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The Baroque Road Church
As one drives along Highway 12 through Mooseup, Connecticut,
a tall steeple is visible over the trees to the east. While the building itself is hidden and the access road is overgrown,
it is still possible to navigate through the path on foot. About a quarter mile in, one comes upon an old forested lane
named Baroque Road.
Upon this road, directly across the street from the trail,
stands an abandoned church. The building is well-preserved in form, but the structure is no longer sound. The
stained glass windows have long been broken, removed or pilfered, and in its place, large sheets of plywood have been nailed
upon the walls.
Entry into the old church is simple. Although the
front doors are sealed with nails as well, many of the smaller windows leading into the basement are uncovered. The
grounds about are wild and overgrown, an old glass-enclosure billboard broken and laying upon the weedy lawn, still proclaiming
"Baroque Road Church".
Climbing into the basement, one must be very careful not
to fall over the massive amounts of debris piled haphazardly there, floating as it seems in a foot of water. Old furniture
and bibles litter the area as one navigates across the basement toward the stone stairway leading up to the main hall and
sanctuary. The rickety stairs lead . . .
The History
The Baroque Road Church was built in 1832 by Dutch Protestants,
led by Reverend Joshua Ryarkki, the first pastor of the church. The church burned down in 1862 and was rebuilt the following
year. In 1871, a scandal rocked the community of Mooseup, as three young ladies, Cora Hamden, Philapina Guarino, and
Hazel Ardmore, were discovered in the basement of the church, held captive. Later, it was revealed that the then-current
pastor of the church, Reverend John Nowicki, had kidnapped the women and sexually assaulted them over a two-month period,
while continuing to run church services during this time.
When formal charges were brought against Reverend Nowicki,
he escaped arrest and went back to the church, hanging himself in the sanctuary. The church was subsequently shut down
for police investigation, the authorities later discovering six bodies buried in the cellar, to this day unidentified.
All were women and investigators were sure that they were the bodies of missing women from surrounding communities.
The church never reopened.
What's Next?
According to local authorities, there are no current or
future plans for this site, although town officials are debating either completely razing the property and opening a park
or refurbishing the building and its grounds, reopening Baroque Road as a thoroughway and turning the site into a historical/
cultural center. At the moment, though, nothing is agreed upon.
GOOSEBUMP FACTOR: 85
Although it was a daytime visit to the Baroque Road Church,
I nevertheless experienced a very eerie feeling of being watched. Several times, unsettling noises occurred deep within
the bowels of the old church and I shuddered, as I imagined some creepy terror within, stalking me. Was it the restless
spirit of Reverend Nowicki?
