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Monsters Among Us
S19 Ep52: Monsters, Myths & Murder: Hometown Legends 19 Part 2 (Sn. 19 Ep. 52)
01:15:12
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- [00:00]
Derek Hayes
Limu. Emu and Doug.
- [00:03]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Limu and I always tell you to.
- [00:04]
Derek Hayes
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- [00:09]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Cue the Emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today.
- [00:14]
Derek Hayes
Increase your wealth.
- [00:16]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Customize and save.
- [00:18]
Derek Hayes
We save. That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [00:31]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch. You'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [01:53]
Derek Hayes
Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I am your guide, Derek Hayes. You've made a wise decision returning for part two of your latest hometown Legends season finale special. This is the place to be if it's legends, myths, tales and lore that you're looking for. An entire episode chock full of the spookiest and scariest of hometown legends. Homegrown horror, if you will. Now, a quick reminder that most of these hometown legend stories seem to stem from some sort of tragic event. Human sacrifice, a horrific murder, the real scary stuff. So just let that be your blanket warning on tonight's episode. And you know, as I like to do, I'm gonna cut out the rest of this chit chat and get right into the episode. People seem to like it when I do that. So here from the state of Texas is James. Please welcome him to tonight's program.
- [03:12]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Hello. Hello, this is James from Texas and I've got a hometown legend in Beaumont. At the Forest Lawn Cemetery. There's something called the kissing statue. The legend, as I know it is that a couple of newlyweds on their wedding night were killed in a car accident and both families got together and had a statue commissioned in their honor. And if you go to the cemetery on the full moon, what will happen is you'll see her put her head on his shoulder. He'll look down at her, she'll look up at him, they'll kiss and then return to their basic state. But yeah, that's just a little interesting local legend down here. Love the podcast. Y' all take care.
- [04:02]
Derek Hayes
Thank you, James, for the phone Call a statue that seems to come to life under a full moon, no less. That's absolutely hometown legend material. Now, in my digging into James entry, I quickly realized that there are some discrepancies in this legend. As James had mentioned, you must visit the statue on a full moon in order to see the lovers reanimate. But according to another local in the area, YouTube's Chelsma Rod Co. An alternative light source will still do the trick. In Forest Lawn Cemetery, there are many notable memorials, but none such as mysterious as the kissing statue. Witnesses say if you shine the headlights of your car towards the back of the statue, the two lovers will turn to each other and kiss. Now, you should check out this video if you'd like to lay eyes on this statue. And I've also included a short investigation video from the area so you can see exactly what James was describing. You can find each of those clips in tonight's show notes. Now, I love legends like this, where you can actually go to the location and test the claims yourself. But before you go, check your local laws, I certainly don't want to be your one phone call. Thank you again, James, for bringing in and getting us started here this evening. Now, since we've started, it'd be a shame to stop already. So let's play one more before I have to sneak in a quick ad break. So, from the state of Indiana, please welcome Cindy back to the show.
- [05:55]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Hi, this is Cindy calling from Avon, Indiana. I got another true ghost story for you. This is called the Legend of Gravity Hill. It's in Mooresville, Indiana. It's a very true ghost story. I was raised by my grandparents. But anyway, we had a wonderful time together with our grandparents. Our mother just never had enough time. Tasha was a librarian going to college at the time. So Grandma took over. But anyway, we used to go to Mooresville Cafeteria called the Gray Brothers Cafeteria, Mooresville. And they were famous for their strawberry pies. Anyone who was anyone who lived in Indiana knew about Gray Brothers. They were athletes. They're no longer in business. But anyway, one of their employees told us about the Legend of Gravity Hill. And if you go to the Gravity Hill and park your car in neutral, the ghosts are supposed to put the car downward or they can push you backward. So we tried that experiment. And sure enough, when grandpa got out of the car, he said, cindy, come over here and look. And when we looked at the back of the car, you guessed that there were children's handprints on the back of the car. They had pushed the car downward. They Were afraid that, you know, we might get hurt in traffic or anything, so I guess they had the right to push us out of the way. But it was very, very eerie. Thank you for your listening. Anyway, the legend of Gravity Hill is true.
- [07:24]
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Cindy. A pleasure hearing from you, as always. Now, I might have said this in the past, but I believe it so vehemently that I'll repeat it again here tonight. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of gravity hills stretched across this country. I remember going to one myself somewhere near Salt Lake City when I was 8 or 9 years old. I can recall pulling off to the side of the road while my dad and his sister dumped water into the street. I thought it was pretty weird at the time, but not as weird as them arguing back and forth in the middle of that street as to which direction was actually up. But listen, just because these natural wonders are all over the place, that doesn't make them any less interesting and any less worthy of your visit. So get out there and find your closest gravity Hill, bring some water, and let me know how it goes. Thank you again, Cindy, for sharing your tale here with us. All right, gang, time for a brief break, but I'll be right back with more blood curdling legends right after this.
- [08:50]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
Good job.
- [08:53]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Third and long situations.
- [08:54]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
I thought that they, you know, especially.
