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.
The Atlantic Ocean is teaming with many unusual and very frightening creatures. For centuries sailors have spun tale of denizen from the deep that would make even the bravest of anglers shudder in fear. Giant serpents, colossal fish with razor sharp teeth, and behemoths with tentacles that could crush the hull of a ship were believed to lurk beneath the waves. One of them that came to the shore for all to see was the Blockness Monster.
Posted in Legends & Folklore, Monsters, Cryptids & Ghouls and tagged Blockness Monster, cryptid creatures, cryptids, Folklore of New England, kraken, Legends of New England, Monster, monster legends, mystery, mythical creatures, new england folklore, serpent, strange new englandwith 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.
In August 2003 I returned trip to Purgatory Chasm. With a diet of 90% fish and lots of exercise, I had trimmed down a few belt sizes. When I last visited the Damnation Cave, I hit a road block. The passage to the lower level was much narrower than I remembered. Now, I was ready to squeeze through that final obstacle and make it to the inner sanctum. This time I planed on mapping the cave. This gave the trip a useful purpose, but finding my way to the lower chamber was my true goal.
Posted in Cave, Legends & Folklore, Subterranean and tagged cave, chasm, damnation, Damnation Cave, Folklore of New England, hell, hidden, Legends of New England, new england folklore, purgatory, purgatory chasm, serect, strange new englandwith no comments yet.
Many know of the Dighton Rock. Another popular rock with a rune inscription is called the Narragansett Rock or Pojac Point Rock. It is the second most commonly spoken of landmark in Rhode Island concerning the possible pre-colonial visit by Vikings. The most popular landmark in Rhode Island that is claimed to have been built by Vikings is the Newport tower. What many do not know is that there are many other rocks in Rhode Island that are believed to also have runes inscriptions. Though most are believed to be hoaxes, Indian markings, or just natural features, they are interesting curios of Rhode Island culture and history.
Posted in Ancient New England, Legends & Folklore and tagged bristol, inscription, leif erickson, narragansett stone, northernmen, norumbega, petroglyph, pojac point, rhode island, runes, runestone, strange new england, viking runes, viking runstonewith 2 comments.
Over 10 years ago, when we had just begun to delve into the stranger side of New England , a unique site that was top on our list was called the 
Upton Chamber. We stumbled across it in a book I had purchased from a used book store in Providence, R.I..
Upton chamber is one of the largest underground stone chambers in New England . A six foot high fourteen foot long tunnel leads into the mammoth chamber. The chamber is twelve feet in diameter and twelve feet high and beehive in shape, like a large stone igloo. Upton chamber is an amazing work of dry masonry with a cap stone weighing several tons. Archeologists believe it is just a colonial root cellar built in the 1700’s but there are those that recognized it similarity to early Irish and Iberic stone chambers and believe it was constructed over a thousand years earlier. Most archeologists feel this is fanciful thinking since there has been no evidence of Pre-colonial foreign visitors other than the Norse at Newfoundland in 1000 AD.
Posted in Ancient New England, Cave, Legends & Folklore, Subterranean and tagged ancient, cave, Chamber, Folklore of New England, Legends of New England, monk, monks cave, new england folklore, strange new england, Upton, Upton Chamberwith no comments yet.
In the city of Waterbury Connecticut, not far west of Holy Land, is a curious tract of 
land that is home to a local legend. Flanked by a major highway, private homes and business, this triangle of forest and swamp is not easily accessible. Hidden near its apex are the remains of what has been the inspiration for this lore. The popular name for this spot is The Little People Village but it has also been called The Daemon Village.
There are many different versions of this strange legend but I’ll try to summarize the most common facets of this odd tale.
Posted in Legends & Folklore, Weird Destinations and tagged curse, demons, Demons Village, Little People Village, strange, strange new england, villagewith no comments yet.
Since 1923, the Appalachians have been believed to be the stomping ground of what some people call Devil Monkeys. Though they are thought to lurk in the 
mountains, every so often they are seen venturing into suburbia. They are described as between three and eight feet in height, with baboon or dog-like snouts, and dark black hair. These hostile primates are said to sport long claws, pointy ears and white hair from neck to belly. What makes those who have witness them so frightened is not only how out of place they appear, but that they have been reported to attack and sometime kill, small game, livestock and dogs.
Posted in Legends & Folklore, Monsters, Cryptids & Ghouls and tagged cryptid creatures, cryptids, devil, devil monkey, Monster, monster legends, mythical creatures, strange new englandwith 2 comments.
Near a small Massachusetts village called Nahant, is a cave that few people are aware of. It’s roughly 24 yards deep with a ceiling over six feet high. I had stumbled upon an old print of the cave while researching caves of New England. Intrigued by my discovery, I spent some time following up on it. It was difficult to find anything written about the cave. Eventually, I discovered a short description that mentioned a witch haunted it. That was more than enough to put it on the top of my to-do list. I scanned through topographical and nautical maps and found its location. Spending a few more hours digging through the archives, I uncovered the story behind Swallow Cave.
Posted in Cave, Historical, Legends & Folklore, Natural Wonders and tagged cave, nahant, new england, ocean, strange new england, swallow, Swallow Cave, witchwith no comments yet.