The high-pitched whine of two motorbikes echoed loudly through the recently logged forest. Tom, Kevin and myself paused and awaited their approach. As they appeared in the distance, I waved my arm and flagged them down. Seeing my signal, they slowed their bikes, came to a stop and shut off their engines.

“What’s the easiest way to get back to this location?” I asked the lead biker, showing them both a digital picture on my camera of a sign that read, ‘Mad River, flood control area, D.E.P., Connecticut.’

“Just follow our tracks, they’ll take you right to it,” he answered.

“Thanks,” I replied. “My friends and I are out here investigating reports of the Winsted Wild man. Have either of you ever seen or heard anything strange in these woods?”

“Yes. Actually, in the wintertime we often hear strange cries and howls, but we’ve never seen anything other than deer out here,” the lead biker acknowledged as his friend nodded in agreement.

“If you ever hear or see anything unusual again, please contact us at NESRA.net.”

“We will,” the second biker responded, starting his engine again. Off they sped, leaving us to ponder their words.

Two Teenagers Witness the Wildman

Tom had taken us to this location because it lead to the backside of a small reservoir where two teenagers, David Chapman 18, and Wayne Hall 19, had heard and seen a hairy creature ambling around, making noises that they described as being a cross between a frog and cat. It happened early one morning on July 24th, 1972. David and Wayne observed this strange creature for 45 minutes as it went about its business; they described it as being about eight feet tall and covered with hair. Both teenagers insisted that it was not a bear and that it walked upright like a man. They were able to clearly discern its limbs and its head, but none of its facial features. It crossed the road and meandered around Albert Durant’s horse barn, appearing and disappearing as it checked out the area. Eventually the tall, hair-covered figure lumbered back across the road and vanished into the forest.

Hall described the strange figure like this: “It was kind of stooped, but more upright. It was hairy. I would say black. It never crouched down; it always stood upright. Once and a while it would reach up and scratch its head.”

Two Terrified Men Approach a Winsted Officer

Two years later, on the morning of September 27th, 1974, two terrified men flagged Winsted Police officer, George Corso down at about 2:30am. Apparently, they had been parked near Rugg Brook Reservoir with their girlfriends when the so-called Winsted Wildman made its appearance again. As one of the men exited the car, a strange creature stepped out of the woods and into their line of sight and began walking directly toward their car. According to one of the witnesses, its eyes reflected the moonlight in an eerie way. They estimated that it was at least six feet tall, weighing at least 300 pounds, and was covered with dark hair. The initial witness quickly reentered the car and they sped away from the creature quickly.
 
Officer Corso drove the two terrified men back to the sighting location. As they neared their destination, one of the men exclaimed, “There it is!” The officer spun the cruiser around to get a better look but it had slipped back into the woods and was gone.

“I believe these men were terrified,” officer Corso admitted. One of the witnesses was later quoted as saying, “I will never in my life go up there again!”
Even if the monster wasn’t real, the fear these men expressed was absolutely genuine.

An Entire Century of Wildman Activity

“On the trail of the Winsted Wildman,” Tom declared enthusiastically as we huffed along, bushwhacking our way up and over a treacherous and rocky hill towards our destination. I liked the title--The Winsted Wildman--It had a “ring” to it. The locals of Winsted, Connecticut had been tossing that name around for over a hundred years.

The Winsted Wildman was first reported in the area on a hot and humid day, in August of 1895. A Winsted dignitary and Selectman named Riley Smith was walking with his trusty bulldog down Losaw Road, heading to Colebrook to transact some business. While on their way, the distinguished Selectman occasionally stopped to pick blueberries. During one of these frequent stops, in an area named Indian Meadow, Riley’s dog began to squeal and cower at his master’s side. Without warning, a tall and hairy Wildman burst out from the bushes, gave a loud cry and then retreated back into the forest yelling and screaming the whole way. Needless to say both the Selectman and his dog were startled beyond measure.

