Jeff Belanger

Jeff Belanger, author, adventurer, podcaster, storyteller

Adventurer, Author, Storyteller, Podcaster

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New England Legends

New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

New Halloween Episode of New England Legends Airs Tonight on PBS

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Ghosts and Witches – the new television episode of #NewEnglandLegends airs tonight on NEPM-TV (at 9pm) and Vermont Public Television (at 8:30pm)! Both channels are showcasing a night of Legends episodes. In this episode of New England Legends, host Jeff Belanger heads to Western Massachusetts, where the mountains hide a dark secret: a haunted train tunnel known as The Bloody Pit, where 200 lives were lost during its construction. Then we travel to the Green Mountain State in search of witches. In 1765, Margaret Krieger of Pownal, Vermont, was accused of being a witch and had to face a horrible test to prove her innocence. Her gruesome ordeal stands as Vermont’s only recorded witch trial.

GBH's All Things Considered Radio Program.
New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

All Things Considered: In Westford, Mass., wild and controversial theories surround a stone carving’s origins

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Jeff Belanger joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath on the radio to discuss the weird. In the town of Westford, Massachusetts, as far back as the mid-19th century, locals discovered a stone carving on a rock face that appeared to show a figure of a person. They debated whether it was carved long ago by Native Americans or more recently by local kids. It remained a local curiosity until the late 1930s, when a researcher looking for evidence of Viking expeditions to America paid a visit to Westford and declared the figure was a European-style sword. Of course, when talking about Massachusetts legends, myths and folklore, there’s no better person to turn to than Jeff Belanger, folklore expert and host of the New England Legends podcast. He joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath for a closer look at the Westford Knight. What follows is a lightly edited transcript. You can listen to the segment and read the transcript here: https://www.wgbh.org/culture/2024-10-26/in-westford-mass-wild-and-controversial-theories-surround-a-stone-carvings-origins

GBH's All Things Considered Radio Program.
New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

All Things Considered: Regaling tales of the Gloucester Sea Serpent, a forgotten legend of cryptozoology

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Jeff Belanger joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath on the radio to discuss the weird. If we were to ask you to name the possibly real water monster with humps, you’d surely say the Loch Ness Monster. But by the time this interview is over, your answer should be the Gloucester Sea Serpent. Our local monster is arguably even older and more widely witnessed than Nessie. For a deep dive into the Gloucester Sea Serpent, there’s no better guide than local folklore expert and host of the “New England Legends” podcast Jeff Belanger. He joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath to discuss this chapter of cryptozoology. What follows is a lightly edited transcript. You can listen to the segment and read the transcript here: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-05-22/regaling-tales-of-the-gloucester-sea-serpent-a-forgotten-legend-of-cryptozoology

GBH's All Things Considered Radio Program.
New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

All Things Considered: Nearly half a century later, ‘Dover Demon’ mystery still puzzles enthusiasts

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Jeff Belanger joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath on the radio to discuss the weird. In April of 1977, about 15 miles south of Boston, a very strange thing appeared at night that put the town of Dover on the map in the world of cryptozoology, the study and search for legendary creatures. Multiple teen drivers reported seeing an unidentifiable, alien-like creature with glowing eyes over the course of two days. As word of these sightings spread, so did the legend of the “Dover Demon.” GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath spoke about the Dover Demon with Jeff Belanger, a folklore expert and host of the “New England Legends” podcast. You can listen to the segment and read the transcript here: https://www.wgbh.org/culture/2024-04-29/nearly-half-a-century-later-dover-demon-mystery-still-puzzles-enthusiasts?72

New England Legends S2 E3 Trailer: The Tree That Ate Roger Williams
New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

New England Legends S2 E3 Trailer: The Tree That Ate Roger Williams

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Roger Williams is the founder of Rhode Island, but by the time of his death in 1683, most of his political cache had been used up. He was buried in an unassuming family plot in Providence. But almost two centuries later, Rhode Islanders found themselves rather proud of their radical founder. They believed his grave deserved better, so his remains were exhumed and that’s when things got weird… The full episode is now available on Amazon Prime Video! Watch the trailer here:

Monte Belmonte and Kaliis Smith host the Fabulous 413 Radio on New England Public Media
New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

Jeff Belanger, Dia de los Muertos Ofrenda | The Fabulous 413 | October 31, 2023

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Jeff joined hosts Monte Belmonte and Kaliis Smith on New England Public Media‘s Fabulous 413 Radio show on Halloween. Happy last day of October everyone! This is a time both for things unseen, and for those unseen things to be respected. In the realm of discovery for this the last of the spooky days, we turn to folklorist and author Jeff Belanger. He’s the host of New England Legends, which is both an award winning tv show and a podcast, and the author of over a dozen books. Looking into the stories of New England every week means that he’s definitely got some about western Massachusetts, and we pick his brain for terrifying tales of the four counties. You can listen here:

New England Legends, News, Views, & Interviews

Worcester Magazine: In the depths of a Milford man cave lurks ‘New England Legends’ podcast

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A feature by Margaret Smith from Worcester Magazine on Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger’s New England Legends podcast. “If you’ve ever stopped by the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, perhaps for one of the concerts held there, or even their super-popular Thanksgiving dinner, you may have noticed between the hubbub and grub, a curious visage on the wall…” Read more here.