The Dudleytown Curse

If there was ever a supernatural story which personally affected me, it is the story of Dudleytown. My maiden name is Dudley and as I grew and introduced myself, people would often say like Dudleytown. The name and town itself speak of the past and whether I enjoy it or not, speaks of my family. As an author myself, I have always believed the best way to tell the story is to tell the past connected to it. That past begins with a curse.

The past of Dudleytown does not begin in America. Instead, it begins in England in 1510 during the reign of King Henry VIII when Edmund Dudley was beheaded for trying to overthrow the King. It was then that King Henry VIII allegedly uttered the curse that would follow the Dudley line to America. The curse stated that all Dudley descendants would be surrounded by horror and death.

The curse seemed well underway when Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley and claimed the throne of England and Ireland from July 10-19, 1553 under the advice of her husband and father-in-law John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. Her reign only lasted nine days, earning her the title of the nine days queen. Jane Grey, her husband, Guildford and Lord John Dudley would all lose their heads.

Adding to these misfortunes is the story of John Dudley’s son, Ambrose Dudley who returned to England from battle in France, bringing a plague that killed thousands. All of these events gave credence to the Dudley curse.

There was also John Dudley’s 3rd son, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who was one of Elizabeth’s favorites. He would face scrutiny and suspicion when his wife Amy Robsart fell down the stairs. Many believed she was pushed so Robert Dudley would be free to marry Queen Elizabeth. The marriage never happened, and he left England. His son, William, settled in Guildford, Connecticut.

This history is what leads us to Dudleytown. The land that would become Dudleytown was originally owned by Thomas Griffis who bought the land in the 1740s. Because of the land’s heavily shadowed forest, it was given the name of Dark Entry Forest. In 1747, William Dudley’s son Gideon Dudley was the first of the Dudley family to purchase land there. His brother’s Abiel and Barzallai also purchased land nearby. A few years later, Martin Dudley from Massachusetts also purchased a plot. He later married Gideon’s daughter. Besides the name of the township, these are the connections between the Dudley family and Dudleytown though other families also lived there, and many allegedly suffered because of it.

In 1799, Abiel Dudley’s friend, Gershon Hollister, fell while building a barn for William Tanner resulting in his death. Tanner insisted that a strange animal had killed Hollister. Eventually, Tanner would go insane with talks of demons and strange beings in the forest. Abiel Dudley himself suffered from dementia and spoke of demons and beings in the forest until his death in 1799 at the age of 90. He was the only brother who remained in Dudleytown.

Sarah Faye was a resident in 1804. She was struck by lightning outside her house and died. Her husband, revolutionary war hero, General Herman Smith went insane.

Nathaniel Carter who lived in Dudleytown between 1759 and 1764 was gone on a business trip when his wife and infant child were murdered by Native Americans. He then moved back to New York with the rest of his family where he was murdered.

Even more residents of Dudleytown suffered losses, death and insanity. Wife of presidential nominee, Horace Greeley committed suicide a week before election in 1872. She had grown up in Dudleytown. Greeley lost to Ulysses S. Grant.

The final resident in town, John Patrick Brophy faced tragedy when his wife died of consumption and his two children wondered into the forest never to be seen again. His house also burned down in a mysterious fire.

Finally, in 1900, Dr. William Clarke purchased property in Dudleytown. In the Summer of 1918, Mr. Clarke left for 36 hours on business only to return to his distraught wife claiming that there were strange creatures in the forest. She spent the rest of her life in a mental hospital.

The question remains if these events occurred because of the Dudley curse or something else? Local historians have come up with another explanation. Dudleytown was built on land originally occupied by the Mohawk nation as sacred land suggesting the strange occurrences happened for another supernatural reason.

No matter the reason, we still must ask if the Dudleytown curse is real? The truth is, I don’t know. The other question is if the Dudley family curse is real? As a Dudley, I suppose that depends on who you ask. Have I dealt with horror and death? Yes. But it could be attributed to the large size of the Dudley family. Any family of this size would suffer some horror and death. Is it an abnormal amount? Sometimes, it feels that way. But do I feel cursed? No. As for the rest of my family, you’ll have to ask them.

If you are planning on visiting Dudleytown, I must warn you, it is forbidden and anyone who tries will face trespassing charges. So, my advice is do not take that chance.