Davenport would declare, “That
see over Long Island Sound? Some online sources
God had condescended, for the quieting of their
speculate this could have been the earliest known
afflicted spirits, this extraordinary account of his
UFO sighting in colonial America, but that doesn’t
sovereign disposal of those for whom so many fer-
explain why the vision was a contemporary ship fall-
vent prayers were made continually.”
ing apart in midair.
The clergyman Cotton Mather would cite Pierpont’s
Khalil Quotap, director of education and engage-
recollections in his 1703 Magnalia Christi Americana,
ment at the New Haven Museum, pointed to theories
a h i s t o r y o f c olon i a l Ne w England. The story circulated through the years, and no less a figure than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow considered the incident worthy of consideration via his 1847 “Phantom Ship,” with the poet declaring: “And the people who saw this marvel / Each said unto his friend, / That this was the mould of their vessel, / And thus her tragic end.” In 1850, artist Jesse Talbot painted Embarkation of the Phantom Ship, which showed the vessel’s departure in the snow-burdened January 1647, and Vision of the Phantom Ship
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looking back that the apparition might have been a ref lection of another ship sailing in the distance. “There have been stories of how on a sunny day or semi-cloudy day things that were out in Long Island Sound or in the ha rbor would ref lect from different areas,” he said. “So, the initial spotting could have been reflection on a ship and another part of Long Island Sound that was kind of ref lected off the clouds. Because the depiction is almost as if it was in the clouds, not exactly riding on the water, riding at the horizon.” Quotap added that because the story could have been embellished and exaggerated as it was passed dow n over t he yea rs, it cou ld fall into the category of “legends around that time of ships and treasures and putting all your hopes on a specific ship,” he said. Legends like this, he added, are “part of our early stories here in Connecticut and in new worlds.” The beachfront vision was the only time that The Great Shippe appeared to the New Haven settlers—no further sightings were ever recorded. Longfellow’s poem viewed the incident as a spiritual closure to the doomed vessel, writing, “And the pastor of the village / Gave thanks to God in prayer, / That, to quiet their troubled spirits, / He had sent this Ship of Air.”
The artist Jesse Talbot painted A Vision of the Phantom Ship, depicting the ghost ship in the clouds that settlers claimed they saw in 1647. Photo courtesy of the New Haven Museum
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“The depiction is almost as if it was in the clouds, not exactly riding on the water, riding at the horizon.” KHALIL QUOTAP
october 2022 69
SENIORS
PETS
E D U C AT I O N
H E A LT H
WELLNESS
Gillette Castle, East Haddam. photo by Kelly Hunt
FA MILIE S
life cycles
Local support for breast cancer patients
70
magazine
advancements in breast cancer treatment
life cycles
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october 2022 71
life cycles
breast cancer
Finding
support
in your community WATERFORD-BASED SMILOW OFFERS CANCER CARE NEARBY
above A chemotherapy treatment room at Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center in Waterford. photo courtesy of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center top right The exterior of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center in Waterford. p hoto courtesy of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center right Dr. Robert Legare, medical director and service-line director. p hoto courtesy of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center
72
magazine
awareness month
A
By Kitty Williams
“It’s really a great privilege,” he says of
lthough we are reminded of
those powerful moments. “You’re enter-
breast cancer a little more
ing into another person’s life, and you
during Breast Cancer Aware-
have the opportunity to try to help them.”
ness Month, at Smilow Cancer
Though there are challenges in this
Hospital Care Center in Water-
f ield of work because of the limita-
ford, it is a priority every single day.
tions of science and medicine, Legare
Dr. Robert Legare is the medical direc-
is buoyed by the daily, weekly and
tor and service-line director at Smilow,
monthly progress that he sees occur-
with locations in both Waterford and
ring in the f ield. “While great chal-
Westerly, Rhode Island. Though he has
lenges, even greater hope,” he says.
been in this position for just three years,
Though the pandemic put a long
he has been an oncologist for three
pause on the monthly meetings of the
decades.
breast cancer support group, there are
“We try, as a team, to treat our patients
many avenues of support for patients at
as if they’re our family members and to
Smilow. One such support system is the
do everything, literally, on Earth to help
team of social workers that is available
them,” says Legare. “One can never be
to patients.
complacent. One can never settle. One always wants to do better.”
“Even in a time of great fiscal challenges for a lot of our institutions on
With this position comes the immense
the heels of the COVID pandemic, we’ve
responsibility of delivering life-changing
added more positions for social work,”
diagnoses on a regular basis.
says Legare.
october 2022 73
life cycles
The pandemic has affected more than just sup-
He remembers seeing a standing ovation at an oncol-
port-group meetings. Legare has noticed an unset-
ogy conference when researchers presented the find-
tling trend in the last few years. “I’ve seen folks pre-
ing that a protein had been discovered to be effective
senting with more significant disease than perhaps
in treating HER2-positive breast cancer, one of several
they would have otherwise,” he says.
types of breast cancer which were, at the time, pre-
“While imperfect, we do have good screening for
senting great challenges for oncologists. Now, decades
breast cancer,” he says. But many people struggled to
later, there are a variety of reliable options for treat-
attend doctor appointments or leave the house at all
ment of this type of breast cancer and related breast
during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
cancers (see page 76).
But as Legare says, his hope for the future is greater than the sum of all challenges that may be faced. As the years go by, there is significant progress in treatment.
74
breast cancer
magazine
Legare says he is also encouraged by the success of clinical trials. “It takes about 20 or 30 years of basic science to get to the point where you can head into a clinical trial,”
awareness month he says. Brand new ideas such as immunotherapy, which he was learning about in medical school, are now being put into practice—some with incredible results. “We can offer the folks in our community these innovative options that we couldn’t offer in the past,” says Legare of Smilow, which is part of the Yale Cancer Center. When Legare discusses what makes him hopeful for the future, he shares that having patients go through treatment that successfully removes the cancer from the breast is always encouraging. “We call that a complete pathological response, which is our strongest predictor of longterm survival,” says Legare. “Boy, that makes us excited.” Legare says we can support the people in our lives by reminding them to be screened. “Within our own spheres of influence, we can express to the folks we love—the people in our families and communities—the importance of screening,” says Legare. “While imperfect, as everything in life is imperfect, screening has a plethora of data saying it can decrease mortality for breast cancer the earlier that breast cancer is found.” Legare also speaks of the impact a donation toward clinical research can have. “Undoubtedly, the research that is going on has translated to better, more innovative, more successful treatment,” he says. “That’s prolonging life.”
“We try, as a team, to treat our patients as if they’re our family members.” DR. ROBERT LEGARE above Falcone Healing Garden. photo courtesy of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center right Light fills the main lobby of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center in Waterford. p hoto courtesy of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center
october 2022 75
life cycles
breast cancer
Breast cancer treatments continue to push forward
76
magazine
awareness month
F
By Jacqueline Lefebvre
It’s important to understand how far we’ve
or many women, breast cancer is a terri-
come in the diagnosis and treatment for breast
fying prospect. But research continues to
cancer over the last several decades, with the
evolve and new treatments are being de-
continuing research, approval and use of newer
veloped with the potential for remission
and better therapies.
or cure.
Dr. Stacy Spooner, section chief of radiology in
According to the National Cancer Institute, 13
eastern Connecticut who works out of Midstate
percent of women are expected to develop breast
Radiology Associates in Mystic, has shared the
cancer at some point in their lives. The earlier
importance of early screening and detection in
cancer is detected, the better the prognosis, with
combating cancer.
more treatment options available.
“Every time a woman goes for a mammogram,
However, unlike decades ago, breast cancer
she completes a hereditary risk assessment, help-
may no longer be a death sentence. So much has
ing to guide the radiologist in proper diagnostic
changed right here in our backyard.
algorithms, be it for a mammogram, ultrasound,
“We in Connecticut are so fortunate to live
MRI, and sometimes all three,” said Spooner.
in an area with talented physicians and oncol-
A new screening option, digital breast tomo-
ogists so supportive of women’s health,” said
synthesis, known as DBT or 3-D mammography,
Amy Caster of the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer
allows a radiologist to build a three-dimensional
Foundation, a New London-based nonprof it
model out of thin cross-sections of breast tissue.
that raises funds for breast cancer research.
Spooner noted that back in 2009, Connecticut
“Previously we had to travel to Boston or New
became the first state in the nation to adopt a law
York for treatment, but now outstanding doctors
notifying women with dense breasts that they
are located right in eastern Connecticut.”
had multiple screening options in addition to a mammogram. More than 40 percent of women aged 40 to 47 have dense breast tissue, a factor affecting younger women. According to Spooner, since breast density can change with age, so do screening options. Even for women with later-stage or metastatic breast cancer, there is reason for hope, health care providers say. Depending on the type of breast cancer, multiple treatment options are available, some of which are relatively new, including surgery, hormone therapy, radiation and chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy.
october 2022 77
life cycles
breast cancer
TARGETED DRUG THERAPY
drug therapy also benefits patients with the “HER2-
tant professor of clinical medi-
with metastatic breast cancer.
Dr. Anca Bulgaru, an assis-
Researchers have discovered that the targeted low” cancer type, which affects about half of those
cine at Smilow Cancer Hospital
The results of the clinical trial—announced at
Care Center in Waterford, part
the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual
of the Yale School of Medicine, has
meeting in Chicago in June—measured the success
shared some of the dramatic improve-
of protein-targeting drugs on metastatic or inopera-
ments in targeted drug therapy for those with meta-
ble HER2-low breast cancer, resulting in longer sur-
static breast cancer.
vival rates than patients treated with chemotherapy
Until recently, only those with a type of breast can-
alone.
cer known as “HER2-positive” breast cancer had been
It is no surprise that the FDA acted quickly to
shown to benefit from drugs that target the “HER2”
approve the targeted drug therapy for patients with
protein, according to the National Cancer Institute.
