Hearthstone Castle

Hearthstone Castle, a sixteen-room stone fortress perched atop a rocky promontory in Danbury's 722-acre Tarrywile Park, stands as one of Connecticut's most atmospheric ruins—and reportedly one of its most haunted. Built between 1895 and 1899 for Elias Starr Sanford, a celebrated society portrait photographer whose Davis & Sanford studio on Fifth Avenue served the Astors and Vanderbilts, the castle was designed by architect Ernest George Washington Dietrich as an elaborate "honeymoon cottage" for Sanford's wife Emma. All stone was quarried on-site and transported via a small railroad built solely for construction, while the woodwork throughout was imported from Italy and the wrought iron chandeliers were crafted locally by the Cephas B. Rogers Company of Danbury.

The castle's history took a dark turn when Sanford suffered a tragic fate. In 1914, while traveling by ship to visit his son in Texas, the vessel was struck by lightning. The severe electrical shock badly damaged the arteries in Sanford's eyes—an injury from which he never recovered. He died three years later in 1917, partially blind and broken. The Sanfords had already sold the castle in 1902 to Victor Buck, a retired New York industrialist who renamed it "Buck Castle." In 1918, self-made millionaire Charles Darling Parks, president of the American Hatters and Furriers Company, purchased the property as a wedding gift for his daughter Irene Parks and renamed it "Hearthstone Castle"—possibly inspired by its eight stone fireplaces.

Irene Parks Jennings lived in the castle until her death in 1982. Her heirs, Richard and Constance Jennings, remained until 1987 when the entire 535-acre Tarrywile Estate was sold to the City of Danbury for .7 million. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year, the castle was nevertheless neglected under city ownership. The roof eventually collapsed, the wooden interior floors gave way, and vandals accelerated the destruction—including five Ridgefield teenagers arrested in May 2008 after posting a YouTube video of themselves "sacking the place like a horde of angry Saxons."

The paranormal activity at Hearthstone Castle centers on several distinct phenomena. A phantom black dog is the most frequently reported entity. Visitors exploring the ruins have heard panting breath in the darkness and seen pairs of glowing eyes that vanish when illuminated. One explorer who visited on a full moon night described descending into the basement, where the temperature dropped so dramatically they began shivering uncontrollably. Standing in the corner with their eyes closed, they suddenly heard panting "almost like a dog" and opened their eyes to see two glowing eyes staring from across the room. When they shined their flashlight, nothing was there. Another visitor claimed to have photographic evidence—"a pretty damn clear picture of a black dog directly next to me staring right at the camera" taken while sitting in a basement window sill.

Hikers on the surrounding trails report being pelted with rocks and sticks by unseen hands—as if the spirits are actively trying to drive trespassers away from the castle grounds. Others have witnessed shadowy figures and glowing orbs drifting past the castle's boarded windows at night. Perhaps most disturbing is the "glowing man"—one explorer reported: "I was actually in the building, I saw someone or something through a broken floor board glowing man run underneath me." The apparition of a gentleman has also been seen sprinting across the estate grounds.

The woods themselves seem affected by whatever haunts the castle. One hiker on the Tarrywile trails reported hearing the distinct music of a flute-like instrument echoing through the trees. "Almost as soon as it stopped," they looked up to see "a person dressed in a long dark hooded cape looking down at them" from a distance before vanishing.

After decades of decay, Danbury has invested over .14 million since 2020 to stabilize the structure—removing debris, asbestos, and lead paint while backfilling the foundation. Director of Public Works Antonio Iadarola envisions transforming the ruins into an observation deck where visitors can "climb a tower and view the entire city" while experiencing "the feeling of what used to be one of the most beautiful structures in the city of Danbury." Whether the castle's restless spirits will approve of such plans remains to be seen.