For those unfamiliar with the history of the Mark Twain House, it’s where the renowned author — Samuel Clemens in real life — lived with his wife and three daughters from 1874 to 1891. While living there, Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, in addition to other classic works. The Clemens family lived there for 17 years, until they left for Europe as a temporary recourse from serious financial problems. Following the death of daughter Suzy at age 24 from meningitis in 1896, the family was too heartbroken to continue living in the home, and sold it. It subsequently was a boarding school and library before becoming a museum dedicated to the life and career of Samuel Clemens that is open to the public year-round.

Recently, there have been reports of employees and visitors seeing the apparition of a young woman in a long white dress roaming the halls and ghostly faces in the windows; other have had their clothes tugged by unseen forces and heard the laughter of children, whispers and other unexplained noises. And it’s such claims that have brought Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson and the TAPS team out to investigate.

The episode follows the “Ghost Hunters” standard formula, beginning with case manager Kris Williams contacting Grant and Jason (who just happen to be on their day jobs as plumbers, conveniently unstopping a toilet with a camera crew in tow) to tell them about the investigation and give them an overview of what paranormal activity has been reported. The two plumbers, apparently big fans of classic American literature, are more excited than Calaveras County jumping frogs and leap in their van with the team and head over to Hartford.

Once on site, Grant and Jason meet up with Rebecca Floyd, the manager of visitor services for the Mark Twain House museum, who tells them about the history of the house, then takes them on a tour of the residence, pointing out the various “hot spots” where events have alleged to occur — the drawing room, library, Suzy’s bedroom, the master bedroom and nursery. The team then sets up their equipment in the appropriate locations, turns out the lights and begin the investigation.

Three separate teams explore the darkened house with the night-vision cameras in tow: Kris and Amy Bruni, Dustin Pari and Britt Griffith, and of course, Jason and Grant. Each group goes through the three main floors, and it seems as though each group has an odd experience or two. Not to give too much about the episode away, but various sounds are heard, a few odd shadows spotted and unusual readings are recorded on EMS meters and thermal imaging cameras. After spending the night in the house, they turn the lights on, pack up and head back to Rhode Island for the analysis.

Unfortunately, they quickly discover that the main DVR has crashed, taking a lot of their footage with it. Still, they have captured some interesting evidence. Jason and Grant are able to debunk one eyewitness claim — about fluttering curtains (a panel is loose) — and as the house is located on a busy street, it’s not a surprise that some of the moving shadows can be attributed to lights passing by outside.

During “the reveal” portion of the program, what personal experiences and evidence they haven’t lost is shared with Rebecca Floyd, who seems pleased with the findings.

Our Damned Experience: We have been to the Mark Twain House in Hartford numerous times, and aside from enjoying the architecture and history of the house, have never experienced anything otherworldly, nor seen anything unusual. Actually, we also never heard anything about the house being haunted until recently, which seems a bit convenient in light of how many local historic groups seem to be benefiting from the “our old site is haunted = increased visitor traffic” bandwagon.

Or as Sam Clemens himself said: “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with it — we enjoy both history and the unusual, so if they legitimately cross paths, we’re all for it. And paranormal activity or not, the Mark Twain House is still a highly recommended place to visit. The house itself is an architectural joy, and obviously, the personal history of such an iconic American personality as Samuel Clemens is exceptionally compelling.

If You Watch: If you’re already a fan of “Ghost Hunters,” there’s no reason why you won’t enjoy this episode, aside from the absence of Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, whose continual banter and needling usually make investigations more entertaining. (Apparently, SyFy thinks so to, and have spun the duo off on their own show, “Ghost Hunters Academy.”)

Still, it’s fun to see the TAPS team covering some renowned local ground.

Courtesy of Travel Channel

The Damned Story: If you’re not familiar with Travel Channel‘s “Ghost Adventures,” the basic premise is this — three guys (l-r, Nick Groff, Zak Bagans and Aaron Goodwin) go around the country to investigate allegedly haunted locations. They research the sites and interview witnesses before locking themselves in for the night, during which they aggressively search for and try to contact ghosts.

