New England Legends

Twice each week, legend hunter, author, and historian Jeff Belanger and radio host Ray Auger explore the ghosts, monsters, aliens, folklore, history, roadside oddities, true crime, and legends of New England in this award-winning podcast. If you give us about twenty minutes, we’ll give you something strange to talk about today. The bizarre is closer than you think!

FtV – The Barefoot Farmer of Patuckaway 04/22/2024

FtV – The Barefoot Farmer of Patuckaway Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 57 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike up to an old cellar hole and cemetery in Pawtuckaway State Park in New Hampshire, in search of an eccentric photographer from the late 1800s named George Goodrich. However, folks around the nearby town of Raymond called him: The Barefoot Farmer. Though he looked like a disheveled vagabond to the untrained eye of tourists, locals knew he was one of the wealthiest men in town. This episode first aired December 10, 2020. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30885718

The Cobbler’s Ghost Has No Shoes 04/18/2024

The Cobbler’s Ghost Has No Shoes In Episode 345 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit the Newtown Bee parking lot in Newtown, Connecticut, to experience the site of a brutal unsolved axe murder of a local cobbler and the profound haunting that followed soon after. Managing Editor Shannon Hicks from The Bee joins us for this one. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30883803

FtV – The Slaying of Old Bet 04/16/2024

FtV – The Slaying of Old Bet Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 56 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit a memorial off the side of the road in Alfred, Maine, that marks the site where America’s first elephant was gunned down in cold blood back in 1816. The elephant named Old Bet had toured throughout New England for eight years before a jealous farmer named Daniel Davis gunned her down as she approached the town of Alfred. Old Bet was part of one of America’s earliest circuses, and if not for the tiny memorial along Route 4, her legend may be lost forever. This episode first aired April 1, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30801343

Carl Rettich’s Deadly Footwear and Murder Mansion 04/11/2024

Carl Rettich’s Deadly Footwear and Murder Mansion In Episode 344 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Warwick Neck, Rhode Island, to search for the Crime Castle of Carl Rettich. In the 1920s, during the height of Prohibition, Rettich ran Rhode Island’s bootlegging game with an iron fist, and if you crossed him… with a mobster staple of his own invention: cement shoes. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30779293

FtV - The Downs Road Monster 04/08/2024

FtV - The Downs Road Monster Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 55 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a stroll down a road to nowhere in search of ghosts and a monster. The abandoned section of Downs Road in Bethany, Connecticut, is home to a host of legends whose roots date back more than a century-and-a-half and include ties to a strange New Haven cult whose leader claimed to have the ability to raise the dead. This episode first aired July 16, 2020. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30679798

The Birth of the Legendary Donut 04/04/2024

The Birth of the Legendary Donut In Episode 343 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger sail the harbor of Rockport, Maine, to witness the birth of the donut. In 1847, a young sailor named Hanson Crockett Gregory, made an innovation in the “oily-cake” that changed Maine… New England… America… the World… the Time-Space Continuum. Every legend, every icon, starts somewhere. WARNING: This episode WILL make you hungry! See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30679108

FtV - English Jack: The Hermit of the White Mountains 04/01/2024

FtV - English Jack: The Hermit of the White Mountains Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 54 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike up to Crawford Notch in New Hampshire in search of English Jack: The Hermit of the White Mountains. In the late 1800s, this enterprising man lived in a shack in the woods selling postcards, his biography, trinkets, and even beer. The story of his life is both tragic and cinematic, but is it true? This episode first aired July 11, 2019. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30579423

The Lizzie Bourne Tragedy 03/28/2024

The Lizzie Bourne Tragedy In Episode 342 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike New England’s tallest peak in search of a marker that commemorates where Lizzie Bourne left this mortal coil near the summit of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire back in September of 1855. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30578523

FtV - The Robin Hood of Massachusetts 03/25/2024

FtV - The Robin Hood of Massachusetts Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 53 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hang around an unassuming Westborough, Massachusetts, street corner in search of Tom Cook, an 18th-century man who once out-smarted the devil, and just may be the real-life inspiration for the British Robin Hood you know from centuries of books and movies. This episode first aired November 7, 2019. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30479643

The Captain’s Well 03/21/2024

The Captain’s Well In Episode 341 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger grab a drink at the Captain’s Well in Amesbury, Massachusetts. In 1792, future Captain Valentine Bagley was marooned in a desolate part of Arabia. Out of his ship’s crew of 25, only eight survived the ordeal. Bagley swore to God if he should live, he would go home and dig a well for all so no one will suffer thirst like he did. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30476403