HER2-low breast cancer, approving the drug tras-
Delivered intravenously, these targeted drugs are
tuzumab deruxtecan, sold under the brand name
a type of chemotherapy attached to an antibody that
Enhertu, at the beginning of August for patients with
specifically targets tumor cells by locating the HER2-
inoperable cancer who have already undergone che-
positive proteins on their surfaces.
motherapy or have developed disease recurrence.
EVENTS TO SUPPORT RESEARCH, SURVIVORS
Here are some events taking place in the region and beyond in support of breast cancer research during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. THROUGH OCTOBER 31: 2nd annual Cupcakes for Elaine, Ivoryton Tavern, Ivoryton. Four cupcakes for $20; proceeds benefit the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation
OCTOBER 23: Tanger Fit 5K Run/Walk, Tanger Outlets, Foxwoods Resort Casino. Registration from 7 to 8:30 a.m., $30 day of event, to benefit Backus Hospital Breast Health Program
THROUGH OCTOBER 31: Grand Wine & Spirits, Groton, Mystic, Waterford, Old Lyme. For each pinkribbon bottle sold, Grand Wine & Spirits will donate to the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation
OCTOBER 28: Breast Cancer Alliance online panel webinar (11 a.m.–2 p.m.), “Black Women and Breast Cancer: Discussion about Education, Incidence and Healthcare Inequity.” Register online at breastcanceralliance.org/events
OCTOBER 16: Making Strides of Connecticut, Dunkin’ Donuts Park, Yard Goats Stadium, Hartford. Making Strides walk presented by Liberty Bank OCTOBER 16: Making Strides of Fairfield County, Sherwood Island State Park, Westport OCTOBER 17-22: Susan G. Komen Power of ONE Week and More than Pink Walk, Bushnell Park, Hartford 78
magazine
TBD: Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation, New London. All donations are welcome; funding goes to breast cancer research. October event and date to be determined
awareness month Bulgaru noted the news of this new treatment was met with a standing ovation by oncologists at
but also fallopian tube, prostate and even pancreatic cancers. Often these mutations can be passed down within
the annual meeting in June. Of course, there are other hopeful treatments as
families. Women who have inherited one of these
well. According to Dr. Sapna Khubchandani, a med-
BRCA1 or BRCA2 variants have an enormous risk,
ical oncologist in the Hartford Healthcare Group,
around 50 percent or higher, of developing breast
improvements have been made in immunotherapy,
cancer by the age of 70 or 80. Genetic testing can
hormonal treatments and targeted therapies.
detect the presence of the variants so treatment can begin early.
OTHER TARGETED THERAPIES
Both women and men have genes whose
For those who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer, there are many other targeted therapies available, particularly PARP inhibitors, which prevent the growth of cancer cells.
purpose is to repair damaged DNA, called
Another recent study explored the long-term
BRCA1 and BRCA2. However, these genes
effects of treatment with Olaparib, a PARP-inhibitor,
can mutate, allowing cancer to develop.
which exhibited significant success. According to
Most of ten when these genes mutate,
Khubchandani, “These PARP-inhibitors offer a signif-
they can cause different kinds of cancer to
icant improvement in survival and have changed the
develop: not only breast and ovarian cancers,
landscape of patients who carry the BRCA mutation.”
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october 2022 79
life cycles
Sundae says
The American Cancer Society does not recommend regular clinical breast exams or breast self-exams as part of a routine breast cancer screening schedule, but this does not mean that these exams should never be done. In some situations, particularly for women at higher-than-average risk, for example, health care providers may still offer clinical breast exams, along with providing counseling about risk and early detection. And some women might still be more comfortable doing regular self-exams as a way to keep track of how their breasts look and feel. But it’s important to understand that there is very little evidence that doing these exams routinely is helpful for women at average risk of breast cancer.
IMMUNOTHERAPY
Immunotherapy too has become
a new and effective way of treating cancer. Often coupled with chemotherapy, doctors can now use a body’s own immune system to block or destroy cancer cells. Using monoclonal antibodies—manmade ways of building an immune r e s p o n s e — i m mu n o t h e r a p y can help the body fight cancer by using proteins that bind to another particular protein. Some patients with difficult-to-treat triple-negative breast cancers—those without estrogen, progesterone
cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/screening-testsand-early-detection/american-cancer-societyrecommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breastcancer.html
or HER2 protein recep-
How to perform a breast self-exam
than chemotherapy.
In the Shower
With the pads/flats of your 3 middle fingers, check the entire breast and armpit area pressing down with light, medium and firm pressure. Check both breasts each month feeling for any lump, thickening, hardened knot or any other breast changes.
In Front of a Mirror
Visually inspect your breasts with your arms at your sides. Next, raise your arms high overhead. Look for any changes in the contour, any swelling, dimpling of the skin or changes in the nipples. Next, rest your palms on your hips and press firmly to flex your chest muscles. Left and right breasts will not exactly match—few women’s breasts do, so look for any dimpling, puckering or changes, particularly on one side.
Lying Down
When lying down, the breast tissue spreads out evenly along the chest wall. Place a pillow under your right shoulder and your right arm behind your head. Using your left hand, move the pads of your fingers around your right breast gently covering the entire breast area and armpit. Use light, medium and firm pressure. Squeeze the nipple; check for discharge and lumps. Repeat these steps for your left breast. nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-self-exam
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breast cancer
magazine
tors—previously had few treatment options other
awareness month Now, however, immunotherapy offers them
Key tr uda, increa sed sur v iva l by severa l
hope. A lthough some breast cancer cells
months. Other immunological treatments
are effective in evading the body’s immune
for certain types of breast cancer have been
response, some recently approved immuno-on-
successful.
cology drugs can help the body’s own immune
Clinical trials are also available and may be
system prevent, control and eliminate cancer.
found at the following websites: trialjectory.com,
Working with chemotherapy, drugs like
clinicaltrials.gov and huma.com/life-sciences/
pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name
decentralized-clinical-trials.
october 2022 81
explorations D AY T R I P S
G E TA W AY S
Norwichtown. Photo by Terri Pierse
T R AV E L T I P S
haunted dolls and more at Paracon 2022
82
magazine
Paranormal tours nearby
PARACON
| explorations
Horror of horrors FAMOUSLY HAUNTED ANNABELLE DOLL ON DISPLAY AT PARANORMAL CONVENTION
B
By Mary Ellen Fillo efore she leaves for her upcoming appearance at Mohegan Sun, this celebrity will be gingerly blessed with holy water and painstakingly positioned in a specially prepared six-foot-high crate engraved with the Lord’s Prayer, a crucifix and the prayer to
St. Michael the Archangel. And then, once settled into her special spot in the Mohegan Sun ballroom, Annabelle, the notoriously creepy—and purportedly haunted—movie star from Connecticut, will be ready to receive her audience at the second annual “The Warrens Seekers of the Supernatural Paracon 2022” taking place October 29 at Mohegan Sun. Annabelle, the demonic doll made famous by The Conjuring horror films, and a few other chilling characters are expected to be the VIPs at the event. “We are expecting about 3,000 to 5,000 people at the event this year,” said Tony Spera, son-in-law of the late, famed paranormal and supernatural experts Ed and Lorraine Warren, who eventually put Annabelle in their now-closed Occult Museum in Monroe. “The paranormal has become mainstream,” said Spera, co-director with his wife, Judy, of the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) and president of Para-Con Entertainment, producers of the event. “Thanks to social media and TV shows on the phenomena, and better technology in the field, there is more interest,” he said. “We sold out last year’s event, so when we planned for this year’s Paracon, we knew we had to go to a bigger location.” General admission includes presentations by guest speakers, including Nick Groff of the television show Paranormal Lockdown, and his wife Tessa DelZoppo Groff of LIVE! With The Other Side gallery show; brothers and demonologists Keith and Carol Johnson from television’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 86
The “real” Annabelle doll, the purportedly demonic Raggedy Ann doll that inspired the Annabelle horror films, as well as the prop doll from the movies, right, will be on display at The Warrens Seekers of the Supernatural Paracon October 29 at Mohegan Sun. photo courtesy of the Occult Museum
october 2022 83
explorations | PARACON
Husband-wife team seeks answers to unknown 84
magazine
A
By Mary Ellen Fillo
NICK: I also had a near-death experience when
mong the guests who will be featured at
I was 8. According to my mom, I would talk to
this year’s The Warrens Seekers of the
people who weren’t in my room, and I had a lot of
Supernatural Paracon 2022 event at Mo-
paranormal experiences at home. I also became
hegan Sun on October 29 are married
fascinated with aliens and UFOs by the age of 13,
couple Nick and Tessa Groff. Nick Groff, a para-
so I decided to start exploring all of the different
normal investigator, has been featured on a va-
phenomena. In college, I created a documentary
riety of television series including Paranormal
because I wanted to see if ghosts exist. The docu-
Lockdown and Ghost Adventures. The two also
mentary turned into a worldwide success, which
host a popular online series Deadtime with the
led to the series Ghost Adventures.
Groffs. They recently took a few minutes from the paranormal to answer some questions.
TDM: Are you working on another show? NICK: Yes. I currently have a successful show air-
TDM: What will you be doing together at
ing in the UK and Canada called Death Walker.
Paracon?
There are 40 episodes coming here to the United
NICK: Tessa will be doing readings. She is a psy-
States as well.
chic medium so she will be doing her LIVE! With The Other Side gallery show where she will be
TDM: Why do you think events like Paracon
relaying messages from the other side. Following
have become so popular?
that, Tessa and I will be doing a Q&A session
TESSA: I personally feel paranormal conventions
where the audience can ask all of their paranor-
are where people can meet others like them-
mal questions.
selves, people who are open to the paranormal and all the things that were once taboo. Some of
TDM: What is a paranormal investigator?
these events bring people from all walks of life
NICK: I view paranormal investigating as seek-
together because they share this common inter-
ing answers to the unknown. Using different
est. It also allows people to learn from those who
devices, abilities—such as Tessa’s ability to hear
work in the paranormal field every day.
and see spirit—to find some clues as to what happens when we die.
