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.
Hidden within the undulating arm of the Connecticut River is a serpent that has frightened those who’ve lived on it banks since colonists first settled there. Often it has been described as an eel or snake-like serpent over one hundred feet long. Though over the past three hundred years it has been spotted by people across three states, it still appears to remain a mystery.
In the early 1800s, spotting strange creatures off the coast of Connecticut was not uncommon. Sailors would return to port with tales of ghastly leviathans they encountered in their travels. The most peculiar of these stories frequently surfaced in the local publications. One that crossed the pages of the New York Times and Scientific American was not reported by sailors at sea, but by people deep in the heart of Connecticut. This beast appeared to make its home in the Connecticut River.
Posted in Legends & Folklore, Monsters, Cryptids & Ghouls, Podcasts and tagged cryptid creatures, cryptids, cryptozoology, Folklore of New England, Legends of New England, Monster, monster legends, mythical creatures, new england, serpent, strange new englandwith 1 comment.
Strange History is the audio companion to the blog Strange New England where we investigate the forgotten, unusual, and simply strange folklore, history and destinations in New England.
Posted in Podcasts, Updates & Information and tagged monsters, mysteries, new england, podcast, strange history, 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.
New Hampshire has always had a warm place in my heart. My family and I use to vacation in cottages along Lake Winnipesauke every summer. Places like the Polar Caves, Lost River, and The Flume were some of my favorite stops in the Granite State. Little did I realize that hidden within the deep forest and steep mountains there were similar places waiting to be revealed or rediscovered. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a lead on a place called Glacial Park. My friend Super ‘D’ had suggest we head up to Thornton NH for an adventure weekend. His cousin Bryon is the owner and caretaker of Shamrock motel in Thornton NH and also was an avid explorer. Byron enjoyed hiking the NH forest with his kids and knew of several other interesting sites we could visit. Once the seed was planted in Bryon’s ear, he invited my Super ‘D’ and I to stay up at his motel for the weekend. He promised give us a tour of some of the forgotten sites in NH that he felt would make a great addition to the website.
Posted in Geology, Historical, Natural Wonders and tagged falls, forgotten, glacial park, glacialpark, glaical, new england, new hampshire, nh, strange, strange new englandwith 3 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.