In the rural back woods of Southwest Connecticut a group of outcast creatures characterized by small, sickly physiques and topped with unusually bulbous heads are said to lurk in the shadowy sidelines, possibly waiting for the next unwitting or lost hiker to enter their grasps…and, later, their stomachs.

Known as “Melon Heads”, locals have reported sightings of these strange humanoid beings around Fairfield and New Haven Counties since the late 1960’s. Milford, Trumbull, Shelton, Oxford, Monroe, Seymore, Weston, Southbury, and Stratford, Connecticut have all been said to be home to Melon Heads, but what or who are they?

One story is that there was an asylum for the criminally insane in Fairfield County which caught fire allowing some inmates to escape. These (presumably) men and women decided that roughing it out in the wilderness, despite the harsh New England climate, was still better than imprisonment and took to the surrounding woods. But, Old Man Winter is no kind soul and the prisoners found themselves eventually resorting to cannibalism. The survivors, outcasts who were mentally deranged and unfit for society, established themselves deep in the Connecticut woods. Years of inbreeding and cannibalism is said to have caused these people to de-evolve. Mental deficiencies and physical abnormalities including hydrocephalus, a condition which enlarges the head due to fluid retention around the brain, were widespread producing a sickly population with a shocking bobble-headed appearance. Locals and the occasional thrill-seeker spot their diseased descendants to this day. The unlucky ones, urban legend says, may end up in the Melon Heads dinner pots.

Another version describing the origins of Melon Heads claims that a colonial family from Shelton-Trumbull was accused of witchcraft and run out of town. This ostracised family were forced to set up camp far away from civilization. Deep in the woods they were forced to provide for themselves by subsiding on whatever they could forage or trap. Harsh winters and rugged terrain led to poor nutrition, and possibly cannibalism. (Banishment) led to incest and over time compromised genetics led to a group of regressive, humaniod beings who still dwell in the forest.

Oddly enough, Connecticut is not the only state to harbor the Melon Head legend. Similar stories are also found in Michigan and Ohio.

–  Moonchild