Weirder After Dark

78. Madame Sherri’s Staircase to Nowhere

In the woods of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, a lone stone staircase climbs toward a castle that no longer exists. This week, we dig into the story of Madame Sherri, the flamboyant Broadway costume designer who built a hillside mansion for her legendary parties, and trace how her glamorous life unraveled. We also explore the staircase itself and the hauntings that visitors say still linger around the ruins! Contact Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Reddit | Instagram @Weirderafterdark Like Candles? Buy some at GhostPoppy.com now 50% of all purchases help Acts of Kindness! A Manchester, NH charity that organizes resources for the unsheltered.

77. The Ward House: Salem’s Most Haunted Location

The Ward House gets called Salem’s most haunted attraction, and in a town with this much competition, that’s a big claim. This week we go through the history of the house, including the High Sheriff’s body being kept there for ten years, and how it all connects back to the witch trials. Then we get into the spooky stuff people say goes on inside. Some of it is pretty strange. Like Candles? Check out the Weirder After Dark Collection at GhostPoppy.com Contact Us: Socials: Reddit | Instagram @WeirderAfterDark Email: Thegang@WeirderAfterDark.com

Summer Break

Gang, it's been such an honor to drop this weekly podcast for over a year and a half. Seriously, in ways it's heartbreaking to do this.... However, we're going to be reducing our episode drops over the summer with the hopes of picking back up this fall! thank you for this wild ride!!! We hope you all have a fantastic summer :D! Keep it weird!

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76. From the Vault: Rt 44's Redheaded Hitchhiker

April showers bring May..... IDK what May has brought, but it's been a lot! This will be our last 'FTV' episode with a new episode dropping next week! Thank you so much for your patience as we take some time off! Like Candles? Check out our collaboration with Ghost Poppy! Contact us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com

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75: Crossover: The Allagash Four with Paranormal Directive 13

The "Allagash Four" refers to twin brothers Jack and Jim Weiner, Chuck Rak, and Charlie Foltz, who claimed aliens abducted them during a 1976 camping trip in Maine's Allagash Wilderness. We covered the story briefly in Chris's episode, 'Missing Time. But today, we are deep diving into the entire story with Matt from Paranormal Directive 13. Check out Paranormal Directive 13, where you get your podcasts! Like candles? Check out our collaboration with Ghost Poppy.

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74. From the Vault: The Legend of Northfield, VTs Pigman

Hey Gang! We're having a bit of a squeeze and some health issues have popped up, preventing us from recording this week. We decided to play one of our favorite episodes from the vault! We hope you enjoy revisiting this hilarious/lighthearted episode! Catch you next week. In the shadowy hills of Northfield, Vermont, a mystery has haunted locals for over half a century. They say he’s part man, part beast. When he's seen, he's naked, feral, and wearing the severed head of a pig. This week on Weirder After Dark, The Gang dives headfirst into the terrifying legend of the Northfield Pigman. From the strange disappearance of a high schooler in 1951 to decades of chilling sightings that followed. Is it all just backwoods folklore? Like Candles? Check out our collab with Ghost Poppy

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73. The Erased Researchers: Secret Projects, War Crimes, or Corporate Violence?

Over the last 6 months, 5 researchers, government officials, and scientists have either gone missing OR been found murdered in cold blood. Some with ties to New England. Is this a coincidence? Or could there be something underlying that connects all these murders? Tonight, we're diving into a current news story and we'll try to uncover exactly what is going on. Is this a goverment cover up? A corporate gone rogue?War crimes? Or aliens? Like Candles? Check out our collab with Ghostpoppy! Contact Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Facebook | Reddit | Instagram @Weirderafterdark

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72. The Wakefield, NH Incident

During the winter of 1977, something very strange happened in Wakefield, NH. A local horse farmer woke up to find a perfect circle carved into 18 inches of ice on the pond he used to feed his horses. Even stranger, as he inspected the perfect circle he could see a small black cube at the bottom of the ice. Within hours, local officals, government officals, even the National Guard were on scene. But what exactly was found at the bottom of this Wakefield farm? Listen today to find out! Like Candles? Check out our collaborations with Ghost Poppy! Contact us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Facebook | Instagram | Reddit @WeirderAfterDark

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71. The Jumping Frenchmen in Maine

