New England Oddities

In Search Of Puckwudgies

Recently, we journeyed to Freetown, Massachusetts, a small community located in a portion of the state known as The Bridgewater Triangle.  The triangle has gained notoriety as a hot spot to paranormal investigators, UFO hunters and crypto-zoologists across the country.  And apparently this area has been a locale for strange phenomena before the first European settlers arrived.

The Wampanoag tribe has a long oral history of this area going back some ten thousand years.  Among the lore is an interesting tale of a creative giant named Maushop, who, according to legend, was responsible for creating Cape Cod and performing other great deeds for the Native Americans of Massachusetts.  But in all of this joy and happiness lies a hidden malevolence: a pint-sized model of rottenness driven by jealousy and revenge known as the Puckwudgie.

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Madame Sherri’s Castle

Our unceasing quest for the paranormal recently took us to the small town of Chesterfield, New Hampshire. The site had once been the location of a luxurious home, built in 1931 by Madame Antoinette Sherri. After the construction was complete, droves of Sherri’s friends made their way from New York city to play at the Madame’s lavish, secluded home. Locals soon found themselves knee deep in New York city’s young and eccentric.

Rumors of revelry and intemperance within the walls of this magnificent home ensued for years – and still remain – but while these may be interesting for a tabloid publication, our focus was to investigate claims of paranormal activity.

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Dana, Ghosts Of A Lost Town

Our trip to Dana, Massachusetts took place on a rainy morning in May. The vibrations of this small community’s final days seemed to resonate through every dark cloud and sporadic shower we encountered. Though the skies seemed ready to open up at any second, we were determined to see it through, lured by the stories we’ve heard of Dana’s ghosts. This is an account of our first paranormal investigation at the discontinued township.

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The Restless Captive

High above, the sun’s rays bombarded the earth with malevolent force. I tried with determination to ignore the heat and concentrate on catching a trout or two, but the beads of sweat streaming down my face served as a grim reminder that today would have been better spent in the confines of our air-conditioned home.

Evidently, the trout had the same idea, as they were unwilling to move from the river’s depths to chase our offerings. Oh, how clear and cool the water looked, but I realized the consequences outweighed the benefits of staying put. Instead I opted to escape the blistering heat under the sheltering limbs and leaves of the woods directly behind us.

Frustrated and beginning to sunburn from the searing heat, I seized a polystyrene cup someone had carelessly discarded on the river bank and walked into the soothing embrace of the wood. After a moment’s appreciation for the shade, I went to the task of turning over laid down timber, hoping to find earthworms for bait. My efforts were rewarded rather quickly, but at the last log I was to raid, a flash of color the size of an adult crossed my view.

I stood up quickly, dropping my container, and scanned the woods in all directions. My heart felt as if it would leap out of my chest. I focused upon the direction in which I thought the the blur had moved, and a short distance away, amongst the trees protruding from the soft soil, stood a stone marker. My eyes flickered in each direction to reassure myself that I was alone, and then, with cautious steps, I proceeded forward.

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Vampire Lore

Throughout the ages, vampires have lurked in the dark corners of the world and our imaginations, waiting for helpless victims to prey upon in the night. While these creatures are no doubt restricted to exist in the darker realms of our dark imaginations, cultures across the globe have documented many a varied lore about vampires.

Different regions of the earth supply their own descriptions of appearance, habits and ways to kill a vampire, however, one trait remains constant: the need for vampires to feed on another creature to sustain themselves. Some eat flesh (dead or living), some drink blood while others feed from a human being‘s aura energy.

The sustenance that vampires in New England folklore preferred was “life force” or aura energy and often the night time intruder was a recently deceased family member. Accounts from different states in New England during the early times of our countries beginnings and right up until the early part of the 20th century there exists disturbing tales of the undead, returning in the night to feed from their living relatives and neighbors.

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