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Horror enthusiasts and movie buffs often regard New England as a haven for ghostly tales. From the infamous witch trials in Salem to the eerie settings of H.P. Lovecraft’s Providence, this northeastern region of the U.S. is brimming with spine-chilling myths and legends. Each of the six states boasts a rich collection of folklore, spooky campfire stories, and haunted locations.
10. Woodstock Vampires
On October 9, 1890, The Vermont Standard published a shocking headline: “Vampirism in Woodstock.” The story recounted an incident from 1830, when a local man named Corwin succumbed to consumption (tuberculosis). He was laid to rest in Cushing Cemetery, a burial ground for the residents of the quiet Vermont town of Woodstock.
Half a year after Corwin was buried, his brother fell ill with tuberculosis. Unable to determine the cause or find a cure, influential figures in the village, such as Dr. Joseph Gallup and Dr. John Powers from Vermont Medical College, pointed to vampirism as the culprit. Consequently, Corwin’s body was dug up for examination.
The autopsy reportedly showed that Corwin’s heart had not decomposed and was still filled with blood. In line with New England tradition, his heart was extracted and publicly burned on the town green.
Surprisingly, this wasn’t Woodstock’s first encounter with vampire hysteria. In 1817, a Dartmouth student named Daniel Ransom contracted tuberculosis. After his death on February 14, his father feared his son had turned into a vampire. To safeguard the family, he had his son’s body exhumed, and the heart was removed and burned.
This ritual was widespread across New England during the 19th century. The most notable case happened in Exeter, Rhode Island, in 1892, following the death of a young girl named Mercy Brown. Such incidents even prompted figures like Henry David Thoreau to remark on the bizarre superstition.
9. Wood Devils
Coos County, New Hampshire’s largest and northernmost region, is characterized by its rural landscapes, frigid climate, and remote isolation. This makes it an ideal habitat for a Sasquatch-like creature. Referred to as “wood devils,” these tall, slender, gray-haired beings have allegedly been spotted across the county.
Although Bigfoot sightings in New Hampshire aren’t limited to Coos County, reports of the swift-moving wood devils date back to at least the 1800s. These creatures are said to favor the dense forests near the borders of Canada and Vermont. Most sightings occurred in the 1970s, when hikers, locals, and amateur adventurers claimed to have encountered Bigfoot-like tracks and the creatures themselves.
The Appalachian Trail traverses the White Mountains of Coos County, infusing the area with the culture and essence of Appalachia. While some connect wood devils to other Appalachian folklore creatures, New Hampshire doesn’t rival the Bigfoot activity seen in the Pacific Northwest or upstate New York. Nevertheless, the wood devil legend adds a fascinating layer to the region’s folklore.
8. The Witches Of Bristol
Decades after the Salem witch trials, Bristol, Connecticut, faced its own wave of witchcraft hysteria between 1800 and 1810. One notable case involved a young woman named Merilla Norton, who accused her aunt of bewitching her at night, transforming her into a horse and riding her all the way to Albany, New York. There, Norton claimed she was compelled to observe a gathering of witches performing satanic rituals. Following her confession, an exorcism was performed on her.
Norton’s testimony, along with others, fueled a series of witchcraft trials in Bristol, marking some of the final such trials in New England. Another tale involves Elijah Gaylord, who was so severely tormented by a witch that he had to flee the town entirely.
While Bristol’s witch trials were far less violent than earlier New England witch panics, they contributed to a cyclical narrative that began in 17th-century Connecticut and concluded in the 19th century.
7. The Ruins Of Hanton City
Despite being the smallest state in the U.S., Rhode Island boasts a rich history filled with tales of vampires, ghost ships, and mysterious oceanic phenomena. Among these, the ruins of Hanton City stand out as one of the strangest. This “lost city,” located near Smithfield, remains shrouded in mystery.
Once a modest farming community, Hanton City was cut off from surrounding areas, which fueled a variety of speculative rumors. Some claimed it was inhabited by freed or escaped slaves, while others believed it served as a leper colony, housing individuals afflicted with disease and banished to the forest.
Beyond the rumors, Hanton City’s remnants include stone foundations, scattered walls, a burial ground, and other crumbling structures. A collection of headstones, all marked with the surname Smith, can also be found in this abandoned settlement. Little else is known about this colonial-era village, aside from eerie tales of unexplained sounds and an overall haunting ambiance.
6. Vermont’s Stone Chambers
Vermont, often referred to as the “Green Mountain State,” could also earn the title of the “Ancient Stone State” due to the presence of approximately 200 stone chambers, or “dolmens,” scattered across its central and southern regions. In Royalton, six such structures are clustered in a small area. Another significant site in South Woodstock features cairns, standing stones, and stone chambers nestled in a natural basin between two ridges.
The mysterious origins of these structures have sparked archaeological debate for years. Some experts suggest they served as solar calendars for Native Americans, while a smaller group argues they are remnants of a pre-Columbian, Celtic civilization that once thrived in ancient New England.
Proponents of the Celtic theory point to markings resembling ogham script, an early medieval Irish alphabet, on the stones. They believe these ancient Celts traded with Phoenician sailors who regularly visited North America’s shores.
While it’s unlikely that ancient or medieval Irish settlers constructed these formations, the stones continue to intrigue. Some studies suggest carbon dating indicates the structures could be around 2,000 years old.