FtV - Vermont’s Witch Trial 03/18/2024

FtV - Vermont’s Witch Trial Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 52 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Pownal, Vermont, to explore the witch trial of the widow Mrs. Krieger. In 1765, the widow Krieger was accused of being in league with the devil. She was given a choice to face one of two horrible tests to see if she was indeed a witch. Though a century had passed since Salem’s infamous trials, belief in New England witches has not gone away. This episode first aired October 14, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30370933

The Dream Pond Murders 03/14/2024

The Dream Pond Murders In Episode 340 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the shores of Dream Pond in Fairfield, Vermont, in search of clues that could solve an 1841 double murder. After Eugene Clifford tragically loses his wife and infant daughter on a stormy day on Fairfield Pond, his neighbor has a profound dream that gnaws at her until she makes a startling discovery. Was it an accident or murder? See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30370733

FtV - A Tombstone Every Mile in the Haunted Haynesville Woods 03/11/2024

FtV - A Tombstone Every Mile in the Haunted Haynesville Woods Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 51 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a drive down Route 2A through Haynesville, Maine, to see a road so treacherous and haunted, it inspired a 1965 country song by Dick Curless. Behind the song, though, are countless stories of vehicle accidents and strange encounters on this road that may cause you to slow down and look twice. Be warned, Jeff brought his guitar on this trip, and Ray may have sung some of Dick Curless’s song. This episode first aired August 12, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30270553

Rev. Phelps’ Haunted Mansion 03/07/2024

Rev. Phelps’ Haunted Mansion In Episode 339 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore a nightmare on Elm Street in Stratford, Connecticut, where in 1850 Rev. Phelps and his family were plagued by poltergeist and haunting activity so profound it made all the newspapers. Though the mansion was torn down in the 1970s, the story lingers. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30270153

FtV – Connecticut’s Melon Heads 03/04/2024

FtV – Connecticut’s Melon Heads Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 50 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger motor down Dracula Drive in Trumbull, Connecticut, in search of the mysterious Melon Heads. These small humanoids with enormous heads have been talked about in southwestern Connecticut for more than half a century. But who are they? Some monster? An alien? Or something else? This episode first aired September 13, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30167658

The Burning of the Great Gaspee 02/29/2024

The Burning of the Great Gaspee In Episode 338 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll the shores of Narragansetts Bay in Warwick, Rhode Island, to the see the site where Rhode Islanders led by John Brown attacked the HMS Gaspee and her overzealous crew in 1772. Could this shot have been the actual first shot fired in the Revolutionary War? See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30165733

FtV - The Wizard of Warren, New Hampshire 02/26/2024

FtV - The Wizard of Warren, New Hampshire Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 49 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the small town of Warren, New Hampshire, in search of a missile, a ghost, and a wizard who, according to the history books, tormented a local family during Colonial times. This is one strange trip backed up by historical documents. This episode first aired February 28, 2019. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30064258

See Maine and See the World 02/22/2024

See Maine and See the World In Episode 337 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a drive to the intersection of Routes 35 and 5 in Lynchville, Maine, to see a unique road sign giving directions to places like: Norway, Paris, Denmark, Naples, Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Peru, and China – all of them just a few miles away – in Maine. How did that happen? See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/30063448

FtV - Boston’s Molasses Disaster 02/19/2024

FtV - Boston’s Molasses Disaster Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 48 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the Boston Molasses Disaster of January 15, 1919, that left 21 people dead and 150 injured. What happened and why? Could it have been avoided? This episode first aired January 11, 2018. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29967018

The Haunted Chase House 02/15/2024

The Haunted Chase House In Episode 336 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger search for ghosts at the historic Chase House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Built in 1762 by Stephen Chase, it’s been a private residence, then an orphanage, a private home again, and now a museum. With so much history, it’s no surprise the building is haunted. But who is haunting it and why? See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29966628

FtV - The Beaver Trout of Vermont 02/12/2024

FtV - The Beaver Trout of Vermont Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 47 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger go ice fishing for the legendary beaver trout on Lake Memphremagog in northern Vermont. Since the time of the Civil War anglers have spread the tale of a trout that grows a fur coat to keep warm during the cold winter months. The story and even photos of the fish have been in the newspapers for over a century. Is it just a story, or could there be something more to it? The guys enlist the help of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department on their hunt for the truth. This episode first aired January 16, 2020. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: Join us for Zombie Prom - Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 7PM in Milford, Massachusetts: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29858303