TDM: What is your answer to those who say this is all a shell game?
TDM: How did you become interested in the
TESSA: Although everyone is entitled to their own
paranormal?
opinions and beliefs, I feel it’s a bit naive to believe
TESSA: At the age of 4 I had a near-death expe-
there is nothing else out there. I believe the major-
rience which I believe enhanced my ability as
ity of people have some type of paranormal expe-
a medium. I began seeing and hearing them
rience they cannot explain during their lifetime.
daily and decided to develop my ability when I
I think a level of skepticism is good, but there is
was in my teens. I began getting called to para-
so much evidence out there that something must
normal cases, criminal investigative cases, like
happen when you die. My ability as an evidential
missing persons and homicides, and I also do
medium helps give validation that spirit can and
private readings around the world. The house I
will communicate from the other side.
grew up in was also very haunted, which led me
NICK: And with my equipment I use during
to want to learn to understand my ability more
investigations, it further validates the things
so I could find some answers as to what happens
Tessa picks up on as well as experiences other
after this life.
people may have at a location.
october 2022 85
explorations | PARACON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 83
Ghost Hunters; celebrity mind reader the Amazing Kreskin; and the “Cajun demonologist,” Jerome Leonard. Dozens of vendors offering crystals, books, oils, witchcraft and paranormal items, as well as services including psychic readings and reiki healing will also be featured at the event. Tickets are $35. But it is Annabelle and the other famous characters that many will come to see. In addition to the “real” Annabelle doll, entry to the Occult Museum, offered at an extra charge, will include the prop doll used in the Annabelle movies, part of The Conjuring franchise of supernatural horror flicks. Also featured as part of the museum display will be the Shadow Doll, made of human bones and animal parts and purported to leave nightmares and curses in her wake, the Satanic Idol, believed to have been used in satanic worship in the woods of Sandy Hook, and a haunted dinosaur toy, the inspiration behind the 2021 horror film, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It. “We are showing the items as a warnTony Spera, below center, who runs the New England Society for Psychic Research, is the son-in-law of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, pictured above. He is with NESPR investigators Chris Gilloren, left, and Dan Rivera. Photos courtesy of Tony Spera
ing, not as entertainment,” said Spera. “We want people to know that the devil is a real entity that causes chaos, that evil exists and it should not be taken lightly.” Paranormal investigator and television personality Erik Vitale, who lives in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport and will also be a featured guest at the convention, agrees the science of supernatural and paranormal is a serious one that more and more people are embracing. “I bel ie ve d it a l l a s a k id a nd wa s intrigued,” said Vitale, host of Travel Channel’s Ghost Loop, a paranormal investigation show. “I think there were those who hype fake stories and happenings that were not spiritually rounded and that ruined the events that were true,” said Vitale, whose recent
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work includes a documentary, Haunted Connecticut, and who works as part of the NESPR team. “I believe more and more people are starting to see the legitimacy that there is something else out there, that there are spirits that can be felt, and that it’s real, not a joke.” Spera agrees that paranormal science, often mocked, has gained traction over the years, and that attendance at events like Paracon underscores a shift in belief. “My in-laws were the pioneers of this all,” said Spera, who is still working to establish a permanent home for his in-laws’ Occult Museum. “I suspect they find satisfaction in knowing that more and more people realize they knew more than many believed they did.” Tickets, $35 for general admission, and $89 for the combination Warren Occult Museum and general admission, are available at nespr.ticketbud.com. right The “Shadow Doll” is reportedly made of human bones and animal parts and can visit you in your dreams. p hoto courtesy of the Occult Museum BELOW The exhibit will feature items from Ed and Lorraine Warrens’ nowclosed Occult Museum in Monroe, including haunted objects and toys like this dinosaur, the inspiration behind the 2021 horror film, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It. photo courtesy of the Occult Museum
october 2022 87
haunted history
explorations
TAKE A DAY TRIP TO LEARN ABOUT, MAYBE EVEN ENCOUNTER A GHOST
H
By Cris Cadiz aunted walks and ghost tours offer a com-
years with the spirits and the community.
pelling frisson of fear for all ages. Some
“I love the individual personalities of the spirits,
people even plan vacations around ghost
their stories, their legacies, and what we can learn
tours, traveling the globe to commune with
from the past,” she says. She also connects with peo-
the dead.
ple across the globe sharing stories of their paranor-
The cities of Providence, Newport and New Haven
mal encounters. “Ghosts are a cross-cultural phe-
are home to well-established companies with expe-
nomenon and I love learning about people’s experi-
rienced, entertaining guides. If you don’t already feel
ences,” she adds.
