Each week, legend-hunter, author, and historian Jeff Belanger and radio host Ray Auger explore the ghosts, monsters, folklore, history, and legends of New England. If you give us about ten minutes, we'll give you something strange to talk about today. The bizarre is closer than you think!
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 been lost if not for a song and book by Maine troubadour Harvey Reid, who joins Jeff and Ray on this episode. This episode first aired December 16, 2021 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
12/15/25 • 28:19
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 day. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-426-the-wakefield-ufo-mystery/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
12/11/25 • 16:41
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 the boy's mysterious murder. This episode first aired January 2, 2020 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
12/8/25 • 25:16
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/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
12/4/25 • 18:32
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 sailors didn't know it at the time, but this woman was the wife of Chief Squando, a powerful sorcerer. And the children were his. Squando placed a powerful curse on the river that gave rise to a legend and monster that took countless lives in the Saco River. This episode first aired April 4, 2019 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
12/1/25 • 17:21
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 day became less of an event, but Thanksgiving got bigger. So the people of Connecticut moved their favorite cake over to Thanksgiving. Enjoy! See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-424-thanksgiving-dessert-hartford-election-cake/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
11/27/25 • 20:46
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 even (possibly) the United States space program. This episode first aired January 21, 2021 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
11/24/25 • 20:13
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-buff-ledge-ufo-abduction/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
11/20/25 • 21:32
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 first aired September 27, 2018 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
11/17/25 • 20:15
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/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
11/13/25 • 17:04
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 vampire. This episode first aired March 28, 2019 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
11/10/25 • 26:31
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/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
11/6/25 • 21:00
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 8, 2018 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
11/3/25 • 22:58
In Episode 420 for Halloween, we spin the tale of an old Inner Sanctum radio drama. In "The Undead" we hear the story of Diana, a woman whose husband has been undead for years… terror ensues as vampires close in trying to turn Diana into one of them. Happy Halloween! See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-420-halloween-the-undead/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
10/30/25 • 28:13
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 138 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger search downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for Rollstone Boulder; a 110-ton rock moved into a traffic island back in the late 1920s. This boulder was once perched on top of a hill overlooking town, but when stone quarries moved in, local and state politicians made a legendary effort to save this local landmark. But now that it's been in the center of town for almost a century… no one cares. This episode first aired January 20, 2022 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
10/27/25 • 25:52
In Episode 419 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to Portland, Maine, to search for John L. Aitchison, the man, they say, who only spoke twice. Back in 1864, something happened to 44-year-old Aitchison that made him quit every part of life. For the rest of his days he didn't work, didn't venture outside, and spoke only twice. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-419-the-man-who-only-spoke-twice/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
10/23/25 • 18:38
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 137 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger search for the lost village of North Pepperell, Massachusetts. Once a bustling center of commerce back in the early 1800s, all that's left today are a few cellar holes and former foundations sinking into the woods. The reason the village disappeared is because of a witch's curse placed on the town after the locals drove out a peculiar old woman by branding her face. This episode first aired June 10, 2021 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
10/20/25 • 21:36
In Episode 418 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger row out on Dublin Lake in Dublin, New Hampshire, to search for a strange lake monster and possible UFO crash site that only dates back to the early 1980s. The stories have made the news and books over the years, but how did it all begin? See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-418-the-dublin-lake-monster/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
10/16/25 • 16:29
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 136 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger take a drive up Lakeside Avenue in Burlington, Vermont, searching for a train bridge built by a ghost. In June of 1900, Mary Blair was killed crossing the train tracks in front of the Queen City Cotton Mill. The event triggered a haunting that made the newspapers, with reports coming from inside the mill late at night, and out on the tracks where the accident occurred. This episode first aired June 3, 2021 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
10/13/25 • 22:10
In Episode 417 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the ghost towns in and around the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. In the 1930s, the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, Massachusetts with a combined population of about 2,500 people had to disincorporate in order for the Swift River Valley to flood and form the reservoir needed for Boston's drinking water. What was left behind were scars, haunts, mysteries, and maybe a dirty secret many would rather not know about. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-417-the-ghost-towns-of-the-quabbin/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
