In the early 1990s, two boys were playing on a gravel hill near an old abandoned mine

outside of Griswald, Connecticut.

Kids do the oddest things to stave off boredom, so playing on a hill covered in small rocks

wasn't really surprised me. And my guess is, they were having a blast.

That is, until one of them dislodged two larger rocks. But when the rocks tumbled free and

rolled down the hill, both boys noticed something odd about them. They were nearly identical

in shape, and that shape was eerily familiar. They headed down the hill one last time to

take a closer look, and that's when they realized what they'd found.

At first, the local police were brought in to investigate the possibility of an unknown

serial killer, but that many bodies all in one place was never a good sign. But it became

obvious very quickly that the real experts they needed were, in fact, archaeologists. And

they were right. In the end, 29 graves were discovered in what turned out to be the remnants

of a forgotten cemetery. Time and the elements, and slowly eroded away the graveyard, and

the contents had been swallowed by the gravel. Many skeletons were still in their caskets,

though, and it was inside one of them, marked with brass tacks to form the initials of

the occupant. That's something unusual was discovered.

Long ago it seems, someone had opened this casket shortly after burial, and had then made

changes to the body. Specifically, they'd removed both femurs, the bones of the thigh,

and placed them across the chest. Then, moving some of the ribs and the brass bone out of

the way, they placed the skull above them. It was a real life-sculling crossbones, and

its presence hinted at something darker.

The skeleton, you see, wasn't just the remains of an ordinary early settler of the area.

...