A Picturesque Connecticut Town With Parks And Ponds Is Home To A Chilling Vampire Legend

"The gristly, gristle-grinding ghouls of Griswold." It's too bad that the Jewett City Vampire legend doesn't come equipped with that alliterative moniker. Rather, that legend and its town, Griswold, Connecticut (population: 11,700) are home to a tale of deteriorating children, exhumed corpses, and purported vampirism. This legend has helped transform picturesque Griswold — located a short 15-minute modern drive from Norwich, an hour from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, and about 45 minutes from Providence, Rhode Island — into a unique and macabre tourist site. In addition to Griswold's ponds and parks, visitors can view the graves of the supposedly vampire-hunted Ray family at a cemetery that's unmarked on Google.

But truth be told, the story of the Ray family is far more sad than ghastly. In what was simply a case of bad luck, members of the local Ray family started dying of tuberculosis in the mid-1800s. The youngest Ray son, Lamuel, died in 1845, followed by his father, Henry Sr., in 1849. Another son, Elisha, died in 1851, and finally the family's oldest son, Henry, Jr., in 1854. In what must have been a frantic scramble to find answers amidst tragedy, the Rays concluded that vampires were to blame for their sorrow. They also might have taken clues from an earlier vampire scare in nearby Hopeville some 50 years prior. Regardless, the family dug up Lemuel and Elisha and burned the bodies in the hopes of ending their undead terror.

Visitors to Griswold can still visit the Rays in the aforementioned cemetery, Jewett City Cemetery. And in a totally contrary move, they can also take in the serene Ashland Pond and the larger Hopeville Pond attached to Hopeville Pond State Park. Just take care not to wander too much at night in case vampires still lurk nearby.

Fans of the macabre will be delighted to infiltrate Jewett City Cemetery in Griswold while on a tour of the town. The cemetery is tucked away behind an apartment building on Anthony Street off of South Main Street, north of the Quinebaug River, less than a quarter-mile from the road. It's open to the public, closes at sundown, and is maintained by the Jewett City Cemetery Association. And in case you're wondering, Jewett City was the home of the Ray family and the cemetery until the city became a borough of Griswold in 1895 – hence the name.

The rest of Griswold isn't exactly a spooky afair, except perhaps for an excellently dilapidated wooden building on Rhea Street and the Slater Library along Main Street. An imposing, Romanesque Revival structure rebuilt in 1884, the part church-looking, part manor house-looking building looks like it was made to be haunted, or at least host Halloween events. On that note, New London County (where Griswold is located) and surrounding counties host tons of small, local, family-friendly, but sometimes creepy, events around Halloween that are totally worth visiting, right down to classic hayrides and corn mazes. 

And if you're disappointed that you haven't spotted a vampire on your journey, you could always stop by Buttonwood Farm (just south of Griswold) to see a ghost. Rumor is that the farm's original owner, Old Man Simon, still tends his garden and orchard at odd hours. Sadly, Old Man Simon won't be able to partake in Buttonwood Farm's 50 flavors of homemade ice cream, but you can. You can even drive down Griswold's pretty, brick building-filled Main Street, reminiscent of so many distressingly beautiful Connecticut main streets, like Ridgefield's or Middletown's.

As soon as you're done with all of Griswold's creepy vampire businesses, you can get down to enjoying some of the best of what the town, and Connecticut on a whole, has to offer. We're speaking of Connecticut's exceptional parks, which cannot be overpraised. From the easy-going hikes of Lover's Leap State Park with its red-painted, iron bridge, to the panoramic views at Talcott Mountain State Park, Connecticut's green spaces shine — particularly in autumn when they turn auburn, golden, and crimson.

Hopeville Pond State Park, adjacent to a 137-acre pond of the same name, makes an excellent outing once you've explored the dark side of Griswold's past. Less than 10 minutes east of Griswold along Route 201, Hopeville Pond affords visitors a prime fishing location. It's also great just for lounging under trees or paddling onto the water. The park has 80 camping spots, 11 of which have water and electric connections for RVs, and precisely one cabin that sleeps four people and requires a three-night minimum. And if any fanged person comes by at night asking you to let them in, be sure to say no. You could also always escape by heading to the small and pristine Ashland Pond inside Griswold, which offers fishing and boating.

But if you want to get back to the macabre after finishing all of these cloyingly pretty outings, take heart. You can combine a nice hike with tales of horror by heading to Gay City State Park, about 45 minutes away from Griswold. The park is home to stories of strange religious rituals, a skeleton found in a charcoal pit, and a decapitated blacksmith apprentice. Good times were not had by all.