A Creepy Ghost Town in Vermont, Glastenbury Is the Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of

When manhunts turn up nothing, we often turn to urban legends in Vermont. However, the original stories are usually founded on a shred of truth, so it makes you wonder about the truth behind the ghost town of Glastenbury, Vermont. Did the elements and surroundings force the community to leave, or perhaps was there always a dark presence lurking in this ghost town in Vermont?  

Nearly 250 people lived in this once-thriving community at its peak in 1880. There was a blacksmith shop, a sawmill, a store, a boarding house, and houses for the workmen. From 1873 to 1878, there was even a post office.

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, Glastenbury and the surrounding towns depended largely on cutting trees and selling wood as their major source of income. People needed wood to heat their homes as well as to cook.

With the trees cut, essentially making a path, a trolley route was created to promote tourism in the area. However, a major flood destroyed all the railroad lines and bridges.

All that time, labor, and expenses were washed away after just one season in 1898. The land was never rebuilt and people eventually moved from Glastenbury to seek opportunity in other areas. The local school, mill and homes were left empty. All that remained was an abandoned spot that would come to be known as one of the most haunted places in Vermont.

It is said that this town, which is essentially a ghost town with little left of this once-active settlement, has always had a dark history. The local Adnaik tribe would not hunt on the mountain because they said it had a dark presence.

In 1945, strange disappearances began taking place on Glastenbury Mountain. At least four people in five years have been reported to be hiking on the mountain and were never seen again.

Among them are a 75-year-old hiking guide, an 18-year-old college student, an 8-year-old boy, and a 53-year-old woman. They were never found.

Now nature is reclaiming the area that once held so many hopes and dreams, and with the eerie abandonment comes even more stories. Namely, one of Bigfoot roaming the mountains, as there have been a few reports of an 8-foot-tall hairy monster. These stories go back as far as 1879, to a New York Times article reporting a wild man sighting in a nearby area. It is said not to wear red while in the area or else you may disappear too, as Paula Welden was wearing red when she disappeared.

Would you dare hike in a place with as many unsolved disappearances as Glastenbury, Vermont?  Would you wear red? All these Vermont ghost stories make you think about the utterly strange histories some of these places have.