thePULSEHistorically Shrieking
Worcester film producer scares up interest in Central MA
By Robert Newton
“Historically, Dudleytown, Connecticut is not a haunted place,” notes Worcester filmmaker Douglas Kirkpatrick. “Instead, it is a place that is reportedly possessed by demonic forces.”
Kirkpatrick, who, in his day job as an entertainment and corporate lawyer represents Rutland renaissance gal Andrea Ajemian’s upcoming production, Still Green, says he was first inspired to tell the story of Dudleytown’s dark history after seeing The Exorcist. The idea for Dudleytown Curse: The 49th Key was born.
“The history of the place dates back to medieval England, and there is a lot of buzz on the Internet about it already,” Kirkpatrick eagerly explains. “I don’t like to make comparisons, but I will here ~ it’s similar to The Blair Witch Project.”
So perhaps the suggestion that the team of writers and documentary filmmakers that Kirkpatrick’s Red Barn Films hired to explore the lore, legend and mythology of this curse should be taken in the right, well…spirit. And so begins the myth-building that Kirkpatrick and co-producer, wife Melinda, hope will translate into ticket sales when the movie comes to theatres.
Dudleytown, Connecticut, so it is told, is one of the most active epicenters of paranormal activity in the world, with hundreds of phenomena reported on an annual basis. Actor Dan Aykroyd suggested that Dudleytown is the “scariest place on Earth,” and Dennis Hauck, a renowned paranormal specialist, said that Dudleytown is “…considered one of the most haunted locations in the United States.”
“It has all the right elements to it,” Kirkpatrick says, “and Massachusetts ~ especially Central Massachusetts ~ is a great place to make a film. We’re very excited about being here, especially the tax credit passed by the legislature. Plus, there is such a great wealth of talent here in the state.”
The on-screen talent for the movie is yet-to-be determined, as pre-production on Dudleytown Curse just began in April. However, the leanly budgeted feature hopes to benefit from some Screen Actors Guild (SAG) diversity and casting incentives, extra production money which could mean the kind of boost that another local production, The Legend of Lucy Keyes, got after casting familiar faces like Julie Delpy and Justin Theroux.
“This is our first horse out of the gate,” says the president of Red Barn, who plans to gear his fledgling company’s wares for the teen market. “We’re in the process of financing right now, which is always the hardest part.”
The producers of Napoleon Dynamite are also clients of Kirkpatrick’s, and his latest feat ~ helping them negotiate the development, production and distribution of their next project, Beneath ~ was great training for all the wrangling necessary to get his own movie off the ground.
“We want to apply all the good stuff we’ve learned in this process to Dudleytown Curse,” he says. “We’re financing it through our own efforts, looking for a combination of private equity and distributor money. We hope to shoot in September, with everything in the can before the snow starts to fly, which is always a problem here in New England.”
Whether or not Dudleytown Curse will actually be the “scariest horror film on Earth,” as Red Barn suggests it will be, remains to be seen, but the fact that the movie is still but a vapor does not deter Kirkpatrick from getting people excited about it and its follow-up, a story about Brookfield’s Bathsheba Spooner, the first woman to be executed in the United States.
“There are just so many stories to tell, right in our own back yard,” Kirkpatrick says, enthusiastically, “and we’d like to tell as many of them as we can.”
To whom in charge,
My name is Pete and I am 32 years old . I am from Connecticut. I have always been interested in the paranormal AND Dudley Town. I was just attempting a possible casting role here. I would love the opportunity to loan myself for any help or character. Please contact me via e-mail with if any answers.
Thank You,
Pete G.