Lore Podcast: "Trick or Treat 2: Too Young"

Host: Aaron Mahnke
Date: October 10, 2025

Overview

In this Halloween-themed "Trick or Treat" bonus episode, Aaron Mahnke delves into some of the darkest corners of folklore, focusing on tales of child and infant mortality. With a warning to listeners sensitive to the topic, Mahnke explores how pain, loss, and tragedy have inspired powerful legends—stories that both haunt and caution us, binding together history, myth, and mourning.

"Pain and loss, as we have learned on this show over the years, can often become the seeds of something darker, and these four tales will serve as powerful examples of that truth."
— Aaron Mahnke (01:38)

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Death on the Tracks: The "Ghost Children" of San Antonio

• Segment Start: 02:12

• Mahnke discusses a chilling legend about a school bus full of children that stalled on train tracks in San Antonio in the 1930s or 1940s. All children reportedly died in a collision with a train, sparking tales that their spirits now push stalled cars off the tracks to prevent future tragedies.
  • Variations: One version includes a nun as the driver, who survives and, wracked with guilt, allegedly commits suicide at the same spot. Local lore claims if you dust your bumper with baby powder, you’ll see tiny handprints after your car is pushed.
  • Reality Check: No historical records support this tragedy in Texas; the story likely evolved from a real 1938 bus/train accident in Salt Lake City, Utah, where 30 people perished.
  • Insight: This legend illustrates how folklore can obscure real history but also serve as a communal safety warning.

"If you park your car on a train track in San Antonio, you will not be rescued by a group of ghostly kids. You'll just put yourself at risk."
— Aaron Mahnke (05:16)

2. Utah’s “Nunnery” — The Tragic Legends of St. Anne’s Retreat

• Segment Start: 06:49

• Set in Logan Canyon, Utah, this abandoned camp is infamous for stories of haunted nuns and lost children.
  • Popular Story: The Catholic Church allegedly sent pregnant nuns there to give birth secretly, with a tale of one mother whose child drowns, leading her to take her own life—a kept cycle of spectral sorrow.
  • Other Claims: Sightings of ghostly children and the sound of babies crying.
  • Historical Reality: Originally Hatch’s Camp (built 1915–1918), later donated to the Church in 1951 and used recreationally, not for hiding nuns. The true recent tragedy involved not ghosts but a 1998 incident where trespassing teens were assaulted by security guards.
  • Theme: Haunted places often have a kernel of truth, but the real scarier stories are often all too human.

"There may be no ghostly nuns haunting the grounds of the nunnery, but at one point, some very scary things did happen there. Things that were even scarier than seeing a ghost."
— Aaron Mahnke (09:29)

3. The Cursed Grounds of Lake Shawnee Amusement Park (West Virginia)

• Segment Start: 12:29

• The haunting of Lake Shawnee dates back to the 18th century, when the land's original settler, Mitchell Clay, lost three children—two murdered, one kidnapped and later killed by Shawnee.
  • In the 1920s, an amusement park was unknowingly built on this land.
  • Tragedy repeated itself: in the 1950s, a girl died in a swing accident and a boy drowned in the pond.
  • In 1988, an archaeological dig revealed the park sat atop a Native burial ground, with over 3,000 graves, many belonging to children.
  • The park is abandoned but offers haunted tours. Visitors report seeing child apparitions and unexplained phenomena.

"Some would argue that that anguish seeped into the very land where the children had been massacred."
— Aaron Mahnke (12:16)

"Today, the Shawnee Lake amusement park is private property, but they do offer haunted tours for anyone who wants to have a look around."
— Aaron Mahnke (16:52)

4. The Ghost of Sylvia Gaines: Seattle’s Green Lake

• Segment Start: 19:46

• Seattle’s Green Lake holds the legend of Sylvia Gaines, a promising young woman murdered in 1926, allegedly by her estranged father.
  • The case was sensational—her father was tried, found guilty, and hanged, though he protested his innocence. Rumors circulated about an inappropriate relationship.
  • 30 cottonwood trees were planted in her honor at the lakeside but have since been removed. Yet, the legend persists that her translucent, weeping ghost walks Green Lake's shore, forever mourning her lost future.

"Visitors have witnessed a young woman walking along the water's edge, racked with sobs. Or at least they think it's a woman. It's hard to tell because those who come upon the crying figure say that they can see right through her."
— Aaron Mahnke & Research Team (23:35)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the universal gamble of daily life:

  “You never know which commute could be your last. But part of being human is accepting that to live our lives to the fullest, we have had to calculate the risk versus reward, and usually the reward wins out.”
  — Aaron Mahnke (02:37)

• On folklore's double-edged nature:

  "Folklore paints an enticing picture for us. It draws us in, but in the process, it sometimes hides the truth."
  — Aaron Mahnke (06:11)

• Reflecting on the core theme:

  "The fact is, no matter how old we get, we will always be somebody's baby."
  — Aaron Mahnke (17:47)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction to Theme and Warning – 01:03–01:55
• The Ghost Children of San Antonio / Urban Legends vs. History – 02:12–06:46
• Utah’s Haunted Nunnery / Truth vs. Local Lore – 06:49–12:28
• Lake Shawnee Amusement Park / The Past Returns – 12:29–17:17
• Concluding Thoughts on Stories of Lost Children – 17:36–18:02
• Green Lake’s Crying Ghost / Modern Urban Haunting – 19:46–24:01

Tone and Style

Aaron Mahnke’s narration is contemplative, respectful, and tinged with the somber curiosity that characterizes Lore. The episode leans into the eerie but avoids sensationalism, always grounding tales in historical context and advocating for empathy and the lessons found in legends.

Takeaway

Through a tapestry of stories—ranging from infamous urban legends to tragedies enshrined in local memory—this episode explores how our need to explain the inexplicable, particularly the loss of children, gives rise to haunting tales. Listeners are invited to reflect on the real pain behind myths and the threads of human experience woven through even the darkest folklore.

For more episodes, behind-the-scenes content, or community engagement, visit lorepodcast.com or follow the show on social media.