New England Legends

Jeff Belanger and Frank Grace talk about the haunted Eunice Williams Covered Bridge in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

On August 7, 1958, disaster struck the waters right off of Rose Island. In a heavy fog, two tankers collided near Fort Adams. The flaming wreck of the Graham floated right up to the Rose Island lighthouse in Newport, Rhode Island, forcing the keepers to run to the other side of the island for fear of the intense heat. All looked lost for the lighthouse, but the winds and tides intervened to push the flaming vessel back into open water. Eighteen men from the two ships were killed in the accident.

Built in 1858 and located on Mount Desert Island in Maine’s iconic Acadia National Park, Bass Harbor Lighthouse is said to be haunted by an early builder who vanished during the construction. Could his murdered body still be buried inside the foundation? In this New England Legends extra we visit with author Marcus LiBrizzi to hear the story of Bass Harbor Light.

In North Adams, Massachusetts, there’s a cliff-face that overlooks the town. It’s called Coca Cola Ledge, because decades ago the Coca Cola Company painted a large logo on the cliff as a billboard. The cliff is easily accessible from either side, and the top is said to be home to a monster — a Bigfoot-type creature who lurks up there to scare away anyone who gets to close.

Spiritualist Medium Carole Lynne joins Jeff Belanger inside Dungeon Rock in Lynn Woods, Massachusetts, to try and connect with the spirit of Hiram Marble. For years Hiram Marble claimed spirits directed him to chisel and blast through this rock in search for long-lost pirate treasure. Had he found gold here back in the 1850s, the city of Lynn would have been Mecca for Spiritualism. Maybe he was digging in the wrong place?

Witness Thom Reed takes Jeff Belanger through his former hometown of Sheffield, Massachusetts, to where his 1969 UFO encounter took place.

Jim Egan of the Newport Tower Museum in Rhode Island shares his theory of how the tower once functioned as an advanced astronomical calendar, or “Horologium.”

In 1901, Dr. Duncan MacDougall of Haverhill, Massachusetts, believed he could prove humans have a soul. Working with six dying patients, MacDougall convinced them to perform an experiment at the moment of their death that could verify they do indeed have a soul, and it has weight.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton’s home, The Mount, in Lenox, Massachusetts is renowned for its beauty and majesty – but there’s also a sinister side to it. Marital infidelities, madness, and death are also a part of this gilded age mansion’s tale, and ghosts of the past are said to haunt it today. Legend Hunter Jeff Belanger turns a page in Wharton’s story to uncover some of The Mount’s deepest, darkest secrets.

In 2012, we took the New England Legends audience to October Mountain in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. We were in search of the ghost of a little girl said to haunt an abandoned cemetery near the top. Through exploring that legend, we were able to find the cemetery and give that girl a name once again: Anna Pease. By telling that story, we were able to reunite a family. This was the most profound and touching legend we have ever chased.

It’s that time of year again, when ghosts and goblins walk the earth and the veil between our world and the spirit world is said to be at its thinnest… A perfect time for legend chaser Jeff Belanger to examine the origins of Halloween, find out why we like being scared, and seek out some frights at DementedFX’s haunted funhouse attraction in Easthampton, Massachusetts!

The site of a ghost town which was lost at the turn of the century, mysterious Glastenbury Mountain is located just outside of Bennington, Vermont. The vast wilderness is host to many legends, among them tales of a “man-eating” rock and several Bigfoot sightings. The area is also the location of several unexplained disappearances over the years, one of which lead directly to the formation of the Vermont State Police. Legend Hunter Jeff Belanger explored the ruins of the ghost town Fayville to find out more.

Built by the J.P. Morgan family, Lenox’s Ventfort Hall is a Gilded Age mansion with ties to the legendary Massachusetts 54th regiment from the Civil War and was host to the people who shaped and molded this country at the turn of the century — the Vanderbilts and the Rockerfellers of the era. And if you’re a movie fan, it was even featured as the titular setting for the Hollywood blockbuster The Cider House Rules. As Legend Hunter Jeff Belanger shows us, in addition to its amazing history it’s also said to be a location for restless spirits.

Set to the eerie photography of Frank Grace, some of New England's leading authorities on spooks and legends share the history and haunts of the region.