Haunted American History

In the small town of Buffalo, Wyoming, stands one of the West’s most legendary hotels. The Occidental Hotel has welcomed outlaws, cowboys, and even U.S. presidents through its doors since the late 1800s. But behind the polished wood bar and restored Victorian décor, whispers tell of something else... something that never checked out.

Guests report ghostly footsteps pacing the halls, disembodied voices drifting from empty rooms, and ...

On the lonely roads of Ridgeway, Wisconsin, drivers have reported chilling encounters for more than 150 years. A phantom figure—sometimes a man, sometimes a shapeless mist—appears without warning, only to vanish as quickly as it came. Known simply as the Ridgeway Ghost, its legend is steeped in 19th-century murders, frontier justice, and a community terrorized by what they believed was a restless spirit.

Is the Ridgeway Ghost a prod...

In 1897, a young woman named Zona Heaster Shue was found dead in her West Virginia home. Her death was quickly dismissed as natural, but her mother knew better. She claimed that Zona’s ghost appeared to her, revealing that her husband had murdered her.

What followed was one of the strangest trials in American history, the only time a ghost’s “testimony” helped convict a killer.

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Seattle’s Hotel Sorrento has long been called one of the most haunted hotels in America. Guests whisper about phantom piano music, drinks that slide across tables, and a playful spirit said to be none other than Alice B. Toklas—famed partner of Gertrude Stein and counterculture icon. But did Toklas ever even set foot in the hotel? And if not, who really haunts these historic halls?

In this episode, we peel back the layers of legend ...

From a Virginia river where a woman was tried as a witch to a Southern inn where the sound of violin music still lingers in the night, legends live on. This week, we tell the story of Grace Sherwood — the Witch of Pungo — and the restless spirits of the Martha Washington Inn.

LINKS FOR MY DEBUT NOVEL, THE FORGOTTEN BOROUGH

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When a family moves onto scorched farmland with plans to build a Halloween attraction, they discover the land is haunted by the legend of Dapper Donald Pup—a well-dressed killer who may have never died. As the scarecrow in the field shifts closer with every night, stories blur into reality, and the family realizes some legends refuse to stay buried.

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In the picturesque town of Stowe, Vermont, there’s a covered bridge with a story as dark as its timbers. Locals call it Emily’s Bridge—a place where heartbreak turned to haunting, and folklore grew into one of New England’s most famous ghost stories. Was Emily a jilted lover, a tragic bride, or just a name whispered into a Ouija board in the 1970s? Tonight, we unravel the tangled web of legend, history, and unexplained encounters a...

On a frozen February night in 1992, a blast of dynamite shattered a strange stone monument hidden in the woods outside Kaysville, Utah. Kay’s Cross had stood for decades as a local curiosity, a place whispered about in late-night dares and folklore filled with ghosts, polygamist murders, and Satanic rituals. Its destruction only deepened the mystery. Who built it? Who destroyed it? And why has it become one of Utah’s most enduring ...

Hastings College in Nebraska is more than a quiet campus on the prairie; it’s a place where history still lingers in the halls. From the guardian angel of Altman Hall to the phantom professor of the Music Hall, to the mysterious legend of ‘Walking Mary,’ the college’s folklore reveals what it values most: care, tradition, and memory. On this episode, we explore how ghost stories don’t just haunt a campus—they help define its identi...

La Chasse-Galerie, the flying canoe, is one of French Canada’s most enduring pieces of folklore. It’s the story of lonely lumberjacks who make a dangerous bargain for one magical night of freedom, only to discover that a deal with the Devil always comes with a price. Join me for a bonus tale of folklore, temptation, and the dark wings of legend.

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In a small Texas town stands the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital, once a beacon of mercy, now called one of the most haunted buildings in America. From shadowy figures to the whispers of long-dead patients, its reputation has grown into legend. But behind the stories lies something even more unsettling…

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Deep in Kingsport, Tennessee lies the Sensabaugh Tunnel, one of the state’s most infamous haunted sites. Locals whisper about eerie cries echoing through its concrete throat, a chilling sound that many mistake for the wail of an infant. Some say it’s the ghost of a murdered child, others that it’s Edward Sensabaugh himself, doomed to stalk the tunnel for eternity after a violent death. Over the decades, the stories have twisted, gr...

In 12th-century England, two strange children appeared in the village of Woolpit, skin tinted green, speaking an unknown language, and claiming to come from a land of eternal twilight. Were they lost travelers, victims of illness, or something otherworldly? In this first Haunted American History Goes Abroad episode, we explore the enduring mystery of the Green Children of Woolpit.

YOUTUBE

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Content Warning: This episode contains themes of suicide and despair, presented through folklore and horror storytelling. Listener discretion is advised.

On the lonely prairies of South Dakota, legends speak of Walking Sam—a towering shadow said to collect the hopeless, stringing them like beads along his endless arms. Those who hear his whispers aren’t offered death, but something far more chilling: rest without release, an eternal...

Deep in South Carolina’s low country, the legend of the Boo Hag has haunted generations. She’s said to slip into your home at night, stealing the very skin from your body before vanishing into the swamp. Most people tell the story as a warning.

But one man hears it as an invitation.

A former killer who once claimed his victims’ skins now stalks the Boo Hag herself, tracking the trail she leaves behind. For him, it’s more than folklor...

In Rhode Island’s historic General Stanton Inn, guests have long reported the sound of a woman crying through the night—grief without a face, sorrow without end. But what if the ghost isn’t the one doing the haunting?

This week, we explore the legend of the crying ghost and present a new story about a man who carries his grief like a shadow… and the house that remembers everything.

I've written numerous stories over the years, and th...

In the deep woods of Pennsylvania, we explore the legend of the Giwoggle—a bizarre creature with the body of a wolf, the claws of a bird, and the hooves of a horse. Learn how witches once conjured this phantom to carry out revenge and how the legendary Loop Hill Ike hunted it, a real-life monster hunter from the 1800s. We trace its journey from a terrifying specter to a beloved local mascot that now marches in the annual town parad...

This week, I travel to the misty shores of Cannon Beach, Oregon, to investigate the chilling legend of the Bandage Man. A spectral figure swathed in bloody bandages is said to haunt the coastal highways, a terrifying remnant of a gruesome logging accident.

Is the Bandage Man a restless spirit seeking revenge, or a terrifying tale born from the mist-shrouded Oregon coast?

To bring the legend to life, we'll also feature a reading of a ...