Legends, Lore and Secrets of New England


Book Description

New England's history is marked with witch executions, curses and an untold number of cemeteries hiding mysteries beneath their stones. In this sometimes harsh landscape, the truth is often stranger than fiction. Examine the footprints burned into the ledge of Devil's Foot Rock in Rhode Island. Spend a night at the Kennebunk Inn in Maine, where the mischievous specter of Silas Perkins still resides. Traverse an old dirt road near Sterling, Connecticut, where the Darn Man's frozen body was uncovered in 1863. Authors Thomas D'Agostino and Arlene Nicholson uncover the history behind the region's best-kept secrets and lore. As you flip through these pages of New England's legends, tread lightly--you just might find a story that will follow you home.




A History of Vampires in New England


Book Description

The author of A Guide to Haunted New England lifts the coffin lid on the region’s folklore and legends of the undead. New England is rich in history and mystery. Numerous sleepy little towns and farming communities distinguish the region’s scenic tranquility. But not long ago, New Englanders lived in fear of spectral ghouls believed to rise from their graves and visit family members in the night to suck their lives away. Although the word “vampire” was never spoken, scores of families disinterred loved ones during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries searching for telltale signs that one of them might be what is now referred to as the New England vampire. “In his remarkable book . . . Thomas D’Agostino details the longstanding belief among New Englanders that supernatural entities were responsible for the disease called consumption.”—Crime Capsule Includes photos! Praise for A Guide to Haunted New England “Fun, charming . . . includes not only locales with reported ghosts, but also sites with macabre (though not haunted) histories.”—True Crime Librarian “Anyone interested in exploring the haunted, macabre and abandoned throughout New England knows they can count on D’Agostino to find out more about the site’s history, past sightings and how to find them.”—Mobile RVing




Our History in Stone


Book Description

For more than 350 years New England has been known as one of the foundations of American arts and culture. Some of our countries greatest artists have left their mark in small towns from Maine to Connecticut, and some of the most important artwork is forever on display in the most inconspicuous of places, carved into our history for future generations to see. A simple flower, a morbid skeleton or an ornate sailboat, mysterious symbols from the past, but what do they mean? Unlock the meanings behind these symbols and discover the world of the artists who carved them. This comprehensive visual guide is packed with 300 pictures from cemeteries located all over New England. Superstitious? Learn about the historic superstitions of old New Englanders. Is that cricket chirping just a soothing sound, or an eerie foreshadowing of death? This is Our History In Stone, The New England Cemetery Dictionary.




Popular Science


Book Description

Popular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve their technology and their world. The core belief that Popular Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it better.







New England's Cruel and Unusual Punishments


Book Description

"People were burned at the stake in New England, and whipping was a common punishment. Hangings were gala affairs where food and drink was served, and pelting a neighbor who sat in the stocks with rocks and filth from the street was a weekly form of recreation. There were strict rules and regulations for all 17th and 18th centruy Pilgrims and Puritans -- and to break a rule might mean death. Yet, children, women and anyone of a different religion were treated quite cruelly, whether they broke the rules or not. Almost every New England family owned at least one black (and sometimes one white) slave prior to the Revolution, and the slave's fate was at the whim of his or her master. This book reveals some old and well-kept secrets that will surprise you."




The Gothic Literature and History of New England


Book Description

The Gothic Literature and History of New England surveys the history, nature and future of the Gothic mode in the region, from the witch trials through the Black Lives Matter Movement. Texts include Cotton Mather and other Puritan divines who collected folklore of the supernatural; the Frontier Gothic of Indian captivity narratives; the canonical authors of the American Renaissance such as Melville and Hawthorne; the women's ghost story tradition and the Domestic Gothic from Harriet Beecher Stowe to Charlotte Perkins Gilman to Shirley Jackson; H. P. Lovecraft; Stephen King; and writers of the current generation who respond to racial and gender issues. The work brings to the surface the religious intolerance, racism and misogyny inherent in the New England Gothic, and how these nightmares continue to haunt literature and popular culture—films, television and more.




Haunted Litchfield County


Book Description

Litchfield is Connecticut's least populated county, yet it boasts more ghosts and legends than anywhere else in the region. Indian spirits and curses pursue those who wronged them. Haunted caves and camps harbor spirits that once called these places home. The Clairvoyant of Colebrook communicated regularly with the dead, while some guests of the Yankee Pedlar Inn refuse to leave. From the Twin Lakes Ghost Canoe in Salisbury to the friendly literary spirit at the Bank Street Book Nook, echoes of the past abound. Tom D'Agostino and Arlene Nicholson reveal the dark secrets of the Nutmeg State's shadowy northwest corner.




The Invasion of Sandy Bay


Book Description

A young boy plays a key role when the War of 1812 comes to his Massachusetts coastal fishing village. The little town of Sandy Bay, Massachusetts, was the site of one of the wildest invasions in U.S. history, when the might of the British Empire came up against hardheaded New England townsfolk. The Invasion of Sandy Bay, based on eyewitness accounts of actual events, tells the tale—through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy—of what happened on the night when the British put too much gunpowder in one of their cannons. The hilarious—and true—events of the topsy-turvy invasion are set against the backdrop of the dangerous lives of the fishermen. Includes author's notes and bibliography.