Imagine you're deep in the woods of northern Maine. It's the 1870s. The air smells like pine and cold mud, and you're living in a bunkhouse with thirty other lumberjacks, miles from the nearest town. You've been swinging an ax since before sunrise, and the only entertainment you've got is each other. Now imagine one of the men in your bunk, a quiet French-Canadian guy, a little jumpy, a little shy, suddenly gets a sharp shout in his ear. And he loses it. He leaps off the ground, screams, throws whatever's in his hands, and then here's the wild part if someone shouts a command at him mid-jump, he just... obeys it. Without thinking. Even if that command is to hit someone, punch himself, jump into a rozen lake, or spill his food. He does it. Then all of a sudden everyone in the camp seemed to get this ... affliction. This wasn't a prank. This wasn't a bit. This was documented medicine. And it's one of the strangest medical mysteries in American history. Like Candles? Check out our collaboration with Ghost Poppy Contact us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com

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70. Taken: The Betty and Barney Hill Incident

It was a quiet September night in 1961 when Betty and Barney Hill made the fateful decision to abandon their honeymoon and drive home from Montreal to Portsmouth, NH. What should have been a smooth 6-hour drive turned into America's first abduction stories. Join us as we dive into 3 hours of missing time, a strange craft in the sky, creatures that poke and prod, strange markings on their car, and all the REAL EVIDENCE that suggests this could have happened. We'll walk through it all as we try to get to the bottom of what really happened that night. Don't turn off the lights, gang.... cause this one will get under your skin and have you thinking for a while! References: Friedman, Stanton T., and Kathleen Marden. Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction. New Page Books, 2007. Like Candles? Check out our collab with Ghost Poppy here! Contact Us: Email: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Reddit | Facebook | Instagram @weirderafterdark

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69. The Possession of Elizabeth Knapp: The Devil Visits Groton

More than twenty years before Salem, the quiet Puritan town of Groton, Massachusetts, became the center of a terrifying mystery. Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Knapp began suffering violent fits, screaming strange guttural voices, lashing out at caregivers, actions she claimed came from the Devil himself. Living in the home of minister Samuel Willard, her condition was carefully documented in real time, creating one of the earliest and most detailed accounts of alleged demonic possession in New England history. Was Elizabeth truly under supernatural attack… or was something far more human unfolding inside the rigid pressures of Puritan society? In this episode of Weirder After Dark, we explore the chilling case known as the Possession of Elizabeth Knapp. A story of fear, faith, and psychological torment that may have foreshadowed the witch hysteria still to come. Like candles? Check out our collaboration with Ghost Poppy here! Email Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Instagram | Facebook | Reddit @WeirderAfterDark

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68. The Eddy Brothers: Vermont's Spirit Summoners

In the late 1800s, deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont, two brothers claimed to do the impossible. They claimed to be able to bring back the dead. William and Horatio Eddy became the most talked-about mediums in America. Night after night, full-bodied apparitions allegedly materialized from the walls of their family farmhouse, drawing investigators, skeptics, and believers from across the country. Journalist Henry Olcott, even moved to Vermont and spent a year documenting what he witnessed, and couldn't explain it away. Were the Eddy Brothers genuine conduits to the other side or master illusionists pulling off the greatest con known to man? Take a listen to find out for yourself. Like Candles? See our collaboration with Ghost Poppy here! Contact us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Reddit | Instagram | Facebook @WeirderAfterDark

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67. The Chinese Curse of Naples, Maine

This week, we're heading to Naples, Maine, where one man's greed led him to make a decision that would change everything. Sure, he got filthy rich.... but at what cost? For decades, the land he once called home was claimed to carry a curse that led to a half dozen deaths, a dozen businesses to go under, and a fire. Then, almost overnight in the 1970s, it stopped. Just like that. And the only thing that changed? A mysterious artifact was pulled from the depths of Long Pond. Coincidence? We'll let you decide. Like Candles? Check out our collaboration with Ghost Poppy here. Contact Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Reddit | Instagram | Facebook @WeirderAfterDark

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66. Owls Head Lighthouse: Maine's Most Haunted Beacon

It's been standing since 1825, but some of the keepers at Owls Head Lighthouse in Rockland, Maine, never really left. Rated the #1 most haunted lighthouse in America, this little stone tower has its share of ghost stories. A phantom keeper readying the fog horn, a "Little Lady" haunting the kitchen, and a dog named Spot who rang the fog bell himself to warn ships of danger. Oh, and there's a couple who were literally frozen solid in an 1850 shipwreck and thawed back to life at the station. If you're reading this and like candles... why haven't you checked out our Weirder After Dark Candle? We've collaborated with Ghost Poppy to create episode-inspired scents! Check them out here! Contact us via our socials! Reddit | Instagram | Facebook @WeriderAfterDark Email Us: Thegang@WeirderAfterDark.com

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65. The Haunting of Nelly Butler: America’s First Documented Ghost