At the end of summer 2009, the team visited Bridgeport’s notorious Remington Arms, the former munitions factory — now abandoned — which was the scene of multiple unfortunate deaths. In addition to various lethal industrial accidents (workers falling into kettles of molten metal, ammunition inadvertently going off, etc.), there was a large explosion in 1942 that claimed the lives of seven workers. As such, many now claim the site is haunted: Shadowy figures have allegedly been seen at various spots on the property; others say they’ve heard disembodied voices and unexplained noises.

The good people at Travel Channel were nice enough to send Damned Connecticut an advance screener of this episode of “Ghost Adventures” where Zak and the boys spend the night locked down in Remington Arms.

The episode airs for the first time on Nov. 20 at 9 p.m., and obviously will be repeatedly repeated.

The description of the episode from Travel Channel:

The Remington Arms munitions factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut has been abandoned since 1986, but a dark history looms over the buildings. In a place that once was the largest supplier of munitions on Earth, mysterious explosions, electrocutions, and bodies turned to liquid in melting pots, have left the specter of death all around its confines. This investigation into the dank and decrepit Remington Arms Munitions features eyewitness accounts of fires, spirits, shadow people, and even sabotage.

Sounds like fun!

Image by Ray Bendici

Our Damned Experience: We watched the entire episode and can report that it lives up to standard “Ghost Adventures” fare. Not surprisingly, it follows the simple formula that the show has established:

• Provide a general overview of the site
• Interview various witnesses
• Scout the site during the daylight
• Lock in the three-man crew after dark with the cameras rolling
• Let the ghost adventures begin!

As you might expect, while talking about the history of the site, there are multiple shots of the dilapidated buildings that at one time comprised the bustling Remington Arms complex, illustrating just how far into decay it has fallen. In daylight under ideal summer conditions, it’s shown as the dangerous place any old munitions factory might be, with all sorts of broken windows, rotting floors and staircases, collapsing walls and abandoned machinery. In short, it’s not a place fit for four-legged vermin, let alone any place a rational human would want to visit, even if they were up on all their tetanus shots.

Oh, and as anyone who has dared go to the area of Bridgeport could tell you, the crew needs a police sweep of the site for their safety against the other types of vermin that occasionally prowl the vicinity.

They interview a few people associated with the site — the property manager and a former employee — as well as Mr. East Coast Paranormal Police himself, James Myers and our old friend (and first Damned Connecticut interviewee) Donald Carter, the author of Connecticut’s Seaside Ghosts.

The crew also takes time to trek up the road to Stratford to interview renowned ghost hunter John Zaffis, who is kind enough to show them the paranormal museum he has in his basement. Creepy, cool stuff!

Zak, Nick and Aaron find out that in addition to the dark history of Remington Arms itself, there is a cemetery across the street where a woman was alleged to have been buried alive. Extra bonus creepy!

Time comes for the investigation to begin, and the crew is locked down for the night. And in typical “Ghost Adventures” style, that’s when the real fun begins. Zak brashly challenges entities to bring it on, while Aaron and Nick take turns freaking out accordingly. With the green night-vision cameras running, they investigate the site from top to bottom throughout the night, as well as analyze some interesting footage from their stationary cameras.

Not to give too much away, but the crew sees and records a few seemingly unusual events and apparently experience a few odd moments, all of which will do nothing to dispel the reputation of Remington Arms as one of the most haunted places in Connecticut.

In short, if you like these kind of shows — and if you’re reading this, chances are that you do — and appreciate the local connection, then you should enjoy this episode of “Ghost Adventures.”

If You Watch It: As mentioned, this episode of “Ghost Adventures” is scheduled to be first broadcast on Nov. 20, 2009. After that, look for it in re-runs on Travel Channel.

