Another summer passes and aside from a few trespassing artists, the former popular destination that was Pleasure Beach continues to be like a ghost town, slowly rotting away.

We’ve all seen it while driving along either Route 8 or I-84 through Waterbury: the huge crucifix high atop Pine Hill. Many already know about it, but the 50-foot high cross marks the spot that was once Holy Land USA. UPDATE: We make the pilgrimage to Holy Land and return bearing numerous photos.

When it comes to castles in Connecticut, it is often thought that the list starts with and ends with Gillette Castle in East Haddam — as it turns out, there’s another lesser-known one which probably doesn’t get the recognition quite simply because it has fallen into disrepair.

For over 60 years, Fairfield Hills State Hospital in Newtown was home to the mentally ill. Now it sits empty and abandoned, holding only the dark secrets of its troubled residents who are long gone. Or so everyone wants to believe.

One of the lesser-known sites in Connecticut is the Little Genesee Settlement. Genesee is a dual curiosity — an abandoned Colonial-era settlement and potentially an astronomical calendar or spiritual complex of sorts.

Getting inside the abandoned sections of this mental hospital is said to be pretty difficult (though I’m pretty sure I could get myself admitted without too much trouble!). Lucky for me, I ran into a bored and amicable State Trooper who let me inside.

One of the most renowned damned places in Connecticut is the abandoned — and allegedly cursed — village of Dudleytown. Over the years, there has allegedly been everything from suicides to demonic possessions, ghostly spirits to dreadful feelings, and all the hysterical drama in between. In short, it has become the Connecticut damnation destination.