In 1799, a family in Maine reported nightly visits from the spirit of a deceased woman. The apparition didn’t float through walls or stand at the end of beds. Instead, she would stand before dozens of people and talk for hours. She would appear at any time of day or night and could even appear in different households. Soon enough, an entire community of four towns was taking orders from a ghost... Tonight, we unpack the Haunting of Nelly Butler, America's first ghost story. Like Candles? Check out our collab with Ghost Poppy! Sources: LiBrizzi, Marcus A. The Nelly Butler Hauntings: A Documentary History. Edited by Dennis W. Boyd. Library of Early Maine Literature. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House Publishers, 2010. Check out the book here The Dark Histories Podcast. Season 2, Episode 19, “America’s First Documented Ghost: The Nelly Butler Haunting.” 2018. Contact Us: Socials at Reddit | Instagram | Facebook @WeirderAfterDark Email: Thegang@Weirderafterdark.com

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64. The Oracle of Lynn: The Prophecies of Molly Pitcher

Molly Pitcher was known as a psychic, a seer, and an oracle. So well known that George Washington and other revolutionary leaders regularly sought her guidance while drafting their war plans. Cool, right? But when you look up Molly Pitcher, this isn't the story you'll find in the history books. In fact, you'll find a completely different heroic story... Tonight, we unravel the documented accounts, the folklore, and the cultural panic surrounding the woman they called The Oracle of Lynn, and explore a provocative question: could this mysterious fortune-teller be the real woman behind the “Molly Pitcher” many of us learned about in history books? Was history rewritten to drive a particular narrative? Were our founding fathers ashamed of their psychic and spiritual guidance? Are these two completely different stories of the heroic Molly Pitcher referncing the same person? We'll explore all these questions tonight! ---> We Finally Have Merch<--- Check out our Weirder After Dark Candle Collection here! Or go to Ghost Poppy.com to check it out! Contact Us: TheGang@weriderafterdark.com Reddit | Facebook | Instagram @WeirderAfterDark

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63. Wallace Tillinghast's Mystery Machine

In the early 1900s, a wealthy Boston inventor named Wallace Tillinghast made an unbelievable claim: he had built and successfully flown a secret airplane over New England! However, this was years before most people thought it was even possible. Then, just as suddenly, he vanished from the aviation world and moved, never commenting again on his flying machine. So what really happened to Wallace Tillinghast? Was his “Mystery Machine” an elaborate hoax fueled by early aviation mania or was he silenced, pressured, or erased to keep something far bigger out of the public eye? Join us as we dig in to decide if this is a hoax or a cover-up! Do you like candles? We offically have our first merch/collab with GhostPoppy! Check out the Weirder After Dark Collection here. Or by visiting GhostPoppy.com. Want to Contact Us? Socials: Instagram | Reddit | Facebook @WeirderAfterDark Email: Thegang@WeirderAfterDark.com

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62. New Hampshire's Tilton Inn: Built to Burn

On busy Main Street in Tilton, New Hampshire, thousands of cars pass a stately Victorian building every day without realizing how many times it’s been nearly erased. The Tilton Inn has welcomed travelers for more than a century, but its history is marked by repeated fires and tragic deaths. In this episode, we dig into the building's history and the alleged hauntings that won't seem to stop. From shadow figures, disembodied voices, to toys moving across the room on their own. This inn earns a 5-star rating for the amount of activity it experiences! Like Candles? We've officially announced our Weirder After Dark Collection in collaboration with Ghost Poppy! Sales start on 2/10! So if you've been digging the pod, it would mean the world to have your support! Visit Ghost Poppy's website here!

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61. The Witches of Bristol Connecticut

Fueled by fear, religion, and personal grudges. Ordinary neighbors were suddenly suspected of consorting with the devil. In this episode, we dig into the documented cases, the people accused, the banned trials turned into witch hunts, and talk about how they fit into Connecticut’s often overlooked role in America’s witch hysteria. Contact Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Facebook | Instagram | Reddit @WeirderAfterDark

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60. The McDonald Family Fires

A house fire is supposed to leave answers behind. However, for the McDonald family, fires left only questions. What was first labeled a tragic accident quickly unraveled into something far stranger... multiple fires, conflicting timelines, and a story that never fully made sense. As investigators dug deeper, the evidence pointed away from chance and toward something far more deliberate..... and potentially paranormal. In this episode, we walk through the nights of the fires, the aftermath, and the unsettling details that continue to haunt the case. Was it a horrible accident… or something much worse? Contact Us: Thegang@weirderafterdark.com Socials: Reddit | Facebook | Instagram @Weirderafterdark

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