The Damned Story: As you may already know, The Haunting in Connecticut was recently released on DVD and Blu-Ray. “Based on true events,” it stars Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Amanda Crew and Elias Koteas.

According to the film’s promotional site:

Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate’s THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT charts one family’s terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner’s clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover.

Now, unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family.

In addition to an unrated version of the film itself, the two-disc special edition DVD also features commentary tracks by the director, producers, writers and cast, deleted scenes and a few pretty cool extras, including:

• “The Fear is Real,” a two-part documentary about the events surrounding the haunting featuring interviews with the real-life mother from the film, Carmen Snedeker Reed, two of her sons (conspicuously not the one who the film and case revolves around) and two of her nieces who stayed at the house, as well as real-life demonologists Lorraine Warren and John Zaffis. A few neighbors, friends and other people involved with the case are also interviewed.
• “Two Dead Boys,” a behind-the-scenes featurette with the cast and crew looking at the making of the film. Kind of standard interview and inside stuff, including interviews with the director, producers and actors.
• “Memento Mori,” a fascinating look at the creepy history of post-mortem photography, which was quite popular around the turn of the 20th century. Families would regularly pose for photos with the corpses of departed parents, children, friends and other relatives.

Oh, also on the DVD is an on-screen shout out to Damned Connecticut. (We’re famous!!!) It’s in the second part of the documentary, “The Fear is Real” near the end when they are talking about how the story has drawn interest in the local community. (Steve will be happy to come to your house to sign autographs …)

Our Damned Experience: We recently had a Damned Connecticut viewing party for the DVD, and as you might expect, really enjoyed the entire package. The entire DVD is put together quite well, and offers plenty for those who are interested in this film as well as the story behind it.

“The Fear is Real” documentary, in particular, is worth watching, but as mentioned, not hearing from the person who the whole haunting revolves around sort of is a glaring omission — was he unable to participate, or unwilling? Also, author of In a Dark Place (the book commissioned by The Warrens and The Snedekers to tell the story), Ray Garton declined to be interviewed for the documentary, even though they used his comments expressed on Damned Connecticut to fuel the debate. It’s also interesting to note that there seems to have been a falling out between Carmen Snedeker Reed and The Warrens somewhere along the way. The current residents of the house also declined to be interviewed for the documentary, releasing a statement to the effect that they have had no unusual experiences and that they would appreciate it if everyone would respect their privacy.

Obviously, The Haunting in Connecticut has been quite popular on this site – and of course, we’ve tried to provide extra information about it. A few things to check out if you haven’t already:

• Our exclusive interview with Ray Garton, author of In A Dark Place, which is billed as the “true” story behind the motion picture The Haunting in Connecticut, and who has been very vocal in his skepticism about the Snedekers’ and Warrens’ claims.
• Our interview with Daniel Farrands, the producer of The Haunting in Connecticut, who talks about the film, the documentary and his career in Hollywood.
• Our interview with Nancy Boucher, the sister of Allen Snedeker, who contacted us to provide her side of the story.

If You Rent It: As we’ve said previously, the film itself is standard horror film fare, with all sorts of terror-inducing scares and starts, and lots of creepy effects. Obviously, the producers used “Based on a true story” as a launching point, and have taken quite a bit of liberties with the story to make a compelling Hollywood movie.

Make sure to get the two-disc special edition version if you are interested in viewing all the extras we’ve mentioned.

Overall, if you enjoy horror films, there’s no reason why you won’t like The Haunting in Connecticut. Tell us what you think!

Lionsgate Films

The Damned Story: As you may have heard, the film The Haunting in Connecticut is due in theaters on March 27, 2009. “Based on true events” (Hollywood-talk for “our version isn’t a faithful chronicle of actual events, but one that we’ve take dramatic liberties with to try and make scarier”), it stars Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Amanda Crew and Elias Koteas.

