Connecticut Unsolved Part 1
The Leather Man, the Witch, & the Windham Inn
As many other states, Connecticut certainly has its fair share of odd history and strange happenstance, some of which, such as the peculiar Leather Man and the purportedly haunted doll “Annabelle,” have entered into the sphere of mainstream popular culture through movies and television programs. Connecticut locals are no strangers to the unusual events scattered throughout its history and, though such rumors circulate mostly as urban legends and spooky campfire stories, they have long been a source of intrigue for history buffs and conspiracy theorists alike.
Perhaps the most interesting of these local myths and legends is a story very much grounded in truth: the story of the aforementioned Leather Man. As the story or, rather, history, goes, the unnamed Leather Man was a curious vagrant who, in the latter half of the 19th century, would travel a nearly 365 mile circuit along the coast of Eastern Connecticut and up to New York each year like clockwork. According to CT locals, he spoke in an unintelligible speech pattern, often muttering in gibberish to himself or others. He dressed in an outfit handmade entirely of leather, which supposedly creaked as he walked and is reported to have weighed an astounding 60 pounds. Often, he would seek out barren caves for shelter at various waypoints along his arduous route, a habit that would eventually result in his death after a particularly vicious 1889 blizzard. Later, it was theorized that the Leather Man was possibly a French or French Canadian immigrant, but little else was posited about his actual identity. Rather, he remains today as a local legend, a man shrouded in mystery and, apparently, 60 pounds of leather.
The next item on the strange CT history docket takes us to the town of Monroe, CT, wherein resides a small occult museum owned by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, home to the haunted doll Annabelle. There she remains, imprisoned eternally in a glass case on public display, for a small entrance fee of only $5.99, of course. Annabelle, an old 1970s “Raggedy-Ann” doll was moved to the Warren’s museum after a string of odd instances wherein she or, rather, the demon thought to be possessing her, terrorized a group of college students. After being moved to the museum, such coincidences continued. Only, this time, some proved fatal. A handful of motor vehicle accidents involving people that had gone to visit the demonic doll the very same day only served to solidify the idea that maybe she really is the mortal vessel of some paranormal force. The creators of popular horror movie The Conjuring, who brought Annabelle’s story to the big screen, sure seem to think so!
Annabelle, however, is not the only case of supposed ghosts, ghouls, and grims (oh my!) in Connecticut. Rather, the Windham Inn is a close contender for the most haunted locale within the state. According to legend, the Inn, built in the early 1700s and still standing today, is haunted by the ghost of Elizabeth Shaw, who murdered her own child and then herself. She is reportedly seen at least once every year, typically around winter time, and those that stayed in the Inn following the tragic circumstances of her and her child’s death reported a sense of uneasiness within its old walls. Since then, the Windham Inn has been visited by numerous paranormal investigators, all in search of Shaw’s ghastly apparition.
Finally, this brief tour of Connecticut’s paranormal scene takes us to one last stop: the Hartford Witch Trials. In the year of 1648, nearly 4 decades before the horrific witch hunts of Connecticut’s infamous neighbor, Salem, Massachusetts, a similar sense of unrest sparked to life in the town of Wethersfield, CT. Societal conflict erupted when a handful of women were accused of practicing witchcraft in direct contradiction to the church, and the townsfolk took to their torches and pitchforks with little hesitation. Some 40 “witches” were accused of practicing the dark arts and, after the uproar had died down, there had been a grand total of 16 confirmed executions. The town was left reeling in the wake of such harrowing events, only to relieve the horrors when the witch hunts started up again nearly half a century later in the next state over.
As one might expect, the CTDA houses some interesting documentation on such obscure Connecticut history. Within the repository, one can find images of the Leather Man for a first-hand glimpse at his questionable fashion sense, a singular image of the Windham Inn, and the written record of a witch hanged in Bridgeport. Furthermore, there exist a handful of articles chronicling Ed and Lorraine Warren’s paranormal investigations and inquiries throughout the state, among records of haunted railroad stations and fire stations. Though perhaps a little difficult to find without the proper search terms, these documents provide incredible insight into the decidedly weird aspects of Connecticut’s deep-rooted history. They tell a great deal about the often haunting history of Connecticut’s people, much of which survives today in the form of local folklore and stories passed down by word of mouth. No matter what you may believe, there is no denying that Connecticut’s ties to the paranormal and the occult run deep, thus lending the state a certain allure when it comes to attracting conspiracy chasers and ghost hunters.
Even still, the items mentioned in this article are barely the tip of the iceberg. From abandoned mining towns to the Jewett City vampires, there remains a great deal of Connecticut mystery yet to be discussed. There is certainly still much left to uncover, and perhaps further investigation is in order.
Only, it might be best to stay away from any Raggedy Ann dolls, just to be safe.
For more information on these infamous hauntings and strange happenings, visit the links below:
https://leathermansloop.org/2009/02/the-legend-of-the-leatherman/
https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm7KGH_Windham_Inn_Windham_CT
https://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/articles/connecticuts-witch-trials/
Connecticut Digital Archive Connect is the publication of the Connecticut Digital Archive, a program of the UConn Library. Visit https://ctdigitalarchive.org to learn more.
