New England Legends Podcast

In Episode 317 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger roll into Gilmanton, New Hampshire, to see the birthplace of America’s first and possibly most prolific serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes. Holmes became most infamous for building the Murder Castle in Chicago during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Joining us on this adventure is Jeff Mudgett, author, researcher, History Channel host, and the great great grandson of H.H. Holmes. Officially, Holmes was hanged in prison May 7, 1896, and then buried in Philadelphia. But is that really Holmes in the grave? Listen to find out! See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-317-the-birth-of-americas-first-serial-killer/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 24 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger discuss a 37-foot-tall New England monster that’s been witnessed by many millions of people from all over the world. But what makes this more than a historical curiosity, and a true legend? Listen to find out! This episode first aired October 5, 2017. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 316 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger row out on Lake Memphremagog near Newport, Vermont, in search of a lake monster called Memphre. Sightings of a giant serpent-like creature date back more than two centuries. The creature has been studied, photographed, even video-recorded, but what exactly is it? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-316-the-monster-of-lake-memphremagog/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 23 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the woods of central Maine in search of the North Pond Hermit. In 1986 Christopher Knight walked into the forest and lived out there for 27 years stealing supplies from local cabins and camps. How did he survive the Maine winters outside? How did he live with no human contact for almost three decades? How did he get caught? The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit author Michael Finkel joins us to discuss the legend of the North Pond Hermit. This episode first aired April 5, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 315 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, to investigate the Borden murders you haven’t heard about. Sure, you know Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her parents 40 whacks in 1892, but did you know there were other Bordens murdered right next door decades earlier? Warning: this episode contains some graphic descriptions that may not be suitable for everyone. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-315-the-other-borden-murders/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 22 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to Lobster Lake in Piscataquis, Maine, in search of a giant white moose that’s been reported since 1891. Witnesses say the animal was a grayish white, and twice the size of a normal moose. For almost 50 years the sightings continued. Was it some rare version of Maine’s most iconic animal, or was it something more paranormal? Join us as we go hunting legends in the woods of central Maine! This episode first aired November 18, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 314 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger Visit Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, to explore the story behind a small statue of a dog named Rover. The statue commemorates a dog who waited patiently for his owner to return after heading inside the hospital many years ago. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-314-rover-a-dog-who-waited-forever/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 20 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit the site of America’s first witch trial and execution in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Then they travel north of Hartford to Windsor to speak with author Beth Caruso about Alse Young, the first victim. We’ll learn Young wasn’t alone, and this was decades before the 1692 Salem trials. Did Connecticut cover-up their own witch trials? This episode first aired July 26, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 313 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger belly up to the bar of the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island. Built in 1652, it’s America’s oldest continuously-operating bar in the United States, and according locals it’s Newport’s most haunted. The ghost of an old man has been seen around the building, disembodied voices have been heard, and sometimes dishes and objects move on their own. With over 350 years of history related to colonists, pirates, soldiers, and tourists, we explore the history of this haunt. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-313-newports-haunted-white-horse-tavern/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 20 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit the Russell-Colbath house near the Kancamagus Highway in Albany, New Hampshire, to learn about Ruth Colbath; a woman who waited. In September of 1891, Ruth’s husband Thomas left their home one afternoon and didn’t return. Each night for the next 39 years Ruth lit a lantern and set it in the window for him. But whatever became of Thomas? This episode first aired July 12, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 312 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger investigate Captain Nathaniel Lord’s mansion in Kennebunkport, Maine. Built during the War of 1812, Lord had his shipbuilders construct the finest mansion in town. Lord died young, just three years after the mansion was built, leaving his wife Phoebe to raise the family alone. The mansion remained in the Lord family up until 1972. Today this mansion is an opulent and haunted Bed and Breakfast. But who is haunting this stately mansion? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-312-captain-lords-haunted-mansion/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 19 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Vermont, in search of the final resting place of Timothy Clark Smith — a man who suffered from taphephobia — the fear of being buried alive. Smith’s 1893 grave was designed with a chimney and a window. Why did he do it? And what’s down there? This episode first aired August 9, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 311 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore a small cottage in Hebron, New Hampshire, searching for the summer retreat of Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World. During the summer of 1916, Crowley came to this cottage to conduct secret and arcane magick. He performed rituals, he wrote about his religion Thelema, he described a visit from a strange fireball, and he communed with nature around Hebron. He left a mark on this small town. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-311-the-wickedest-man-in-the-world-in-new-hampshire/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 18 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the woods around Camp Ker-Anna in Cumberland, Rhode Island, in search of Fingernail Freddy and Hot Shot Charlie; two reclusive men/monsters who are said to stalk the children of the summer camp should they get out of line. Is there a connection between these legends and the Nightmare on Elm Street movie franchise? This episode first aired January 18, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 310 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a cemetery safari to Dummerston, Vermont, looking for the graves of the Spauldings -- a family plagued by vampires in the late 1700s. They say a sinister black root creeped and crawled from one Spaulding grave to the next. When it reaches the last casket, the next Spaulding would soon get sick and then die. Was it a curse, or just bad luck during a pandemic? Either way, the Spauldings dug up their family graves and did something drastic to break the vampire’s curse. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-310-the-curse-of-the-dummerston-cemetery-vine/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 17 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the Old North Church in Boston to explore a story you likely haven’t heard. According to a plaque on the side of the building, it was here on September 13, 1757, that John Childs flew from the steeple of the church to the satisfaction of a great number of spectators–he did it more than once. Does that mean that Boston, and not Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, was the first in flight? This episode first aired February 15, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 309 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger begin their quest for the Holy Grail via the medieval Westford Knight in Westford, Massachusetts. Some believe this carved stone marks the grave of Knight Templar Sir James Gunn who died on Prince Henry Sinclair expedition to North America in 1399. Could this expedition have brought the Holy Grail to Massachusetts? Is this truly a grave site or just old graffiti on a rock? Let’s explore! See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-309-the-westford-knight/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 16 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Union, Maine, tracing the steps of Dr. Augustin Thompson, a local man who developed a nerve tonic in 1876 that would eventually launch a war that continues to this day. After moving to Lowell, Massachusetts, Dr. Thompson added a key ingredient that turned his medicine into a New England staple, and eventually introduced the world to a new word that’s synonymous with guts, spunk, grit, and determination. This episode first aired May 13, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

In Episode 308 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike up to the waterfalls of the Devil’s Hopyard in East Haddam, Connecticut, in search of where they say the devil left his marks in the stones of Chapman Falls. The Native Americans believe the odd marks in the stone were connected to a deity who thundered sounds from a nearby mountain, the Puritans believed it was the devil. Is there a connection to the Moodus Noise? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-308-the-devils-hopyard/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 15 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit Winsted, Connecticut, to search for a wild man. In August of 1895, there were multiple sightings of a hairy “wild man” running through rural Winsted and Colebrook, Connecticut. Some claimed he was human, others said he was some kind of primate. Hundreds of people searched for him; the creature made headlines across New England before he seemingly vanished… until there were other sightings in the 1970s. Could it be the same creature? Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends