Elizabeth Sullivan, Bethany, Connecticut, September 2005

Downs road is a beautiful road that runs along side a reservoir in Bethany. It is very quiet and peaceful here, but only to an unknowing visitor. Downs Road is a famous legend in Bethany -- it's known in the surrounding towns as "haunted." As a child I heard tales of a supposed "Downs Road Monster" who had killed a couple who were stuck on the road in the early 80s. The truth of this story was never fully backed up, as many people in the area all have heard their own versions of stories and tales. My experiences started early on when some friends and I decided to check out the legend and folklore of this road. I have seen many things on this road, and have reason to believe it is indeed haunted. It started with an apparition of a small boy and his bike. I could clearly see he was hurt. When me and my friend drove by an isolated part of the road we thought this boy was real. When we turned our car around he was gone. He was nowhere in sight, but his bike was, and we watched it vanish before our eyes. Upon another visit there, and another car full of friends, we pulled around a corner where there is part of the mountain along side a reservoir. There were three people in the car, and we all saw a young man about 16 years old or so, in a worn-looking flannel shirt and dirty jeans walking with some kind of BB gun on the side of the road. But it was as we were rounding the corner that he turned around to look at us in the car. It happened so quickly, but the three of us could see this young man. When we saw his face, his eyes glowed blue. I checked into this because it was disturbing. Come to find out it was rumored that a young boy had committed suicide in the woods along side this road. And it made sense because he was carrying a shot gun. A shot gun we all thought was a BB gun. I am now a believer about the legends of this road. I don't know about a monster or how many ghosts or spirits reside here, but there is some kind of dark presence.