There are several primary Connecticut variations. According to one variation of the myth, Fairfield County was the location of an asylum for the criminally insane that burned down in the fall of 1960, resulting in the death of all of the staff and most of the patients with 10-20 inmates unaccounted for, supposedly having survived and escaped to the woods. The legend states that the melon heads' appearance is the result of them having resorted to cannibalism in order to survive the harsh winters of the region and to inbreeding, which in turn caused them to develop hydrocephalus. Some retellings of this version substitute the asylum or prison with places of business or camp grounds and the inmates/patients with employees, staff or camp-goers. Individual variations will modify what town these individuals were originally from and where they end up.