that spirits share our world, you might finish a tour as a true believer. As a child, Courtney Edge-Mattos moved with her family to a dilapidated 1700s house in a remote Vermont village. “Our home was on a small mountain, up a winding dirt road outside of town,” recalls Edge-Mattos. “During extensive renovations, we discovered the house had a few more occupants than we realized— ghosts! That experience was pivotal and cemented the spirit world as part of my world.” During college, Edge-Mattos worked as a tour guide for Newport Ghost Walk. As a theater major, she enjoyed the opportunity to blend her love of the paranormal with performance and history. Edge-Mattos (aka Ghost Mom) founded Providence Ghost Tour with a friend in 2006. Now sole proprietor, she’s still
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passionate about relationships developed over the
magazine
para pro Providence Ghost Tour is a walking, haunted his-
tory tour of the College Hill area. Guests traverse crooked streets by lamplight with a ghost guide, who
normal menades From left, Stephanie Traversa, Courtney Edge-Mattos and Kelly McCabe lead haunted walks by lantern light through Edge-Mattos’ company, Providence Ghost Tour. photo courtesy of Providence Ghost Tour
october 2022 89
explorations THE GHOST OF MIDNIGHT MARY
The tale of Midnight Mary is New Haven’s most popular ghost tale and a favorite of tour guide and storyteller Gabe Schoenberg, who tells the story: Mary Hart was a young woman in the 1870s. Some thought her bitter and cruel. Perhaps that was just the mark of a clever woman kept confined to her station for too long. One afternoon, Mary swooned, suddenly, as if her heart had decided it had had enough. To avoid contagion, in those days it was common to bury the dead as quickly as possible. By nightfall, Mary was six feet under. That night, her aunt suffered relentless nightmares about her niece’s fate, convinced they had made a terrible mistake and Mary was not dead. The next morning, the coffin was exhumed. The inside of the wooden coffin lid revealed deep scratches, marks of a desperate soul trying to dig her way out of a death as confining as life. Legend says Mary’s face, after dying of suffocation at midnight, was contorted into a furious scowl that recognized the unjustness of her fate. Today, brave souls who visit Mary’s grave at Evergreen Cemetery at midnight have reported hearing the scratching and yelling of a woman determined to escape her fate.
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below Ghost Tours of Newport’s guide stands in front of the oldest tavern building in the country, The White Horse, where a murdered traveler’s spirit still waits for revenge on the second floor of the 300-plusyear-old landmark. photo courtesy of Discover Newport right The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Massachusetts, site of the 1892 unsolved murder of Lizzie’s father and stepmother, has been preserved and looks much the same as it did when the Borden family occupied it.. photo courtesy of US Ghost Adventures
stops along the route to share haunted happenings.
a week in September and October. More details:
Participants are encouraged to take pictures to see
providenceghosttour.com.
if any spirits emerge in the images, which according to Edge-Mattos, they often do.
Larry Stanford owns Ghost Tours of Newport. His college roommate started a three-city ghost
Edge-Mattos’ favorite haunted site in Providence
tour company in Key West in the 1990s, adding
is the crypt of Annmary Brown and Christopher
Newport, Rhode Island, in 2002. Their Olde Town
Rush Hawkins at Brown University, which has been
Ghost Walk of 90 minutes features over 350 years
said to be haunted.
of Newport’s haunted history on most evenings
“Their love story has endured beyond their last breath and I adore them,” she says. “People often
from May through Halloween. The full calendar is at ghostsofnewport.com.
perceive ghosts to be frightening, aggressive or
Stanford’s favorite Newport tale involves the mis-
angry, but I find such beauty and light in so many
chievous spirit of a little girl who haunts rooms 8
of their tales.”
and 11 at the former Pilgrim House Inn on Spring
A ghostly experience on the water is an option
Street. The housekeepers, who would see a child-
for those not comfortable walking hilly streets.
shaped indentation on newly refreshed bed lin-
PGT partners with Providence River Boat Company
ens, named her Jessica. Hotel guests reported toi-
from June to November 1, and with LaGondola
let paper being unrolled and showers mysteriously
Providence for “Viaggio di Fantasme” (Voyage of
turned on. Guests also heard a music box playing,
the Spirits), which are haunted gondola rides twice
while others saw a little girl in a gray dress scurry
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explorations up the front stairs, although children were not
“ghost-hunting equipment.” Visitors may also book
allowed at the inn.
a room for an overnight stay in the house where the
According to Ghost Tours of Newport guide John Brennan, Newport features one of the country’s largest collections of historic buildings, about 800. Brennan says he’s “shared the darker side of
Tour guide and general manager Jared Robinson’s family managed the Lizzie Borden House when he was a child.
Newport’s culture and history” for nearly 20 years.
“I had many experiences watching my grand-
As an author and actor, he loves storytelling and per-
mother, aunts and cousins leading tours,” recalls
formance, and has a huge repertoire of historic tales,
Robinson, who has a background in performing arts.
which can be read in his book, Ghosts of Newport
His most memorable experience was on a recent
(available on Amazon).
