Episode 103: Hart Family

Erin does a dramatic reading of W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw."  This classic horror tale reminds us to be careful what we wish for. 

Salem, Massachusetts attracts thousands of tourists during Halloween season.  The lore of the Witch Trials persists, as do accounts of paranormal activity.  This episode focuses on four "hot spots" of spookiness: Turner's Seafood, The Witch House, The Howard Street Cemetary, and Gallows Hill.

The Hoosac Tunnel in North Adams, Massachusetts is a reported hotbed of paranormal activity.  Over 200 men lost their lives during the construction of the tunnel.  Are the spirits of the deceased miners communicating with the living?  Or can it all be explained by the wind?

Erin reads Poe's "The Black Cat" on this episode. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" published in 1843 was inspired by a real crime.  A Massachusetts man found the body of a woman behind his cellar wall.  There was speculation that the remains were of young women who had been murdered 20 years earlier.  Erin reads Poe's "The Black Cat" on this episode.

Maryann Cotton was considered Britain's first serial killer.  She was a "Black Widow" suspected of poisoning 21 adults and children with arsenic between 1857-1872. 

Erin does a reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart."  A caregiver murders his elderly patient because he can't stand the old man's "Vulture Eye." 

October 1, 2023: The Boston Strangler

Trigger Warning: This episode contains explicit content about rape and sexual assault.
Between 1962 and 1964 thirteen women were raped and strangled in their homes in the Boston area.  Albert DeSalvo, a serial rapist, confessed to murdering the women.  DeSalvo was never prosecuted for the murders, but he was sentenced to life in prison for committing over 300 sexual assaults.  While DeSalvo has generally come to be known as The Boston Strangler, there is still lingering doubt as to the murderer’s identity.

George Brown lost his wife and 3 children to tuberculosis.  Due to a lack of understanding of consumption, Rhode Island was known as the vampire capital of the world in the late 19th century.   Mercy Brown, a 19 year old girl who died of tuberculosis, has the distinction of being the first female vampire.  She was also the inspiration in some popular vampire stories.

Stone's Public House in Ashland, Massachusetts, is known as a place where you can "dine with the ghosts."  I spent October 31 enjoying a meal, and looking for ghosts at the restaurant.  Stone's has attracted mediums and paranormal investigators since the 1980's. It was even featured on the Discovery Channel's Ghost Lab. 

The Isle of Shoals is an area in the waters of New Hampshire and Maine.  In the late 1800's, two grand hotels were built on the island that attracted tourists who wanted to escape the grind of the city.  The Shoals is still a popular tourist attraction where travelers can book an island cruise, and enjoy beaches, whaling, and of course lobstah.  However, Smuttynose Island, has a dark legacy.  It was the site of a grisly double murder back in 1873.  This dark story is just as shocking as any modern day murder.