According to the movie’s promotional site:

Based on a chilling true story, Lionsgate’s THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT charts one family’s terrifying, real-life encounter with the dark forces of the supernatural. When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner’s clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover.

Now, unspeakable terror awaits when Jonah, the boy who communicated with the dead, returns to unleash a new kind of horror on the innocent and unsuspecting family.

So what “true story” is this movie based on?

Well, the undeniable factual part of the story is that in 1986, the Snedeker family bought a house in Southington, the basement of which had been used as a mortuary. From there, the “truth” gets a bit murky.

After the Snedekers moved in, two of their sons decided to make the basement their room — and that’s when the weirdness allegedly started. One of the the boys — whom the Snedekers said was being treated at Yale in New Haven for cancer — reported seeing the shadow of a man in the space that had been the mortuary as well as other apparitions in the room. Lights then began to go on and off by themselves, inanimate objects started to move around on their own, foul odors were encountered, unseen forces physically assaulted the family and eventually, the son became possessed by demonic spirits.

Not surprisingly, it was only a matter of time before demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to investigate the “supernatural” happenings. Being Ed and Lorraine Warren, they decided immediately the house did, in fact, have an evil presence and moved in for nine weeks to investigate. The otherworldly forces persisted until a priest was finally brought in to perform an exorcism, which apparently cleansed the boy and home. The family stayed there for two and a half years before moving out.

Lionsgate Films

As it turns out, some of the Snedekers’ claims have not held up well, the most critical of which was that their son was receiving treatment for cancer — it has been speculated that he may have actually been struggling with drug addiction, which would explain much of the “unexplained events” and stories of possessions. There are also some who think that the drugs he was taking for the cancer treatment may have caused the hallucinations. (Note: Since this post was originally published, a person claiming to be a family member has contacted Damned Connecticut to say that he did in fact have cancer.)

For what it’s worth, neighbors never reported observing or hearing of any unusual occurrences.

Most of those who have subsequently lived in the house and others involved have also gone on record saying that there’s absolutely nothing supernatural about the place; a few others have suggested that odd things have happened in the dwelling, but nothing anywhere near to the extent of the Snedekers’ assertions. (Note: Since this post was written, the current owners of the house have said that they think “all the stories are ludicrous.”)

A Haunting in Connecticut is a 2002 documentary based on these alleged events; it has been shown in various places, including the Discovery Channel. A book has also been written — In A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting by horror writer Ray Garton, which was created in conjunction with the Warrens and Snedekers. For the record, Garton has publicly distanced himself from this “non-fiction” book, suggesting that the Snedekers were dealing with “drug and alcohol issues” and that no one involved could “keep their stories straight.” (Note: Check out the Damned Connecticut interview with Ray Garton, who talks about the entire situation in detail.)

If you’re looking for dueling versions of this story, you can try this one from renowned spirit medium Chip Coffey and this more skeptical one from Associated Content.

Photo by Kate Geruntho Frank

Our Damned Experience: The film itself looks like standard horror film fare, with all sorts of terror-inducing scares and starts, and lots of creepy effects. We plan on seeing it theatrically as part of  “work” for this site — we’re willing to put forth that damned effort for you people!

And going the extra mile (or 20), we drove out to Southington in late February of 2009 to see the the real house where all the events are alleged to happen.

Not surprisingly, the house looks dramatically less threatening than the stories would lead you to believe.

The day we went by, it looked like any other house that you’re going to see in any suburban Connecticut neighborhood — well maintained, minivan in the driveway, basketball hoop out back, etc. Unless you tend to think completely normal is evil (which some of us do, by the way), it couldn’t be more unassuming.

If You Go: Out of respect for the privacy of the family who lives there now, we will not list the exact address here — but we’re sure you can find it fairly easily.

We will, however, say it is located on a main thoroughfare, so you’re always to welcome to drive past (if you haven’t already). Just keep in mind that it is a private residence, so you are NOT allowed to trespass or harass the people who currently live there, under any circumstances.