Nathan Selee’s Satanic Sawmill 02/08/2024

Nathan Selee’s Satanic Sawmill In Episode 335 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore a section of Easton, Massachusetts, that was home to a sawmill back in the 18th century. The mill was owned by Nathan Selee, a local wizard who (according to the town sign) employed satanic imps to run his mill in the dead of night. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: Join us for Zombie Prom - Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 7PM in Milford, Massachusetts: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29856993

FtV - The Rhode Island Stigmata 02/05/2024

FtV - The Rhode Island Stigmata Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 46 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the mysteries and legends of stigmata through America’s only reported case: Marie Rose Ferron of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Stigmata occurs when a devoutly religious person mysteriously exhibits the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ — this can include bleeding from the hands, feet, side, and forehead. Marie Ferron was said to exhibit all of the wounds. But was she a bona fide miracle? Or was she used as a pawn by a Rhode Island Bishop? This episode first aired November 2, 2017. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29750443

Vermont’s Haunted Police Academy 02/01/2024

Vermont’s Haunted Police Academy In Episode 334 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hunt for ghosts at the haunted Police Academy in Pittsford, Vermont. Built as a tuberculosis hospital in 1907, the facility transformed into the state’s police academy in the mid-1970s. They say the police academy is haunted by a former nurse who caught TB and died at the hospital. She’s been said to wander the halls and grounds. See more here: Find out more about Zombie Prom 2024 - February 17th in Milford, Massachusetts, here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29748498

FtV - Three Strange Beasts from the Woods of Maine 01/29/2024

FtV - Three Strange Beasts from the Woods of Maine Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 45 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hit an old logging camp in the woods of western Maine in search of the Agropelter, the Billdad, and the Tote Road Shagamaw. These legendary creatures have haunted and hunted loggers for decades. Are they just tall tales told around the campfire at the end of the day, or could there be something more to it?This episode first aired March 5, 2020. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29645168

Connecticut’s Stonehenge 01/25/2024

Connecticut’s Stonehenge In Episode 333 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the shores of Sachem’s Head, Connecticut, to search for a not-so-ancient structure called “Circle of Life,” a monument that looks exactly like one of the Seven Wonders of the World: Stonehenge. But this monument was never supposed to be here. Who placed it… and why? See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29644468

FtV - The Strongest Man in New England 01/22/2024

FtV - The Strongest Man in New England Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 44 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger don their gym shorts and pump some iron in Voluntown, Connecticut, while they search for Elmer Bitgood: the strongest man in New England. Bitgood kept himself in the newspapers between 1909 and 1916 by performing various feats of strength, including lifting 2600 pounds in front of reporters! But when you make bold claims, others will come gunning for you. Enter Bartello the Great for a potential showdown. This episode first aired February 25, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29545258

Hell’s Half Acre 01/18/2024

Hell’s Half Acre In Episode 332 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike into the woods of West Greenwich, Rhode Island, to explore what’s left of Hell’s Half Acre. This small section of forest was once home to taverns and gin mills full of fights, gambling, murder, and more. This was once the Red Light District of the old New London Turnpike. Today a cellar hole and the story are all that’s left. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29544088

FtV - Concord's Diabolical Torture Device 01/15/2024

FtV - Concord's Diabolical Torture Device Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 43 – Jeff Belanger and Ray stroll Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire, searching for the birthplace of a torture device that has plagued billions of people since it was invented by Levi Hutchins back in 1787. Hutchins built a machine intended to defy both God and nature. It was on this humble street, that he unleashed his creation on New England and then the world. This episode first aired October 7, 2021. Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29441763

The Dead Ship of Harpswell 01/11/2024

The Dead Ship of Harpswell In Episode 331 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll the beach of Harpswell, Maine, scanning the horizon for a ghost ship called Sarah that dates back to a torrid and tragic story from 1813. They say if you spot the ship, it’s a harbinger of doom. That someone in Harpswell will die. Poet John Greenleaf Whittier immortalized the story in one of his haunting poems. See more here: Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: /episode/index/show/newenglandlegends/id/29441018

New England Legends

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