First off, Dudleytown was not actually a town. Dudleytown is an abandoned settlement located in “Dark Entry Forest." While the date is unknown when they started calling it that, the fact is that Dudleytown is part of Cornwall, CT. The area was settled in the early 1740s by Thomas Griffs and was followed by Gideon Dudley in 1753. A few years later, Barzillai, Abiel, and Martin Dudley joined them to settle.
So how did Dudleytown become known as a “ghost town?” Rumor has it that the founders of Dudleytown were descendants of Edmund Dudley, an English noblemen who was beheaded for treason during the reign of Henry VIII. Ever since then, the Dudley family believed they had a curse put on them which followed them from England to America. What they saw as a “curse” were crop failures, mental illness, and random violent deaths in the village. Records show that the land was originally occupied by the “Mohawk Nation" as sacred ground.
Now with all of this being said, where does the “haunted” part come into play? Some of it is from the family “curse." Others say it is from Ed and Lorraine Warren’s visit. The Warrens concluded Dudleytown was “controlled by something terrifying.” Personally, my thought is that The Blair Witch Project, which came out in 1999, which also centered around a haunted forest, helped create the mystery of Dudleytown.
Due to vandalism, the owners of Dudleytown have closed it to the public. If you are caught by state police, you will be fined at the very least. So you need to ask yourself; is a visit to Dudleytown worth a fine and possibly a night in jail? Only you can answer that question...