Lore Legends 62: The Little Things
Host: Aaron Mahnke
Date: September 15, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode of Lore Legends, Aaron Mahnke explores the supernatural folklore of upstate New York, delving into the peculiar hauntings and legends that thrive in its smaller towns. With vivid storytelling, he uncovers how these tales—ranging from ghostly families and cryptid monsters to mysterious apparitions and spectral dogs—are born from history, communal fear, and the enduring need to find meaning (even comfort) in tragedy. As Mahnke suggests, it’s not always the big, flashy stories that matter most—it’s the “little things.”
Key Discussion Points and Insights
[01:04] The Value of Small Places – Setting the Stage
- Mahnke contrasts the allure of life’s “biggest and best” moments with the sometimes-overlooked power of the small—be it presents, towns, or local traditions.
- Quote:
"Adulthood, though, means learning that the biggest isn't always the best..."
(Aaron Mahnke, 01:44)
[02:30] The Phelps General Store of Palmyra, NY
- Palmyra's heyday arrived with the Erie Canal’s boom (“the Canal years”), but growth was always moderate. The Phelps family bought 140 Market St. in 1868 and ran the general store for generations.
- The store closed abruptly in 1940, the family continued living upstairs, and the store remained frozen in time.
- Sybil Phelps, the last resident and a noted spiritualist, is reputed to have befriended ghosts and kept 15 cats, giving rise to local stories of witchcraft and hauntings.
- After Sybil’s death in 1976, reports proliferated of footsteps, disembodied voices, and spectral children—especially Holly, an eight-year-old ghost who is said to grab visitors’ hands.
- Notable apparitions include:
- Julius Phelps (a cranky specter)
- Ghostly cats
- Sybil herself, who appears throughout the house, with one EVP recording catching her say:
"Can you tell me who else has died?"
(Reported incident, ~15:00) - Sybil’s direct warning to a museum employee:
"Don't touch my stuff."
(~16:00, attributed to Sybil via witness account)
- The Phelps General Store is celebrated as the Finger Lakes' most haunted building—described as a "ghostly family reunion."
- Quote:
“This isn’t a haunting so much as it is a ghostly family reunion.”
(Aaron Mahnke, ~14:56)
[17:20] Angola’s Pigman of Holland (Pigman) Road
- Angola, NY is home to the infamous “Pigman,” a pig-headed (or pig-masked) apparition, haunting a stretch of Holland Road.
- Sightings often occur between two railroad bridges; the area is eerily silent, wildlife avoids it, and attempts to build there end in mysterious fires.
- Debate persists among investigators about whether Pigman is malevolent—he hasn't hurt anyone but is clearly territorial.
- Theories spiral:
- Ghost of a butcher who adorned his property with pig heads—or, in a darker twist, murdered trespassers.
- A disfigured farmer driven to violence by ridicule.
- A victim (or culprit) of the 1876 Angola train wreck, seeking vengeance or cursed with a pig’s visage.
- Mahnke debunks the train wreck connection and clarifies the only historical murder was the 1931 killing of butcher Steve Solecki (innocent victim, not assailant).
- Ultimately, Pigman functions less as a literal haunting and more as a psychological mechanism for the community to process trauma.
- Quote:
"The Angola Pigman may not be real, but regardless, he holds a lot of collective trauma in his hands. And in such a small community, every helping hand counts. Even if those helping hands have hooves."
(Aaron Mahnke, ~25:40)
[21:44] The Ghost Hoax of North Towanda
- In 1920, newspapers report a flurry of “angel” (later “ghost”) sightings outside North Towanda cemetery, on a trolley route, and in a local boarding house.
- Public panic and intrigue ensue, driving crowds and tourism. Eventually, suspicions and recantations emerge, and a larger plot is revealed: the Chamber of Commerce fabricated the ghost to sway public opinion towards merging North Towanda and its sister city, Towanda.
- The hoax backfires; people feel duped, believe no further ghost stories, and the merger fails.
- Quote:
"Never again will any resident of the Tiwandas believe in ghost stories. They are all cured after realizing the manner in which they were taken in."
