New England Legends Podcast

In Episode 428, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to Washington, Maine, to see where outlaw Elmer J. McCurdy got his start on January 1, 1880. The troubled youth became a drifter, made his way out to the heartland of America, then turned to an unsuccessful life of crime. After his death, and no one claiming his body, his embalmed and mummified corpse began to tour with carnivals. He was passed around for decades until folks didn't...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 150 –  Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Arcadia, Rhode Island, in search of moaning bones — the ghostly cries of a peddler murdered long ago. While in town, we learn about a second, and eerily similar story coming from the region of Molasses Hill on Mt. Tome. Could these stories be one in the same? This episode first aired May 9, 2019

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Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 149 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the Bangor Public Library in Maine, in search of a couch where former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin drew his last breath. The couch has become a macabre attraction in the library due to its connection with presidential royalty… but you can't sit on it! What happened? And how did it get here? This episode first aired October 6, 2...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 148 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger row out to a tiny island called Becky's Garden on Lake Winnipesaukee to explore the fairy tale legend behind this rock and little house. It's the smallest island on the lake, it's been on the map since 1885, and the story behind it sounds all too familiar. This episode first aired February 20, 2020

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Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 147 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll Boston Common to see this year's Christmas tree. The tree is an annual gift from the people of Halifax, Nova Scotia – a gift that traces its roots back to a horrible tragedy that took place December 6, 1917, when a French ship carrying munitions exploded, instantly killing hundreds of people, and injuring thousands more. Out of th...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 145 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, searching for the factory that produced America's first Christmas cards. Back in 1875, Louis Prang took a chance that Americans might want to send Christmas cards like they do in Europe. His risk paid off. Within a few years 5 million cards per year were leaving his Roxbury factory, a...

In Episode 427, our holiday special, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take the classic Victorian Christmas ghost story "The Phantom Coach" by Amelia Edwards, and turn it into an audio drama. Actor Michael Legge joins us to spin this spooky holiday tale. Music by John Judd.

See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-427-the-phantom-coach-a-holiday-ghost-story/ 

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Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 145 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger sail the shores of southern Maine from Kennebunkport to York, searching for the ghost ship Isidore. They say the Isidore was cursed from the start, which is why she wrecked on her maiden voyage November 30, 1842. Had the captain and crew heeded their premonitions, maybe 16 lives could have been spared. The story of this tragedy may have ...

In Episode 426 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit a pond near a rural farm in Wakefield, New Hampshire. Back in January of 1977 a local farmer found a three-foot circle cut through the thick ice of his small pond. At the bottom of the shallow pond, he saw a strange black cube. He called the police and set off an investigation that led to radioactive readings, the National Guard getting involved, and a mystery that persists to this d...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 144 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger start their adventure in Milford, Massachusetts, looking for a local farm boy who went missing in February of 1846. Then they head to Boston where a break in the case came two years later when a psychic medium gave the family the whereabouts of the boy's body. According to the newspaper reports, her insight unraveled the entire case of t...

In Episode 425 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit an ancient and mysterious henge in Lincoln, Massachusetts, that dates all the way back to the year 2010. What started as something small has grown into one of the most fun roadside oddities in New England. 

See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-425-the-ancient-mystery-of-ponyhenge/ 

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Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 143 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to an island on the Saco River in Biddeford, Maine. This site is ground-zero for an alleged atrocity that took place in 1675, when three British sailors tossed a Sokokis Indian baby into the river to see if he could swim. The baby's pregnant mother dove in to try and save him, but also drowned in her frantic attempt. These British s...

In Episode 424 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Hartford, Connecticut, for their Thanksgiving dessert. Hartford Election Cake is a massive confection that dates back to 1796 when America was holding its first contested presidential election. Voting used to be a big event with parties and banquets and a HUGE cake as a reward. The people of Hartford made an 80-pound cake following the recipe of Amelia Simmons. Over time, election ...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 142 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the shores of Beaver Lake in Derry, New Hampshire, searching for the Derry Fairy. In the 1600s, Tsienneto, came to the lake and built shelter on an enchanted island in the middle. While hunting near the lake, he had a run-in with the local Pawtucket people. The capture lead to prophecy and legend with later ties to colonists and ...

In Episode 423 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the skies over Colchester, Vermont, searching for a cigar-shaped UFO that abducted two teenagers working at the old Buff Ledge summer camp on Lake Champlain back in 1968. The strange encounter gave rise to a popular book about the incident and one of the most famous UFO cases to ever grace the Green Mountain State. 

See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-423-the-b...

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 141 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger saunter into Green Mount Cemetery in Vermont's capital city of Montpelier in search of the Black Agnes grave. They say if you sit on the statue's lap… it would be bad. Very bad. But how did this grave earn that reputation? How is the person buried here tied to the local library? Do Jeff and Ray dare to test this legend? This episode firs...

In Episode 422 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger drive to Sterling, Connecticut, to pop their car in neutral and search for the ghost of Gravity Hill on Main Street. The legend goes this was once land owned by a witch… and if you put your car in neutral her ghost will push your car uphill off her property. But is it true?

See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-422-the-ghost-of-gravity-hill/ 

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Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 140 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger visit Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island, in search of the mortal remains of Mercy Brown. Mercy died of Consumption on January 17, 1892. Three months later, her father had her heart and liver removed from her corpse so he could burn them to ashes and feed those ashes to his dying son. Why? Because some suspected Mercy was a v...

In Episode 421 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Burrillville, Rhode Island, to investigate the curious grave of Laura Sherman who was buried in this small family plot back in 1870. Today all of the headstones are gone. They say under a full moon and right conditions, her ghost will appear and talk to you. 

See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-421-dancing-with-a-ghost/ 

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