Connecticut has yet another tourism trail, just in time for Halloween season.
Officials unveiled the Connecticut Haunted History Trail at a Wednesday reception for social media influencers at the Webb Deane Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, a town with a history of witch trials.
“This is a different side of Connecticut,” Gov. Ned Lamont told attendees.
The trail – which launches after the success of similar trails focused on oysters, beer, pizza, and Christmas movie filming locations – features more than 130 locations across the state “connected to haunted landmarks, paranormal lore, witch-trial history, and centuries of unexplained lore.”
“Trails make it incredibly easy for travelers to turn an interest into an itinerary,” said Rachel Lenda, Connecticut tourism director.
“When we create experiences like that, something else happens: People move,” Lenda said. “They come for the ghost tour and discover the restaurant down the street. They find another stop 20 minutes away. A day trip becomes an overnight. One town suddenly becomes three. Suddenly, they haven’t just visited an attraction – they’ve experienced Connecticut.”
Lenda said tourism plays a significant role in Connecticut’s economy, with the sector generating $20.1 billion in 2025.
“The ghosts may or may not show up, but the economic impact does,” Lenda said.
Lenda and Lamont highlighted that the trail includes sites related to Connecticut’s witch trial history, which is said to have begun in 1647 with the execution of Alse Young of Windsor.
“We have a witch trial history that predates Salem,” Lenda said. “In true Connecticut fashion, we were doing it first and simply didn’t brag about it enough.”
The Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692 and 1693.
“Massachusetts, they always say, ‘We did everything first, we did the Salem witch trials,’” Lamont said. “No, we were there first.”
In 2023, state lawmakers passed a resolution to “officially proclaim the innocence of Connecticut residents that were convicted of witchcraft.”
Brenton Grom, executive director of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum, which is featured on the trail, said there are real lessons to be learned from the paranormal.
“When you tell stories Connecticut has about ghosts and witches and whatever, it’s fun, but it also teaches people to think about other lives that existed in the past,” Grom said. “That’s the business that we’re in here.”