92
murder occurred, now a B&B. lizzie-borden.com.
tour. “Every guest had rented EMF (electromagnetic
T h e L i z z i e B o r d e n H o u s e i n Fa l l R i v e r,
field) detectors, so we were seeing spikes at different
Massachusetts, is the location of the renowned
times throughout the tour,” he says. “While gathered
unsolved murder mystery from 1892, when Lizzie
around the dining room table, everyone’s EMF detec-
was suspected of hacking her family to death with
tor began to spike simultaneously and then the lights
an ax. Guides at the house offer a haunted history
went out, leaving us in pitch black with only small
tour of the neighborhood and a “Ghost Hunt” from
green LED lights emanating from our ghost-hunting
10 p.m. to midnight—a hands-on experience with
gear. The room was silent—everyone was too terrified
magazine
to scream. After about 35 seconds, the lights came back on and we carried on with the remaining portion of our tour. The lights never went off in any other room.” Ghosts of New Haven also offers an out-
left At night, the entire mood changes for spooky ghost hunts throughout the first floor and basement of the Lizzie Borden House. p hoto courtesy of US Ghost Adventures below Ghost Guide John Brennan in costume on the way to a tour in Newport. photo by Michelle Brennan
door tour with costumed guides sharing ghost lore and historical facts. Manager Gabe Schoenberg got into ghost stor y telling while attending New York University. “So many places in New York City are said to be haunted,” says Schoenberg. “I started visiting locations and giving ghost tours as a way to connect with others who also felt there were spirits at these locations trying to speak out.” After moving to New Haven, Schoenberg continued his quest to connect with ghosts as well as others curious about the great beyond. Founded in 2013, the company is New Haven’s longest-running paranormal experience and includes stops at Yale’s Skull & Bones Society, Stanley Milgram’s famous laboratory, and a hidden cemetery at New Haven Green. The tour is about an hour and a half long and covers about a mile of walking. Find out more and book tickets at ghostsofnewhaven.com. Two more ghostly tours to consider in southern New England: Spirits of Milford Ghost Walks, in Milford, is owned and operated by Cindy Wolfe Boynton, author of a book about the Connecticut witch trials. She is also a longtime researcher and believer in the supernatural. spiritsofmilford.com Block Island Ghost Tours focuses on the haunted history of Block Island with an eye on historical accuracy, offering spooky New England fun from summer through autumn. blockislandghosttours.com
october 2022 93
interview INFLUENCERS
Hopeville Pond, Griswold. Photo by Lisa Harraka
Q&A
get to know Russell Holmberg
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magazine
Russell Holmberg CEO OF HOLMBERG ORCHARDS
photo by erica moser
R
By Erica Moser
much of what we do involves dealing with the general
ussell Holmberg grew up at Holmberg Or-
public,” but it ended up being “a completely different
chards in Ledyard, and he recalled that when
experience than what we expected.”
he would ask his father, “Hey Dad, what are
The past two years have been busy, as Holmberg
you doing?” the response was always, “I’m
Orchards pivoted to online ordering and started to
just putting out fires.” Holmberg’s reaction
get more into prepared foods.
the first time he heard that, before he knew what the idiom meant, was, “What caught on fire?”
This came on the heels of decades of other changes, as Holmberg worked alongside his parents, Richard
He is now 40 and the CEO of Holmberg Orchards,
and Diane, and sister, Amy. Adding hard ciders and
where he lives with his wife, Christine, and two kids,
wines was his brainchild, and gewurztraminer and
Andrew and Heidi. While every day is different, he
pinot blanc grapes are now grown on the property.
says “putting out fires” is the short answer to what a
One thing that’s on pause this year, though, is the
day in his life is like on the farm, which grows about
popular Find the Wine corn maze, which Holmberg
60 acres of fruit.
said “has turned into a project a little bit bigger than
It’s an expression that may be well-suited to
we can manage and continue to farm successfully.”
farmers throughout history, but it seems especially
But Holmberg said he’s always looking for ways to
fitting that he was saying this 29 months into a global
fill out the visitor experience, especially in the summer
pandemic and two days before Gov. Ned Lamont
and fall, and a lot of conversations end with, “Hmm,
declared Stage 3 drought conditions in New London
there’s some opportunity there.”
County. When the pandemic hit, Holmberg said, “we weren’t sure if we were going to be in business, because so
He sat down with TDM recently to talk a little about his operation, its history and plans for the future.
october 2022 95
interview | Q&A TDM: You’re a fourth-generation farmer. Tell me a bit about
TDM: You have kids of your own now. What’s their
the history of Holmberg Orchards and your family history.
experience like growing up on the farm, and how is that
RH: The property has been in the Holmberg family since
both similar to and different from your own experience here
the late 1800s. My great grandfather bought it when he
as a kid?
emigrated from Sweden. At the time, it was a farm that was
RH: My kids are 7 and 9, so my kids have all the oppor-
kind of in foreclosure, and they started rehabbing it. My
tunities that I had and then some. The diversification of
grandfather and his family ran the business as a truck farm,
the farm affords them a diversification of experience. But
selling to Norwich and New London markets principally,
where our experience is common is that I have the same
so a truck farm would be produce, strawberries, things like
zeal for adventure that my father did, so when we see
that, flowers.
things that could be a fun thing or a project, the kids get to
In ’35, they planted our first apple trees, and they did apples and chickens for about 30 years or so, and it was
go along with dad on that adventure. The joke around the house is, “My wife and her three children.”
principally, at that point, a wholesale apple operation. My
We have a lot of late-night golf cart rides, and when the
father and mother started running the business in the late-
snow comes, we have the equipment to make the “uber
’70s or so. That’s when we started to see the transition from
super jumbo snow fort,” because we’ll pile it up with the
farms of this size and scale being economically viable as a
front-end loaders. They’re young enough now to maybe not
wholesale operation to being more economically viable as
know that it’s unique, or not know what they have, and we
a retail operation.
cherish that right now.