Upon returning to town, Riley shared his story and by the end of the month it appeared in the Winsted Herald. Larger newspapers in New York and Boston quickly picked up on the story and soon the whole town was in hysteria as swarms of news reporters swept into town wanting to find the Wildman. Before long, sightings of the “Winsted Wildman” were coming in from every direction. A search party of over a hundred people was even formed, but they failed to capture the mysterious visitor. The following is an excerpt from a newspaper article that describes the frenzy that took place during that time.

“One Sunday morning over 100 men and boys met at the corner of Lake and Main with all sorts of weapons and ready for the hunt. The areas to be hunted were Injun Meadow, Cobble Hill, and Losaw Road. But when they returned it was discovered that the only living thing encountered was Riley Smith's pigs running wild through the woods.

Reported sightings included George Hoskins, who said he saw the Wild Man leaving his hen house with two hens under his arms.

Jim Maddrah proclaimed he took a Kodak picture of a man with a mass of hair on his head, but none of his body. Jim explained this condition by stating his camera was so frightened it couldn't see straight.

Two ladies from New York, while in town, witnessed a large animal cross their path, turn, stand on its hind legs and stare at them. They were in belief that the Wild Man was an ape or baboon.

The chief of police, Steve Wheeler, claimed he tracked a gorilla-man into a swamp before he lost the trail and scent.

Edward Perkins of Norfolk declared he had talked with the man, and in
September, at the Agricultural Society Fair held at the Lakeside Driving Park, people expressed disappointment that they could not display the elusive Wild Man.

One taxpayer, probably a descendant of Joe Pfaefflin, expressed the hope that it was really the Devil trying to scare Selectman Smith so he wouldn't spend so much of the town's money.

The Winsted Herald noted that Smith saw a remarkably agile man who appeared to be muscular and brawny. They remarked that no ordinary man could capture this being, while suggesting the selectman should look into this incident.

Mr. Rodemeyer of the Danbury Dispatch said that the Winsted Wild Man was evolving backward." The distinction between a man and a monkey is so plain as to admit of a possibility of mistaking one from the other, even in Winsted, despite the proclamation of the Winsted scientists. We shall cling to the belief that the truthful and sober gentleman knows a man from a monkey, and that he actually saw a naked and hairy wild man in the woods near Winsted."

The Hartford Sunday Globe ran a story of an insane artist who escaped from a madhouse. It surmised the wild man was Arthur Beckwith, who escaped from Dr. Buel's sanitarium in Litchfield. Those who observed Beckwith put forward the description of the wild man that fit the madman they knew.

The Waterbury Republican gave Winsted a dig with a remark that this wild man could be Winsted's variety of the new woman. I get the feeling this remark was related to the fact that Winsted had a weekly newspaper called The Advocate, a voice for women's suffrage.

The Winsted Herald ran a story in September called ‘The Wild Men Are Coming.’

A postcard received by George Spencer: "The Skaneateles Fusileers (100 strong), with two Gatling guns and a military balloon, together with the Chemung Calvary (50 men), will arrive at West Winsted on the Vestibule Limited Train (gilt edge) via the Reading R.R. on Saturday, to inaugurate a campaign against the 'Jabberwock' or 'Wild Man.'

"Please have a very strong cage built as we expect to get the above mentioned individual and exhibit him in a dime museum. Very Truly, Colonel, Commanding."

These and many other stories about this incident made Winsted popular for many years.

Explanation of the postcard: George was being gigged by an out-of-town friend. He stated he was sending an obsolete army with edible muskets along with a chemical shoddy calvary to catch a chattering perverted man.

Note: I am convinced the original story by Mr. Smith was factual.”

NESRA is still on the trail of Winsted Wildman. If you, or anyone you know have had Wildman sightings or encounters in or around the vicinity of Winsted, Connecticut, be sure to contact us with your information.

Sources:
Passing Strange, True Tales of New England Hauntings and Horrors, by Joseph A. Citro, Copyright 1996, 1997. Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003 ISBN I-57630-018-8 [hardcover] ISBN I-57630-059-5 [softcover] pp.180-182

The story of the Winsted (Conn.) Wild Man, by Joseph Cadrain, The Winsted Voice, Howard Lake-Waverly Herald & Winsted-Lester Prairie Journal.

The article quotes appear here under the fair use
for educational purposes of copyright material.