(Buffalo Times, quoted by Mahnke, ~26:50)
[29:13] Black Dogs as Omens: The Legend of Lake Erie
- Mahnke introduces the folklore of spectral black dogs as death omens, tracing their arrival across the Atlantic to upstate New York’s Lake Erie region.
- In the 1860s-70s, a Newfoundland crew dog dies tragically—cruelly ignored by his shipmates and killed in canal machinery. Afterward, his ghost allegedly haunts the Welland Canal and Lake Erie, predicting doom for ships and their crews.
- Famous episodes:
- The Black Dog is sighted by a sailor on the IG Jenkins—who warns the captain (dismissed as drunk). The ship sinks the next day, all hands lost.
- Debris washes ashore, with a traumatized dog—captain’s—being the only “survivor.”
- Similar stories with the ships Mary Jane (1881) and Thomas Hume (1891); always, sightings precede disaster.
- The Black Dog appears to warn or, perhaps, to guide animal companions to safety.
- Quote:
"Out of all the ships that sank after seeing the Black Dog of Lake Erie, there has been only one survivor, the captain's dog from the IG Jenkins. I would like to think that the Black Dog helped that little survivor to safety."
(Aaron Mahnke, ~34:36) - The theme here: even in superstition and terror, humanity searches for small moments of hope—or at least meaning.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On the small vs. the large:
"Sometimes the best gifts simply come in the smallest packages. And this lesson doesn't just apply to Christmas presents."
(Aaron Mahnke, 01:24) -
On the Phelps General Store’s eternal haunting:
"This isn't a haunting so much as it is a ghostly family reunion."
(Aaron Mahnke, ~14:56) -
The spectral warning:
EVP recording: "Can you tell me who else has died?"
(Sybil Phelps, ~15:00) -
Sybil’s ghostly message to the living:
"Don't touch my stuff."
(as recounted by a museum employee, ~16:00) -
On the Pigman myth:
"A snout-nosed coping mechanism. If they can blame every terrible event in history on one man and make sure that he gets his comeuppance, in this case, a pig head. Then there's justice in a chaotic world."
(Aaron Mahnke, 24:55) -
On ghost stories as community therapy:
"[The Angola Pigman] holds a lot of collective trauma in his hands. And in such a small community, every helping hand counts. Even if those helping hands have hooves."
(Aaron Mahnke, ~25:40) -
On the North Towanda hoax:
"Never again will any resident of the Tiwandas believe in ghost stories. They are all cured after realizing the manner in which they were taken in."
(Buffalo Times via Aaron Mahnke, ~26:50) -
On black dogs and hope:
"Maybe the Black Dog no longer cares what happens to humans, but he doesn't want any other dog to die the way that he did. And so while he may be an omen of death for sailors, he's also a beacon of hope in the storm for his fellow drowning dogs."
(Aaron Mahnke, ~34:56)
Timestamps for Important Segments
| Time | Segment | |----------|--------------------------------------------------| | 01:04 | Introduction: Small things, small towns | | 02:30 | Palmyra & Phelps General Store history | | 09:45 | Phelps store’s closing and haunting legacy | | 14:56 | Ghostly “family reunion” & Sybil’s spiritualism | | 16:00 | Sybil’s hauntings: EVPs and birthday parties | | 17:20 | Angola’s Pigman Road legend | | 21:44 | Origins and debunking of the Pigman myth | | 25:40 | Pigman as trauma coping mechanism | | 26:37 | North Towanda ghost hoax | | 29:13 | The Black Dog of Lake Erie: origins and reports | | 34:30 | Black Dog: sign of doom and hope |
Tone and Style Reflection
Mahnke’s narration blends conversational warmth, curiosity, and sly humor, offering empathy for the haunted as well as the haunted towns. He uses a storyteller’s pacing—building suspense and unraveling each legend with careful skepticism, historical context, and a touch of melancholy.
Conclusion
Lore Legends 62: The Little Things weaves together the dark, quirky, and poignant tales of small town New York. Mahnke demonstrates that folklore—whether driven by collective trauma, human error, or sheer imagination—serves as both entertainment and community therapy. Through ghostly reunions, pig-headed phantoms, angelic hoaxes, and spectral dogs, the episode reminds listeners that the stories that haunt us most may not be the loudest, but the ones that linger quietly in the corners of our lives.