5. Monster Of Pocomoonshine Lake
Pocomoonshine Lake, despite its amusing name, is a stunning body of water located in Princeton, northeastern Maine. Once a popular vacation spot, the lake gained notoriety in the 1880s when locals reported sightings of a massive creature inhabiting its waters.
In 1882, Sewell Quimby, a sawmill owner, reported seeing traces of a serpent in the river, measuring between 9 and 18 meters (30–60 feet) in length. While some dismissed the claim, the notion of a giant snake in Pocomoonshine Lake aligns with Native American legends.
One legend recounts a clash between an Algonquin shaman and a Micmac chieftain, which escalated into a supernatural duel. The two transformed into a massive snake and a fearsome serpent, respectively. The Algonquin shaman emerged victorious, and the Micmac chieftain was slain and bound to a tree near the lake.
Today, this creature is fondly called “Poco.” Unlike typical lake monsters, Poco is said to venture onto land, leaving behind enormous serpent trails in the woods surrounding the lake.
4. New Hampshire’s Devil Monkey
In the small town of Danville, New Hampshire, a terrifying entity known as the “devil monkey” was notorious for its eerie howls at night. Described as a large primate with long claws, reddish-brown fur, and a doglike snout filled with sharp teeth, the creature occasionally ventured into the town.
In September 2001, Danville’s fire chief reported spotting an unidentified creature darting through the streets late at night. This sighting was followed by nine more encounters over two weeks, sparking fear across Rockingham County.
By late September, search parties had failed to find the creature, and sightings of the devil monkey ceased, ending its reign of terror in Danville. While many attribute the hysteria to a wild, non-supernatural monkey, more superstitious individuals insist the beast retreated to New Hampshire’s remote northern mountains.
3. The Jewett City Vampires
Like Vermont and Rhode Island, 19th-century Connecticut had its own vampire legends. During the 1840s and 1850s, the Ray family of Jewett City endured multiple losses due to consumption. The first victim was 24-year-old Lemuel B. Ray, son of Henry and Lucy Ray, who died in 1845. Henry succumbed to tuberculosis in 1849, followed by 26-year-old Elisha two years later.
By 1854, the surviving Ray family members, including the ailing Henry Nelson, began to suspect vampires were behind their misfortunes. On May 8, 1854, the Rays exhumed their deceased relatives, decapitated some, and burned the organs of one body. They mixed the ashes into a liquid remedy, which they consumed in an attempt to cure the disease.
Following New England customs, Elisha, the last to die, had his heart removed. Discovering fresh blood in his heart, the Rays concluded he was the primary vampire causing the illness. They burned his body and coffin to banish his malevolent spirit. The Ray family’s ordeal, like other vampire panics in New England, received extensive coverage in local and national media.
Notably, Jewett City is part of Griswold, Connecticut, where a coffin labeled “JB-55” was discovered, containing the remains of a man suspected of being a vampire in the 1790s. Similar to the Jewett City corpses, whose severed heads were placed at their feet after exhumation, JB-55’s femur bones were arranged in an “X” shape beneath his decapitated skull five years post-death.
These cases highlight the complexities of New England vampire folklore and the widespread belief that diseases like tuberculosis were caused by the restless spirits of the deceased.
2. Wizard’s Glen
Located about 6 kilometers (4 miles) from Pittsfield in western Massachusetts, Wizard’s Glen is a reputedly haunted area in the Berkshires. Native American shamans are said to have performed human sacrifices on the “Devil’s Altar” here. This rocky hollow, known for its natural echoes, is also believed to be haunted by the ghost of the daughter of Miahcomo, a once-powerful chief.
Much of the lore surrounding Wizard’s Glen originates from the Puritan dread of the wilderness and a misinterpretation of Hobomocko, a Native American spirit associated with loud noises. To the colonists and settlers of Massachusetts, Hobomocko became synonymous with Satan, transforming Wizard’s Glen into a sinister site linked to dark magic and sacrificial rites.
The most well-known tale involves a hunter named John Chamberlain, who sought shelter in Wizard’s Glen during a storm. As he tried to sleep, Chamberlain was overwhelmed by a hallucination of demons and Native American sorcerers assembling in the woods. The Devil allegedly appeared to accept the sacrifice of a Native American girl, but Chamberlain used his Bible to drive the demons away and rescue her. Despite his bravery, the glen is said to remain cursed to this day.
1. The Ghost Of Harry Main
According to legend, Harry Main arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts, from the Isles of Shoals—a cluster of islands near Portsmouth, New Hampshire—where a 19th-century double murder remains an unsolved mystery, captivating those fascinated by the dark side of New England’s past.
Before settling in Ipswich in 1671 with his friend Andrew Diamond, Main was a prosperous fisherman. While Diamond thrived in Ipswich, constructing wharfs and co-owning merchant ships that boosted New England’s trade with Great Britain, Main’s life took a darker turn.
While Diamond gained wealth and respect, Main descended into criminal activities. He became a “wrecker,” looting valuables from ships that ran aground near Ipswich’s coastline.
Even worse, Main was a “mooncusser,” a pirate who lit bonfires on Ipswich’s beaches to lure ships onto treacherous rocks. Similar to General Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game and the founders of Antonio Bay in John Carpenter’s The Fog, Main not only caused shipwrecks but also murdered the survivors.
When Main’s crimes were exposed, folklore claims he was bound to a stake on a sandbar and forced to shovel sand endlessly until he died. His ghost is said to haunt his former home on Water Street, where a magically guarded treasure—allegedly containing his stolen loot—remains hidden.
