New England Legends Podcast

In Episode 71, 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. But after the little mummy arrived he was lost, and almost forgotten for the second time. Is the mummy still there? Is there a curse?

In Episode 71, 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. But after the little mummy arrived he was lost, and almost forgotten for the second time. Is the mummy still there? Is there a curse?

In Episode 70, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Boston to the haunted Parker House Hotel in search of the ghost of the man who brought Christmas to America. We learned in last year's holiday podcast that the Puritans of Boston banned Christmas back in 1659 because they claimed making merry and dressing festive was "satanic." They'd fine you five shillings if you were caught! Though the ban was lifted in 1681, that doesn't mean Christmas was celebrated. You still had to go to work and school that day for almost the next two centuries. But something changed in 1867 when a man came to Boston with a story that transformed everything. Be careful, this episode may just squish your inner Grinch!

In Episode 70, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to Boston to the haunted Parker House Hotel in search of the ghost of the man who brought Christmas to America. We learned in last year's holiday podcast that the Puritans of Boston banned Christmas back in 1659 because they claimed making merry and dressing festive was "satanic." They'd fine you five shillings if you were caught! Though the ban was lifted in 1681, that doesn't mean Christmas was celebrated. You still had to go to work and school that day for almost the next two centuries. But something changed in 1867 when a man came to Boston with a story that transformed everything. Be careful, this episode may just squish your inner Grinch!

In Episode 69, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, to visit the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript. This 600-year-old book is full of hundreds of pages of writing and illustrations from an unknown author in an unknown language. Since its discovery in 1912, language experts and code-breakers have tried to decipher the meaning, but have failed to figure it out. More recently some Canadian software engineers applied algorithms that may have offered us the first crack in the case. But what does it say?

In Episode 69, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut, to visit the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript. This 600-year-old book is full of hundreds of pages of writing and illustrations from an unknown author in an unknown language. Since its discovery in 1912, language experts and code-breakers have tried to decipher the meaning, but have failed to figure it out. More recently some Canadian software engineers applied algorithms that may have offered us the first crack in the case. But what does it say?

In Episode 68, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll the streets of Newport, Rhode Island, in search of the story behind 20-year-old Rosa Walker, who, according to dozens of 1878 newspaper accounts, laughed herself to death. Could this really happen? We call upon a medical doctor to help explain how. You may just learn something on this episode (sorry).

In Episode 68, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll the streets of Newport, Rhode Island, in search of the story behind 20-year-old Rosa Walker, who, according to dozens of 1878 newspaper accounts, laughed herself to death. Could this really happen? We call upon a medical doctor to help explain how. You may just learn something on this episode (sorry).

In Episode 67 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike Mt. Chocorua in the White Mountains of central New Hampshire in search of a centuries-old Native American curse based on betrayal, murder, and a horrible accident. Sokosis Chief Chocorua's final words still reverberate throughout these hills. The curse is so powerful, and has been blamed on so many tragedies, that in 1955 a politician proposed renaming the mountain in an effort to kill the legend. Beware... on Mt. Chocorua, Jeff and Ray find a connection to more than one legend.

In Episode 67 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike Mt. Chocorua in the White Mountains of central New Hampshire in search of a centuries-old Native American curse based on betrayal, murder, and a horrible accident. Sokosis Chief Chocorua's final words still reverberate throughout these hills. The curse is so powerful, and has been blamed on so many tragedies, that in 1955 a politician proposed renaming the mountain in an effort to kill the legend. Beware... on Mt. Chocorua, Jeff and Ray find a connection to more than one legend.

In Episode 66 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the Paul Curtis House in Medford, Massachusetts, to one of the most famous homes in not only New England, but the entire country thanks to poet Lydia Child. Though you've likely never heard of it, and probably wouldn't recognize it by sight, we guarantee you've known this house since childhood. Kelley McCauley meets the guys to join them on piano for this musical Thanksgiving special -- posted early this week so you can listen in the car with your family as you head to grandmother's house.

In Episode 66 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to the Paul Curtis House in Medford, Massachusetts, to one of the most famous homes in not only New England, but the entire country thanks to poet Lydia Child. Though you've likely never heard of it, and probably wouldn't recognize it by sight, we guarantee you've known this house since childhood. Kelley McCauley meets the guys to join them on piano for this musical Thanksgiving special -- posted early this week so you can listen in the car with your family as you head to grandmother's house.

In Episode 65 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger trek into the woods of Wallingford, Vermont, in search of the 1831 Patch Hollow Massacre site. Along the way, the guys encounters tales of tar, feathers, and a man named Rolon Wheeler who put up the fight of his life. This is the true story of when the rumor mill turns fatal. This story could have been ripped from today’s headlines!

In Episode 65 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger trek into the woods of Wallingford, Vermont, in search of the 1831 Patch Hollow Massacre site. Along the way, the guys encounters tales of tar, feathers, and a man named Rolon Wheeler who put up the fight of his life. This is the true story of when the rumor mill turns fatal. This story could have been ripped from today’s headlines!

In Episode 64 Jeff Belanger and Ray 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 greyish 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!