10/9/25 • 18:47
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 134 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Peck's Hollow in Franklin, Connecticut, in search of Micah Rood's former farm and a cursed apple tree that dates back to an alleged murder from the early 1700s. For many decades, folks in eastern Connecticut had to wonder when they bit into a Mike apple if those red specs were just pigmentation, or drops of blood from a murdered French peddler. This episode first aired January 14, 2021 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
10/6/25 • 19:52
In Episode 416 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Coates Island and the surrounding bay on Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vermont, searching for the lost treasure of the alleged pirate Pierre Mallett. In the 1760s, a strange man arrived at this bay and lived as a recluse the rest of his days. Many years after his death, a letter arrived from France opening a mystery of potentially millions in lost treasure still out there. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-416-pirate-pierre-malletts-millions/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
10/2/25 • 16:27
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 134 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to High Street in Lancaster, New Hampshire, to the site of an 1880 unsolved serial murder that took the lives of six people in two adjacent houses. Was it a contagious illness, or poison? Authorities were torn, but one young woman had the motive. This episode first aired April 2, 2020 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
9/29/25 • 22:34
In Episode 415 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Sand Hill Cemetery in South Canaan, Connecticut, searching for the grave of Miles Blodgett. His grave was ground zero for a horrific event that took place in 1878 when the man later dubbed the South Canaan Maniac approached the grave with a shovel and the intent of resurrecting the dead boy below. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-415-the-south-canaan-maniac/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
9/25/25 • 17:00
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 133 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the woods around the old monastery in Cumberland, Rhode Island, in search of nine ghosts said to haunt this forest. Back in March of 1676 during the King Philip's War, something horrific happened on these grounds, and though that may be the beginning of the haunt, it's not the end of the story. More than a century later something happened that made a bad place worse. We're on the trail of ghostly apparitions and disembodied screams at Nine Men's Misery. This episode first aired October 18, 2018 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
9/22/25 • 16:54
In Episode 414 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger examine a murder scene 199 years after-the-fact. This murder rocked the small town of Chepachet, Rhode Island, to the point where they placed a plaque commemorating the gruesome event that took place on May 26, 1826. Each year the town marks the anniversary in a BIG way. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-414-the-murder-of-little-betty/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
9/18/25 • 17:33
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 132 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll down Tucker Hollow Road in Foster, Rhode Island, in search of the ghost of Aunt Lonnie – a hermit of a woman who placed a curse on her house. Her wish upon her death was that her home be dismantled so no one else could ever live there. Today she still haunts the old dirt road. This episode first aired October 15, 2020 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
9/15/25 • 16:02
In Episode 413 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore the woods of Great Chebeague Island in Casco Bay, Maine, searching for an old cellar hole that's said to be haunted by the ghost of a slain pirate who still guards hidden pirate treasure. Multiple witnesses over generations reported strange happening in and around this spot. See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-413-the-haunted-cellar-of-great-chebeague-island/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy Jeff Belanger's new book Wicked Strange New England on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Check out Jeff's new underground publication Shadow Zine! https://shadowzine.com/ Listen to Ray's Local Raydio! https://localraydio.com/
9/11/25 • 17:47
Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 131 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head back to 1930 to Bank Street in New Milford, Connecticut, to explore the legend of a haunted stove. For two weeks, the strange phenomenon of the talking stove behind a Bank Street restaurant drew in thousands of witnesses and made international news. Where were those ghostly voices coming from? This episode first aired October 8, 2020 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends
9/8/25 • 18:25
In Episode 412 Ray Auger sits down to chat with Jeff Belanger and photographer Frank Grace about their brand-new book, Wicked Strange: Your Guide to Ghosts, Monsters, Oddities, and Urban Legends from New England. Filled with over 100 stories from the six New England states the book features Frank's full color photos and many of the stories you love from the New England Legends podcast. The book is out now wherever books and ebooks are sold! See more here: https://ournewenglandlegends.com/podcast-412-wicked-strange-new-england/ Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends Buy the book online: Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lMkM3G Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Wicked-Strange/Jeff-Belanger/9781637480212 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wicked-strange-jeff-belanger/1146905732?ean=9781637480212 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/wicked-strange-your-guide-to-ghosts-monsters-oddities-and-urban-legends-from-new-england-jeff-belanger/22398233 Amazon Canada: https://a.co/d/2h6MmNk
9/4/25 • 30:48
