By Danny Contreras

Shelton Melon Heads

The 5 Ws (Who, what, when, where, why)

Melonheads are legendary creatures said to live in heavily wooded areas. Their appearance is humanoid, but deformed. They are small,but their heads are unusually big. Though the myth is shared with Michigan and Ohio, Melon heads are said to live around the wooded areas of Shelton, Trumbull and Stratford. Their M.O. is attacking everything and everyone that trespasses upon their territory.

How the story goes…

A group of insane convicts escaped their asylum prison and burned it down in the autumn of 1960. Everyone except those who set the prison on fire were found dead. The police concluded that 10 to 20 convicts had escaped and were probably living in the woods. The convicts’ off spring are the Melon heads. It is said that their deformed body and face are due to the group resorting to cannibalism and inbreeding.

Another story is that the Melon heads were descendants of a colonial family from Shelton. After being accused of witchcraft, the family was banished and forced to live in the woods. After inbreeding, the Melon heads came into existence.

A third story is that the Melon heads are disfigured humans who suffered from hydrocephalus, a disease which causes spinal fluid to build up in their heads. As a result, their heads swell to enormous size and they have gradual mental retardation.

Fact

Firstly, there was an asylum located approximately 15 miles from Shelton in Newtown called Fairfield Hills. This hospital closed down in 1995. The hospital is stigmatized by their use of EST and frontal lobe lobotomy, among other unethical treatments.

During the colonial era, many families were accused of witchcraft. This led to either death or banishment. It is plausible that the family suffered the fate of so many others.

Hydrocephalus is a real disease. While no national database exists, the NIH reports that 1 in 500 children will suffer from it. Additionally, it is true that hydrocephalus can cause mental retardation. People with the disease can live relatively normal lives. A 44-year-old French man, father of two survived the disease; however, his brain was nonexistent. Researchers have not found an origin for the disease, and the random probability of someone suffering from it hurts researchers.

Fiction

While doctors at Fairfield Hills did perform unspeakable, unethical treatment on their patients, there is no public record available that details a fire, or a large group of people escaping. Additionally, Fairfield Hills was never an asylum for the “criminally insane.”

The second origin, while plausible, cannot be confirmed as the name of the family is unknown. The only truth in this legend is that Shelton was definitely inhabited during colonial America, making it a possible origin for the myth. However, it cannot be considered a fact because no records exist.

Finally, while hydrocephalus is real and no data shows the survival rate, it is hard to determine the reality of this origin. If the origin takes place in between the 1500s and 1960, then chances are the person died. Even if the myth originated in the ’60s, it is hard to fathom whether all the offspring survived; especially since the story takes place in the fall of 1960.

Conclusion

The facts are clear, and the fiction is scientifically inaccurate. However, don’t conclude that this is just a scary story.  The myth is based on facts. Do they exist? No. Did they ever exist? Probably. But this myth is probably more pure than that. Parents may use it to discipline their children. Guys can show their valor by walking through the forest. Well, make your personal conclusion now.