Washington Irving wrote of the Headless Horseman, a tale of a Hessian of Sleepy Hollow who had lost his head in war. It’s a wonderful story that all enjoyed in their childhood. In RI though there is a more gruesome tale of a headless spirit in Swampton. This story may even predate Irving’s tale, and cause most to shudder in fear, when alone on Indian Corner Road. In the early 1800s a large portion of Swampton consisted of over grown forest and wetlands. Virtually all of the roads that traverse through the wilds of this portion of RI didn’t have names. Often the locals would apply names to them that best described their location. While some were adorned with pleasant names like Rathbun and Sunnyside others had much more gruesome rubrics. Dark Corners, Purgatory Rd, and Robbers Corner carried names that both identified them and warned the weary traveler. Though most names changed over time, there are those who’s now formal name still carries the spirit of its location.  Indian Corner is the most interesting and frightening of those lonely byways. Indian corner Rd. lays in Washington county Rhode Island and travels northeast toward Wickford. Over 200 years ago, Indian corner was marked by a large boulder for when the winter snow made it difficult to follow. Just as long as the rock stood watch over that lonely stretch of road, many travelers who brave it by night spoke of an encounter with a headless torso or its disembodied head. Continue Reading →
The post The Headless Skeleton of Swampton appeared first on Strange New England.

Ver todos los episodios