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Black Dog of the Hanging Hills
Roaming the woods and trails of a ridge of high cliffs known
as the Hanging Hills in Meriden, the Black Dog brings with it an interesting tale:
"And if a man shall meet the Black Dog once,
It shall be for joy,
And if twice, it shall be for sorrow,
The third time, he shall die."
Old Meriden Proverb
Circa Early 1800s
So goes the saying of the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills.
GHOST members were put to the task of drawing out the elusive Black Dog and, while we were not
very confident that one outing would actually be successful in this venture (only very few documented sightings have been
recorded over the last couple of centuries) we were sure that we could do the scouting work at the site itself. This
place, as it turned out, was nearly as elusive as the legendary canine itself.
The Investigation
One thing you should never attempt while in Meriden itself,
is to ask the locals where the Hanging Hills actually are! Did they become agitated (as the locals of Cornwall would
when asked of Dudleytown)? No. They simply have never heard of this place. For all intents and purposes,
the Hanging Hills might as well have been Angkor Wat. We traveled all about the town of Meriden, asking everyone, from
a retired postman to a full-time mechanic to a 7-11 employee. No one had ever heard of the Black Dog, let alone the
Hanging Hills. We asked approximately 15-20 different people at random. A 43-year resident (who lived in what
would later be revealed to be a neighborhood in the very shadows of the Hanging Hills) had never heard of the Hanging Hills!
If what is stated on other sites can be believed, all one
would have to do is blurt out, "Black Dog" or "Hanging Hills" and residents would swarm you, regaling anyone with instances
of the fateful legend. Unfortunately, it appears that this was merely an exaggeration. Apparently, the only reason
that outsiders know of the folklore surrounding this story is due to the listings included in various paranormal websites.
One thing is clear after all is said and done: the various stories online appear to be duplicates of the most popular
of the Black Dog stories.
Although the Black Dog legend does actually exist (GHOST members dug through many archival collections for this information) the fact is that
it does not appear to be a very active and well-known legend (at least not to the current residents of Meriden).
Regardless, GHOST was able to finally pinpoint the location of the Hanging Hills and
do a preliminary scouting of the area. Accessing the site is still a mystery (we will be making another attempt at actually
hiking the Hills within the week) for the area appears in front of you as you're driving toward it, but is then blocked by
a road, fence, cliff, set of houses, or a mall! While we were always able to keep the Hills in our crosshairs, we were
never actually able to park next to and enter them. The closest that GHOST came to the
Hanging Hills was in the parking lot of a Target department store. Driving behind the store results in a roadside fence
blocking you from the Hills, but which allows for a wonderful vista of the foreboding cliffs above you.
It took Creepy Connecticut
so long to actually find the Hills that, by the time we arrived within a stone's throw from them, it was already heavily dusk
and the cliffs were overshadowing the area where we parked the van. We noticed, at that time, a very disturbing and
curious anomaly in the rocks of the cliffs near the top of the Hanging Hills. The stone of one portion of the cliffs
was a markedly lighter shade from the surrounding stone. In this location, there appeared three caves; two side-by-side
and one beneath, centered between the two above. As we peered up at this anomaly, it took on the appearance of a
large skull. Unfortunately, the camera lens and video camera failed to get an adequate photo or still image of the skull,
but we are sure that it was there. If you look very carefully at the photo below, you will see a small white birch near
the center of the picture. Above and to the left, near the top of the cliffs, if you look closely, you should be able
to make out the faintest image of the skull, its two eyes and nose most prominent in the lighter shaded portion of the cliffs.
We will be following up to view this phenomenon again and take proper pictures of the site in broad daylight (see Natural Formations for a daylight photo of the Skull of the Hanging Hills).
Conclusion
GHOST packed up and went home
following this discovery, disappointed at the failing light, but excited at the prospect of rediscovering the site on a better
day. Rest assured, we will be bringing you updated information soon.
GOOSEBUMP FACTOR: 2
Barry A. A. Dillinger
November 7th, 2005
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| Too late to view the "skull" |
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| Close-up of the "skull" |
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