Author Jon Ronson heard about a wealthy man who built a castle in Connecticut during a 2019 barn party near Rhinebeck, New York. The man's story, involving young people being lured to his castle, piqued Ronson's interest and he was eager to tell it, but initially hesitant to share details publicly due to concerns of others getting to the story first.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
*Jon Ronson*, a journalist, attended a barn party in Rhinebeck, New York, where he mentioned to the author an intriguing story about a wealthy man living in a castle in Connecticut. The story involved a "madman" luring young people, known as Zoomers, but Ronson was reluctant to share more details, seeming both excited and anxious that someone else might break the story first.
Written for “Bizarre Palace Discovery” on 2026-09-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 7591 · logged 2026-09-10
It was just over three years ago, at a barn party near Rhinebeck, New York, when I first heard about the very wealthy, very horny man who lived in a castle he’d built himself.
asserted
he → hear → castle
The party was hosted by a journalist friend, and among the guests was the author Jon Ronson, who showed up around dinnertime accompanied by an entourage of beautiful 20somethings who actually, wholesomely, turned out to be his son and some friends.
asserted
who → host → 20somethings
After we had been introduced—which is to say, after I cornered Ronson like a deranged fangirl to gush about how much I’d loved his last book—I asked what he was working on lately.
asserted
he → introduce → what
His response was a bit hard to follow, because he was very excited: something about his son, a party, and a castle nestled in rural no-man’s-land in the uppermost eastern corner of Connecticut, where a madman was luring vulnerable young Zoomers in order to.
asserted
madman → follow → Zoomers
Well, this part was still unclear, and Ronson didn’t want to say much more.
uncertain
Ronson → want → more
An absolutely spectacular story had fallen right into his lap; he was thrilled at the prospect of telling it, but also terrified that someone else might tell it first.
uncertain
someone → fall → it
When he left the party a couple hours later, he tapped me on the shoulder on his way out.
asserted
he → leave → way
“Please don’t tell anyone,” he said, “about the castle.”
asserted
he → tell → castle
