Could Lover’s Leap State Park in New Milford Be Haunted?

For over 8,000 years Native Americans occupied what is now Lover's Leap State Park in New Milford.

Because of the elevation, the fertile river valley, and the abundance of game and fish, Native Americans called this 140 acre park their home. The river gorge is breathtaking and the ruins of the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company are located inside the park. The beauty and the historical richness of Lover's Leap can't be disputed, but over the years, tragedy has struck this historic landmark.

In September of 2004, on a isolated ridge inside Lover's Leap State Park overlooking the Housatonic River, David Stone was convicted of savagely murdering his girlfriend, Lisa Aviles and their 4-month-old baby, Damien according to the NewsTimes. The details are too gruesome to describe. When Superior Court Judge Charles Gill sentenced Stone to life in prison, he said it was "the most atrocious case" he had ever seen.

In September 2010, 32-year-old Christopher Miele plunged 75 feet from a Lover's Leap cliff into the waters below. He was pronounced dead after being flown by Lifestar Helicopter to Hartford Hospital. He was intoxicated. Was he pushed? Did he commit suicide or was it just an accident? According to the NewsTimes, there have been many other falls in the park since 1997. My friend told me that when he used to jog in the park, "It was so quiet it was disconcerting." He says he stopped jogging in the park because it was creepily quiet.

A blog by Kristy Petersen Schoonover titled "Skeletons on New Milford's Most Haunted Streets" says that as legend has it, Lover's Leap is haunted by the spirits of suicidal Native Americans from hundreds of years ago. The story was told that they can be heard screaming whenever a full moon appeared. Could these stories be true or are they just fairy tales? Have you ever had a strange experience at Lover's Leap State Park?