Most times, I don't need to be told that I might be in danger.

WRKI and WINE logo
Get our free mobile app

I usually get a gut feeling that something isn't right, long before I know what that something is. This is a trait that scientists believe all of us have, we can sense a threat in fractions of a second.

Back in 2021, researches at the University of Toronto released study results on human threat assessment. One of the researchers, Professor William Cunningham, spoke with Phys.org and said:

"We have known for some time that people can quickly respond to —in far less than a second. But we don't really know how people can do this for complex stimuli. This research provides a hint that maybe we use cues that begin a response before we fully know what we are looking at."

When I saw the photo below, I had one of those feelings, this is not a place I ever want to be. The photo was posted to CT Reddit on March 11, 2023 with the headline: "Cult marking from movie inside an abandoned house in CT." The post came from u/donald_pimental

 

Cult marking from movie inside an abandoned house in CT [OC]
by u/donald_pimental in Connecticut

The post left me with a ton of questions, is that a real cult symbol? What movie? Where? Was the film actually shot in this house, or did the movie inspire someone to carve it into the floor of a random abandoned home? Or, was this carved into a home, left abandoned and then filmmakers decided they had a location complete with authentic cult symbols?

One the respondents asked an important question. @goddamnzilla wrote "well now i have to know which movie... what is it from?" The response from the original poster was "Dead Souls (2012)." 

According to the Dead Souls Wiki page, the movie was shot primarily in Canterbury, CT in April of 2012. Canterbury is in Windham County.

Dead Souls goes something like this, Johnny was adopted and didn't know it but on his 18th birthday he finds out. Not only was he adopted but he also inherited a home in Maine, from his real family. He accepts the home, goes there and learns that his real family was murdered in the house. Then, creepy stuff happens. The movie was adapted from a book and aired on the now defunct Chiller TV.

Soon after watching the trailer (above) for the third time, I realized the entire movie was available on Youtube (below).

Then, I began watching the movie when I was really supposed to be "working." I gathered the self control to shut it off and do the research (clicking). The mouse clicking led me to a Facebook page called All About Filming Locations. There was a post about "Dead Souls" right on the top, that read:

"This abandoned 1700's farmhouse and property was used in the filming of the 2012 horror movie "Dead Souls." It was very eerie walking around because a lot of the props from the movie were still there!"

Youtube/J&M Explorations
Youtube/J&M Explorations
loading...

There was also a link to this Youtube video from J&M Explorations that answered all of my questions.

Either the filmmakers or the Youtube exploration team duped me into watching, and publicizing their work. I'm OK with that because I got a nice break from reality.

CONCLUSIONS:

  • The farmhouse is a real place in Canterbury, CT.
  • The props and markings were left behind by filmmakers.
  • Cult symbol = NOT REAL
  • I 100% need to visit this house despite my earlier gut feelings and statements about threat assessment.
  • If you're interested in visiting it, you should know it's 1 hour, 48 mins by car from Danbury, CT.
Youtube/J&M Explorations
Youtube/J&M Explorations
loading...
J&M Explorations/Youtube
J&M Explorations/Youtube
loading...

My Brother's Keeper: The Tale of a CT Cult Leader Who Said He Was God

"Brother" Julius Shacknow was a cult leader based in Meriden, CT who convinced his followers he was the Messiah. Shacknow's cult called The Work was in operation in the 1970's and 80's according to Investigation Discovery

See Newtown Sanitarium Through the Lens of an Award Winning Photographer

Fairfield Hills Psychiatric Hospital is located in Newtown, CT. The campus has been in varying degrees of restoration/development since it closed on 1995. The Town of Newtown owns it and has turned some structures into municipal buildings while others have been leased out to private businesses. The remaining vacant structures have become magnets for ghost hunters and artists.

Recently, I spoke to one of those artists, a photographer named Bryant Abbot. Our digital talk was unique and entertaining. Abbot shared his photos, his personal story and his inspirations with me. Below are his pictures of Fairfield Hills and some of what we talked about. 

Behind the Walls of CT's Abandoned Norwich State Hospital

In this day and age, mental health treatment is serious business and in most cases, patients are treated with care and respect. This was not always the case in the U.S. and hospitals dedicated to the "mentally ill" became prisons that regularly conducted torture. America is now littered with shuttered hospitals decaying from the inside and the outside. Many believe these places still contain the dark energy left behind by the gruesome acts of the past. One of these places in Norwich State Hospital. 

More From WRKI and WINE