Windham Inn - Windham CT
Posted by: 
nomadwillie
N 41° 41.982 W 072° 09.449
18T E 736525 N 4620339
The Windham Inn is located at the intersection of Scotland Rd and Windham Center Rd in Windham CT
Waymark Code: WM7KGK
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 11/05/2009
Views: 10
?On November 18, 1744 a young woman named Elizabeth Shaw was tried for infanticide. Elizabeth was considered a burden to her family, she was unmarried and actually became a liability to her family and friends. People in town speculated who the father of her child might be, even accusing her own father. The town scorned and taunted her for 9 long months during her pregnancy. Upon the birth of the child in September, the baby simply vanished. It was found dead near a cliff in another part of town called Hampton
Medical authorities could not determine the cause of death of the baby and Betsy was charged with murder. It was Betsy's father who turned her in, maybe to absolve his own culpatbility.
Nine jurors, all men, found her guilty. She was to be hanged in December. The executioner would be WInthrop. Once the sentence was decided upon, a place for the hanging had to be decided upon. Gallows Hill was selected as the place.
Winter did not deter the town folks from attending the hanging, as Miss Shaw was made to sit upon her own coffin and she was lead there via a horse drawn carriage. No one knows where Betsy was buried, however legend says her frozen fingers tapped loudly against the pine box, so loudly they sounded ike nails being driven into the casket.
Betsy Shaw can still be seen pacing the roads of Windham today. Since the hanging, every year in November, on especially harsh winter day, a woman in white matching Elizabeth's description has been seen walking up and down Plains Road. This is the last place that the fog lifts in the village. The woman is looking for something that belonged to here. Perhaps something that has been taken from her. Could it be her baby. Encounters with Elizabeth both on the street and at the site of the Windham Inn, continue to amaze eyewitnesses who have come across her.
Source: Ghost Stories and Legends of Eastern Connecticut by Donna Kent
Type: Local Legend or Lore
Referenced in (list books, websites and other media):
Ghost Stories and Legends of Eastern Connecticut by Donna Kent
Additional Coordinates: Not Listed
Website Reference: Not listed
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