Urban Legends in a Rural Town

Urban Legends - Every place has them, from bustling city centers to the outskirts of rustic towns. In some places, like Sleepy Hollow, New York, this local lore is embraced and celebrated for the uniqueness it adds to the area. In other places where these legends take on a more ominous tale, like that of “Dudleytown,” in Cornwall, Connecticut, locals would rather see the rumors buried deep in the past. Ah, but urban legends are like zombies… no matter what you do, they just don’t die. The thing about urban legends is that while their present-day version may not be based in much reality, like any good story that grips our attention, there’s always some truth speckled in to the mix.

There is no end to the bits and pieces that get added on to these legends, and in a similar fashion to the game of telephone, there’s no control over what comes out the other side. By very definition, an urban legend is a “story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms.” Many of these stories do however, at their very core, have some basis in historical fact… but that’s if you can even find their core anymore. Eventually whether rooted in history or mostly fabricated, these stories take on a life of their own. But as fanciful as these legends sound to most, there are enough instances where stories written off as mere urban legend get a jolt of reality to reignite their fire. For example, take those stories of alligators living in New York City’s sewer system. Or the crazy folks in our state who said they encountered mountain lions roaming the area. These claims are disregarded by most - because of course those things just don’t really exist - until Aug 26, 2010 when an alligator WAS pulled out of a sewer in New York, or June of 2011 when a mountain lion WAS found here in Connecticut. And these are just a couple of the most recent incidents.

Most of what has become the urban legend associated with the Downs Road area of Woodbridge, Bethany, and Hamden is blamed solely on the modern backwoods parties of teenagers, but in fact the stories of strangeness date back much farther than any of that. Farther even than the infamous ax murder that took place on the road in 1847. Farther even than when the first colonial settlers in the area wrote accounts of devilish creatures lurking in the woods. Farther back to a time when the area was home to Native American tribes. Believe it or not, many of the legends of today can be traced back to the folklore of these often forgotten Native American cultures. And there just so happens to be ancient lore from this area that speaks of strange creatures and unusual happenings in the woods of this rustic location, so those who assume these urban legends are only creations of modern times are about 500 years off.

Native American tribes that inhabited the area where Downs Road now sits tell legends of strange creatures that were believed to exist in the woods there. Called Pukwudgies, these 2-4 feet tall human-like creatures had supernatural abilities and were known to attack and lure people to their deaths. But that’s not all… Pukwudgies controlled other creatures called Tei-Pai-Wankas which were believed to be the souls of dead Native Americans killed by the creatures. The area that some of these stories originated from includes the woods around what we today call Lake Watros, Lake Chamberlain, and Lake Bethany, which interestingly enough is also the area where some people have reported sightings of strange creatures, today described as “small Bigfoot-like creatures,” which adds a modern-day reference for those who would not have known about the Native American legends. Numerous people, including local residents, have also reported encounters with spectral figures on the roads and in the woods of this same area over the years. We often forget that this land was once Native American land, and that their legends predate ours, so it’s exciting to her some claims of unusual encounters in this area that share such similarities with these old stories. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the Pukwudgies and Tei-Pai-Wankas of Native American legend was more than just fictitious creation? Perhaps they are lurking somewhere out in those woods after all.

This area of Woodbridge and Bethany is rural today, so one can only imagine what it must have been like when colonists began settling there in the 1600s, and it wasn’t long after that when stories of strange creatures began to be circulated. Some of these stories, specifically those which spoke about creatures with glowing eyes that would let out blood curdling screams in the middle of the night, have been explained away as Fisher Cats, but that’s not the only colonial stories of creatures from this area. There were many colonial-era accounts that spoke of a creature that was certainly no Fisher Cat. It was frequently described as the size of a bear, with glowing eyes, powerful enough to attack and carry away small livestock, and sometimes able to either leap quite high or even fly! So what makes these creature claims so interesting? Well, around the same time that this was being written about, a few hundred miles south in New Jersey there were similar stories being reported. These stories are what has become the legend of the Jersey Devil, but those weren’t the only devil stories that shared links. A hundred miles to the north, in Massachusetts, there were also colonial stories that matched these accounts. Is this where stories of a “Downs Road Monster” find their origins? The last era that one can find claims of involving sightings of creatures like this and from the Downs Road area seems to be the mid-1970s. Could some creature have actually existed in this area at one point… and could it still be lurking out there?  

Aside from creature encounters, the other stories of strangeness from the Downs Road area involve spectral figures being sighted there. These stories aren’t only limited to Downs Road, and in fact have been written about up and down Route 69, Sperry Road, and some of the side streets as well. If tragic events lead to ghosts roaming an area, than it’s no surprise there are numerous phantom sightings here. Route 69 has had a tragic history itself with many fatal car accidents which do oddly seem to take place in the same area that people have reported seeing ghosts on the side of the road. And tragedy in this area can’t be discussed without taking note of the ax murder that happened at the corner of Downs and Brooks Road. Charles Sanford made the mistake of trying to reason with a madman wielding an ax in 1847, which as you can imagine didn’t turn out well for him in the end, adding a bit of disturbing history to the Downs Road area, and to the legend that has grown there. But this intersection is not only known for ax murders, it is also known for sightings of strange things in the skies above.

Our final story of strangeness that can be found linked to the Downs Road area is that of several rather descriptive sightings of UFOs in the sky above. From 1954 through 2011 there were a total of 17 UFO sightings reported in the area of Downs Road – 7 of which occurred along the road itself, especially at the same intersection as the ax murder took place, which where one has an unobstructed view over Lake Watros. One good thing about being in such a rural location is that there is very little lighting pollution around, giving observers a great view of the night sky. The objects reported have ranged from small orb-like lights floating across the sky to large craft seen hovering over Lake Watros, before slowing drifting away in the direction of Hamden. And although UFO sightings are far more modern reports of unusual activity in this area, it is interesting to also mention that UFOs are frequently sighted in areas that were once considered to be Native American sites.

Whether you believe that modern urban legends hold any truth, or you are content to dismiss them all as fictitious tales, it’s always interesting to dig in to the history of areas with stories before just assuming that any claims are merely contemporary creations. What you find my fascinate you, it may just frighten you, but you will always come away learning a little about local history and just what may exist in your own backyards. And no matter where you live there are always local urban legends that stand the test of time and leave you wondering… what if there is truth to any of them?