Hidden deep in the forest of Connecticut is an outcrop of granite that to most, would appear to be no different than any other in the northeast. It stands almost 100 feet tall, 300 feet long and has had a long and interesting history. Recently we rediscovered this amazing location. We enjoyed the excitement of uncovering each of its known natural features. The moment that will stick in my mind the most though, is my encounter with the Terror Beneath the Devil’s Coffin.
Posted in Cave, Geology, Ghostly Haunts, Historical, Legends & Folklore, Natural Wonders, Subterranean, Wildlife and tagged cave, Coffin, devil, folklore, geology, hidden, history, indian, Kitchen, Monster, Native American, Seven Wonders, Squaw, terror, Vultureswith 6 comments.
Recently we teamed up with members from the group known as Iron Miners. Like us they hunt down remarkable history and fantastic locations long forgotten in New England. What makes them unique, is that they pursue stories connected to mines lost in the forests across the northeast. Some of these tales are connected to important moments in the early history of America. We had such a great time working with them on the Lost cave of Monroe, we already have plans to team up with them on some fascinating projects in 2018.
Over the years of hunting down mines, they have captured many of their adventure in short documentaries. We thought many of you would find them as interesting as we did, so we’ll be posting them on our blog. Later this year we’ll be posting new videos on the amazing stories we’re working on with them right now.
Posted in Cave, Geology, Historical, Subterranean and tagged connecticut, history, Legend, mine, new englandwith 4 comments.
Rumors of a lost cave in Monroe Connecticut have circulated for a long time. It has most likely been the inspiration for many young boys to explore the deep forest during those warm summer days. Tradition says that an adventuresome man named sharp stumbled onto a treasure hidden in a hillside of Monroe Connecticut. The story goes on to say that with 400’ of rope, Sharp explored the cave as far as safety would permit. What exactly he saw would remain a mystery. In the 1820s the cave was mined for Silver and limestone, but the ore acquired from it proved to be very poor quality. Eventually the mining ceased.
Posted in Archaeological, Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, Natural Wonders and tagged cave, connecticut, Folklore of New England, indian, Legends of New England, new england, new england folklore, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
Monk Caves, Pirate Caves, Spouting caves and now Castle Caves. I never really expected that the crew here at Strange New England would be encountering so many caves this summer. Each one seemed to be stumbled upon by accident. Castle Caves was no different. As I was examining an old United States Global Survey (USGS) topographical map of the Sutton MA area, the words ‘Castle Caves’ just jumped out at me. It was only a few miles directly south of Purgatory Chasm. I was surprised I had never noticed it before.
Posted in Cave, Geology, Subterranean, The Underworld and tagged Castle, cave, geology, massachusetts, suttonwith 2 comments.
In Colebrook Conn. it is rumored that there exists a cave of mammoth proportion. Colebrook Cave was alleged to have been discovered in the 1800’s, and rediscovered around 1926, only to be lost once again. Some say that this tale was a hoax created by local pranksters. Though the story reads much like the typical legend, as you dig deeper into its history you begin to find evidence to support it.
Connecticut is the home of many caves, large and small, most New Englanders are not aware of. The largest of these are the Twin Lakes Caves in Salisbury. These caves are impressive in size and called the Champions of New England caves. Though previously commercial caves, they are now closed to the public.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, Subterranean and tagged adventure, cave, Colebrook, Folklore of New England, Legend, Legends of New England, lost, mystery, new england folklore, strange new england, Witcheswith no comments yet.
I’m often asked how we uncover these interesting places and history in New England. Often, I will stress the worth of libraries and lots of reading, but forget to mention the immense value of just talking to people. Many of our greatest discoveries come from a conversation with a friendly person we meet in our travels. One of those casual conversations is what led to my discover of Deadman’s Cave.
In fall of 2012, I was once again reminded that chatting with friends and family around you can also pay off. I was told that my father in-law Richard Gallo had a story about a long-forgotten cave in Cranston Rhode Island. Though I found it hard to believe I could have missed something like this, I was intrigued.
When I met with Richard, I immediately asked where the cave was located. Expecting to hear that it lay on a lonely hill in the western extremes of Cranston, I was surprised by what in his story revealed.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Subterranean, The Underworld and tagged cave, coal, cranston, Deadmans Cave, Deamans, fossil, mine, Passage, pond, Rite, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
Clay Perry included many things in his books that would only be considered caves by the most generous definition. There were also some entries he referred to as artificial caves. These were man-made stone tunnels and chambers that can be found scattered across New England. Though he had and entire chapter that covered some that he found most interesting, there is one in Goshen, Massachusetts that will only be found in the index as a counterfeiter’s cave, but it is known as Goshen’s Counterfeiters Cave .
In late 2015, I had the chance to visit and explore this counterfeiter’s cave with My friends Jim, Michael , Tristen and Zack. I had known of the tunnel for over 25 years and had always wanted to explore it. I found the available descriptions and illustrations to be accurate. The tunnels branching off in two directions did appear odd, but the corbel construction is something I have seen in other colonial tunnels in New England. Their appearance greatly resembles old Roman culverts that can still be found in England. If it weren’t for the hardpan in which they are seated, I might suspect they were to divert or transport water over a property.
Posted in Archaeological, Cave, Historical, Subterranean and tagged cave, Colonial, Counterfeiters, Goshen, mystery, root cellar, strange new england, treasure, tunnel, wellwith no comments yet.
All over New England are stone chambers of all different shapes and sizes. Clay Perry referred to them as artificial caves, and 
dedicated a chapter to some he speculated were created by Irish monks around 1000 AD. There is one that locals call the Hermit Cave.
In New England there is one known as the Hermit Cave. It is a corbelled dome chamber built into a low natural mound. It has a small crawl-in opening two feet high and wide with a three-foot-long passage. The passage slopes slightly to an oval chamber 6 feet, 8 inches high and 7 feet, 6 inches wide. The rear of the chamber to the entrance measures 11 feet, 6 inches long. This small chamber is an amazing work of dry masonry.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Ruins, Subterranean and tagged cave. hermit cave, Chamber, Hermit, monk cave, norse, rock, root cellar, stone, strange new england, vikingwith no comments yet.
I’ve often thought of Connecticut as the Devil’s State. You can find his name attached to more features, places and landmarks than anywhere else in New England. Even Long Island Sound was referred to as the Devil’s Belt. Because of this, I was not surprised to stumble on the mention of a cave called the Devil’s Cave , in Connecticut. I had seen it mentioned in a 1908 article about a spiritualist camp that lies near a cove along the coast. I won’t deny that the cave’s name is what caught my interest.
It wasn’t long before I discovered that this cave has been in many publications in my library. It’s mentioned in a list of lost Connecticut caves as Devil’s Den Caves. Many other authors briefly mentioned it as Indian Cave. The one thing they all seemed to all have in common was the lack of knowledge about its exact location. Some spoke of it as if it were a secret that only locals were aware of.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, The Underworld and tagged cave, connecticut, Devil's, Folklore of New England, indian, Legends of New England, new england, new england folklore, spiritual, strange new england, vulture, warwith 8 comments.