New England Legends Podcast

In Episode 454, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hunt the woods of St. Albans, Vermont, searching for the site where Lawrence Brainerd shot and killed a legendary wolf that was terrorizing the region back in 1839. Today a monument stands in a remote section of the woods where the mighty beast fell.  See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-454-hunting-a-dire-wolf-in-vermont/   Listen ad-...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 176 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger celebrate Independence Day in Sharon, Massachusetts, exploring the story of a Revolutionary War hero who never achieved a fancy rank, but he made all the difference. His is a story not heard enough. It's an historical tale about a man who has risen to legend status because he didn't follow the rules, and...

In Episode 452, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Rose Island off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island, to examine the dark history of an island that served as a military fort, quarantine hospital for the sick and dying, a haunted lighthouse, and the site of maritime disasters. Every bit of this 18-acre island is haunted.  See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-453-the-haunting-of...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 175 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger spend Thanksgiving in a Whitman, Massachusetts, parking lot located between a fast food restaurant and a chain drug store in search of the sacred birthplace of the one of America's most beloved holiday baked goods: the Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie. In 1938, Ruth Wakefield's kitchen concoction turned...

In Episode 452, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the coast of Blue Hill, Maine, searching for the Old Stone House that was once the setting for a profound haunting. In 1906, the details of the chilling encounters first made the paper. The building has had a haunted reputation for over 150 years.  See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-452-the-restless-ghost-of-the-stone-house-t...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 174 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll down Charles Street in Newburyport, Massachusetts, searching for a haunted schoolhouse. Back in 1870, the schoolhouse ghosts kept this building in the newspapers for years to come, drawing in the curious and the skeptical. Much was published on the details of this on-going haunting that rattled th...

In Episode 451, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a cemetery safari in Washington, New Hampshire, looking for the unique grave of Captain Samuel Jones—a man who, back in 1804, had a leg up (or maybe down) on all of us. Things get weird.  See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-451-captain-joness-grave-has-a-leg-up/   Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https:...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 173 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll downtown Willimantic, and nearby Windham, Connecticut, is search of a French and Indian War battle site that left thousands dead in July of 1758. The region has never forgotten, nor will it ever forgive those responsible for the slaughter. There are monuments to the battle, an opera written about...

In Episode 450, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to search the waters off the coast of Provincetown to search for a giant serpent. In 1886 a rash of sightings made the newspapers, but in 1939 a mysterious skeleton washed up on shore. This time the camera was ready. What could this giant skeleton belong to? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podca...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 172 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Hospital Rock deep in the woods of Farmington, Connecticut. In the 1790s this was the site of a smallpox inoculation hospital. Smallpox was a plague that wiped out families and communities. Hundreds of people in the region came here for treatment, but 66 left their names etched in the stone as a...

In Episode 449, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown, Connecticut, to pay their respects to a World War I Hero named Sgt. Stubby. Sgt. Stubby has a story like no other Sergeant in the history of the armed forces. He joined the 26th Yankee Division of the 102nd Infantry in New Haven, Connecticut, back in 1917. He saw battle, fought heroically, and made it home so w...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 171 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to woods overlooking Brattleboro, Vermont, in search of the haunted Brattleboro Retreat Tower. Built in 1887, and towering 65 feet over the hills above town, the tower is said to be home to suicides from the nearby asylum, and now it's haunted. This episode first aired July 2, 2020 Listen ad-free pl...

In Episode 448, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore a neighborhood in Montpelier, Vermont, searching for the former home of Dr. Lucy Cooke, better known as "Sleeping Lucy" the Clairvoyant Physician. Back in the 1860s, Lucy would place herself in a trance-like state, examine the insides of her patients, then recommend medicine based on her discoveries. Was she just a faith-healer, or the real deal?...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 169 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger drive up to Franconia, New Hampshire, in search of the ghost of an Old Man who they say cursed a quarter. This Old Man was last seen in 2003, and since then his ghost is said to still lurk in the White Mountains. This is no ordinary Old Man. This Old Man helped give the Granite State an identity. Live Fr...

In Episode 447, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the Federal Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island, to witness the Macaroni Riots. Back in 1914 a series of riots took place when the price of macaroni and other foods skyrocketed due to an economic downturn and the outbreak of World War I. Though the name of the riots is funny, the violent riots were not. This story feels like it could be ripp...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 169 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a drive up to Haunted House Curve in Hampton, New Hampshire. The stretch of road along Route 1 next to the General Moulton House has the ominous moniker not only because of the many car accidents reported there, but because the nearby house is said to be haunted. It's also the place where they say G...

In Episode 445, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Bucksport, Maine, searching for the ghost of Sarah Ware. Ware was murdered in 1898, yet her killer was never punished. We break down the crime, look at who may have done it, and explore the unusual circumstances surrounding her mortal remains. It's no wonder why she still haunts Bucksport.  See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 168 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to the banks of the White River in Hartford, Vermont, searching for ghostly legends that dates back to 1887, when the Montreal Express train jumped the track just before bridge. The event led to a horrific loss of life, it changed the way the rail system operates, and left a stain on this region t...

In Episode 445, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger drive up to Hinsdale, New Hampshire, to watch a movie in Northfield, Massachusetts. How will they cross time and space to pull this off? They'll first have to travel back to the year 1948 to see how it all came together. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-445-drive-in-movie-madness/   Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus ep...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 167 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike the woods surrounding the Cobble Mountain Reservoir in Blandford, Massachusetts, in search of a Bigfoot-type creature locally known as the Cobble Mountain Critter. Could this be the same Sasquatch that's been seen in the nearby Berkshires, or is it something weirder? This episode first aired June 18...

In Episode 444, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Ashburnham, Massachusetts, to visit ground zero where Betty Andreasson was allegedly abducted by a UFO on January 25, 1967. Her entire family witnessed a disturbing scene that winter evening. This close encounter of the fourth kind would be thoroughly investigated and come to be known at the Andreasson Affair.  See more here: https://ournewenglan...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 166 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to Middlebury, Vermont, in search of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian Mummy buried in the ground. In 1886, Vermont collector Henry Sheldon (a man described as "a Yankee who never threw anything away"), played a significant role in bringing the body of young Prince Amun-Her-Khepesh-Ef to central Vermont....

In Episode 443, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the stone ruins of Gungywamp in the woods of Groton, Connecticut. This mysterious site could date back as much as 3,000 years and includes strange stone structures from the Native American period as well as the Colonial. Could there also be some European influence here from long before Columbus or the Vikings?  See more here: https://ournewenglan...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 165 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Wethersfield, Connecticut, on the hunt for a ghost who has been haunting this town since December of 1782. Fresh off the heels of the American Revolution, wealthy merchant William Beadle has lost almost everything because he followed the law, and did the right thing. Once the new congress devalue...

In Episode 442, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger investigate the Connecticut River in Westminster, Vermont, searching for a 100-foot-long monster serpent that's been witnessed along the river for centuries. One of the earliest sightings led to a religious conversion to a historical figure. Is the beast still out there? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-442-the-connecticut-river-mo...