Now we have a season that starts in June or so, with berry-picking. In the summertime, doughnuts have been a big
TDM: Tell me a bit more about the winery. Where did you
thing in the past couple years. I added and established the
get the idea to do that, and what was the process like of
wines and hard ciders about 15 years ago, so that’s a big
getting that up and running?
part of our fall market (see related story, “Apples on tap”.
RH: I have a degree in horticulture from the University of Connecticut; I came back to the farm in 2004. My mom’s
TDM: What are some of your fondest memories as a kid,
a chemistry teacher, and I took chemistry recreationally.
growing up on the farm?
And along the way, I befriended a college professor who
RH: I was born and raised on the farm. It was an incredibly
did agriculture recreationally, and between the two of us,
unique way to be raised, and an incredibly special place to
we developed this friendship. His interest and passion was
be raised. It afforded me a lot of opportunities that frankly
viticulture and winemaking.
a lot of other kids didn’t have, but the opportunities were
I came back and said, “Hey, we can do something here.”
the unique and the tangible. It was a lot of tractor seat
I started working on a business plan and working on hard-
memories, riding with my dad on a tractor seat.
ware. At the time, the craft thing was just starting to con-
My first-grade or kindergarten teacher pulled my parents
geal, but it hadn’t yet hit ciders. You had to be a winery
aside because they thought I had this wonderful imagina-
to make ciders, so I established that, and we started mak-
tion, because I’d tell these stories of crawling over equip-
ing cider and fruit wines back in 2007-ish, and it was just
ment and cranes and junkyards and everything else. My
a smidge ahead of our time. It’s been very successful ever
parents had to calm her down and say, “No no no! That is
since, especially with the hard ciders.
indeed the case; he has all those adventures.” Just having
96
the space to grow and engage with the world was super
TDM: What impact have you seen from the drought this
fantastic and it has no doubt made me the person I am.
summer?
I remain a very tactile person, wanting to work with my
RH: Oh my gosh. Did you notice my gray hairs? They belie
hands, wanting to build and create, and what a canvas we
my age. This is, far and away, the worst drought I have
have here.
ever seen.
magazine
We’re very fortunate for the soils we have, so the trees
cool Friday night is we’ll do a campfire with the kids, and I
tend to be resilient, and we had a light-ish crop growing
put hot cider with mulling spices in it, and this is so simple,
into the drought, so our fruit size doesn’t look too bad right
but Earl Grey tea works amazing in that.
now. If we don’t get some rain, I’m going to really start to
Our apple crisp has become a real signature dish, and it’s
worry, as if I wasn’t already, and then we’re starting to deal
going to sound pitchy to be like, “That’s one of the favor-
with problems I’ve never seen before, things like bird pecks.
ite things I make,” but whenever we go anywhere or we’re asked to bring a dish, that’s what I’ll make.
TDM: Bird pecks? RH: Bird pecks, yeah. We’ve always had issues with birds
cold to work outside, so about November, and I was in high
and berry crops, but they don’t usually eat apples. They
school or so, I would help out at nights in the bakery, and I
can’t digest the sugars in apples, or they can’t do it well,
learned how to roll pie dough, and I’ve never forgotten that.
so that’s kind of their last resort. Well, it looks like they’re
I can make a pie dough without a recipe, and I can roll a pie
onto their last resort, because they’re searching for water.
dough with my eyes closed.
I’m proud of my pie-making ability. As soon as it got too
We do not really sleep easy—and that’s not a turn of phrase, that’s legit—until the last apple is either at retail or
TDM: What are your favorite things to explain to people
in the cold storage, which is about the first of November.
about how the fruit here grows and about horticulture?
Until then, something can get us.
RH: Horticulture is this beautiful marriage of science, principally, but artistry, and it’s something that takes a gener-
TDM: On a happier note, what are some of your favorite
ation or a lifetime to really learn and master. It’s a turn of
recipes to make with fruit grown here?
phrase within fruit growing: You might have 30 shots at it.
RH: We make sweet cider. That’s one of my more favorite
It’s not like a lot of trades where it’s like, “Oops, I botched
things to do on the farm, is to press apples into cider. One
that one.” You got 30 years, maybe, to try it, and if you
of the things I really look forward to when we get our first
screw something up one year, that’s it for the year. There’s all these fascinating little quirks of the “hows and
photo by Catherine Dzilenski
the whys” things grow. Trees naturally self-select how much fruit’s going to be on them, and no one knows why. It’s the strangest thing. In June every year, consistently, trees shed a portion of their fruit, but by how much varies. Why is that? We have cars that can drive themselves. We literally put a man on the moon, and the best scientists in that field are like, “We don’t really know.”
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