- [08:57]
Derek Hayes
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- [10:48]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Hey Derek, it's Segreg, your old friend from Spotsylvania, Virginia. I've got a hometown legend for you. All my life I've lived in and around northern and central Virginia. So we have here in Locust Shade Park. It's on the border of Stafford county and Prince William County. And I actually grew up in Dale City, Virginia, which is in Prince William County. So anyway, inside a locust shaped park there's a little cabin. This cabin is private property within the park. It is completely surrounded by the park. You can look it up. It's called the Hermit's Cabin. There is a private access road. This guy is simply called the Hermit. He does not want any buddy to know anything about who he is. He wants nothing to do with nobody. And he lives in this shack that he built or somebody built, he inherited, got somehow nobody really knows as far as I know. And there's all kinds of like things going on in terms of like legends and such around him. There are people that say that he's a devil worshiper. You know, of course, the whole satanic panic, people he's a devil worshiper, he sacrifices children right down to he's a serial killer of children and he's never been caught, so on so forth. But if you go around the property like you get too close, there's alarms and he's been known to come out armed and shoot at you like I'm not kidding, you get too close, those alarms start ringing. There's an order to the alarms and if you get too close he will come out shooting. Now I don't know if he's still there as of now. Last I knew he was still there was just a couple of three, four years ago pre covered. I don't know if he's still there now, but nobody really knows. He just wants to be left alone. He could be dead and Mary, you know, sitting in a rocking chair as a skeleton. Nobody knows. But apparently also the land was owned by a witch originally and possibly even according to a friend of mine who was an old Cherokee guy, died years and years ago. He said that he had heard some stuff about skinwalkers and such, but I don't know, Ernie made up a lot of stuff, but certainly it was the Stafford witch. And the Stafford witch is very well known and where she was was supposed to be right around the hermit's cabin. But yeah, the hermit's cabin has become kind of an urban legend, and people will sometimes try to sneak down too close and occasionally get shot at. He owns a few acres and he haunts it and goes down and earns a living somehow, nobody really knows. But anyway, that's one for your hometown legends. Creepy stuff, because nobody really knows what he does. He just does something somehow and nobody knows. But anyway, that's your hometown legend from the northern central Virginia area. So keep it spooky.
- [14:27]
Derek Hayes
Thank you. Secret. Now that sounds like a goal to me. To be that old man in the forest that everyone fears. I think that would suit me just fine. Now, here's something weird about this entry. I did some digging into the story like I do with most of these, and I almost always find something on these legends, but not for this one. The park exists, but I don't see any mention of a cabin anywhere. And it's not on any of the maps. So maybe Sigrid got some bad information. Or maybe they don't want that information out there. If this guy is the menace that it sounds like he is, that's not exactly something you want to put on your flyer or advertise on a sign. Not exactly something you want your potential visitors to know about. But whatever the situation, I now have something new to aspire to. Thank you again, James, for calling in. Well, folks, if you have a story you would like to share here on the program, give me a call at 888-608-NIGHT. That's 888-608-NIG-HT or shoot me a voice memo at monsters among us podcastmail.com now, just like with everything else in this world, there are a couple of rules. But these rules are only in place to ensure that your call is as clear and concise as it possibly could be. So, true stories only. This is not a place to workshop your creative writing projects. One story per call. Don't call with a story and tack three more onto the back of it. That's a nightmare for us in the editing room, and it makes it really hard to work your call into the schedule. Now, there is a five minute limit per call, but if you need more time to finish your tale, that's fine. Just call back and pick up where you left off. Connor will mesh them together and it'll sound great. Oh, and please be patient. We have thousands of calls to go through, and we go through them pretty quickly, but it still takes some time. So Please don't call a story in a second time unless we ask you to do so. If you do, then there are two versions of your call floating around. And that's how we sometimes have repeats here on the program. We can't remember every call that comes through. And most importantly, call from a quiet place. Turn off the tv, put the kids and the pets in another room, and please don't get in a vehicle. The road noise almost makes it impossible to use your call. Now. That's it. Give us a call, leave your story and wait. We will take care of the rest. Oh, and don't forget to have your youngsters call into our sister show, Monsters Among Us Junior. That number is 833 MAU KIDS. And the email over there is Monsters Among Us JR GMail. Now, new episodes drop every other Wednesday for the rest of the school year. Now, with all that clerical work out of the way, let's return to the phone calls. Now. This next one features a well known story, but just because it's well known doesn't make it any less wild. Please welcome Fraser to tonight's program. Hi, my name is Fraser. I'm from Suffolk in the uk. There are many hometown legends from this area, but one I want to touch on today is the legend of the green children of Woolpit. It concerns two children of unusual skin color who reportedly appeared in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk sometime in the 12th century, perhaps during the reign of King Stephen. The children, a brother and sister said to be found along a ditch in a road, were generally normal in appearance, except for the green skin. They spoke in an unknown language and would only eat raw broad beans. Eventually they learned to eat other food and lost their green colour. But the boy was sick and died soon after. His sister was baptized and the girl adjusted to her new life and was considered to be very friendly towards people. In her conduct, which was not done back in those days, she learned to speak English. The girl explained she and her brother came from a subterranean world inhabited by green people known as St. Martin's Land. It's thought she married and moved away and nothing more is known or written about her. Possibly the strangest element of the story of green children of Woolpit is may actually be true. In part, there were many theories about the green children, some more fantastic than others. Some believed they were poisoned with arsenic by their guardian and left to die in the forest. Others that they were orphans from Flemish parents who had been persecuted and killed. Many Flemish immigrants had arrived in east anglia during the 12th century and were persecuted After Henry II became king in 1154, a large number executed near Burris Edmonds at the Battle of Fordham between Henry II and Robert Beaumont, the third Earl of Leicester. Anyway, great show. Keep it on. Good work. Thank you Fraser. I love this story. Talk about a mystery. Now, believe it or not, we have covered these mysterious children before. Back on season 17, episode three. If you would like to check that out. The Green Children of Woolpit. Great stuff, Razor. Thank you again for calling it. Sometimes the scariest podcasts are the ones that that give us a chilling dose of reality in the form of real unsolved cases. Now, if you're a fan of true crime, you need to check out Detective Perspective. Podcast host Derek Levasseur is a licensed private investigator and former police detective with 19 years of investigative experience. So he knows what he's talking about. Each week he covers a new unsolved case and at the end of the episode he offers his expert view on the case, where it currently stands and what can be done to move it forward. He also provides contact information for the individuals and organizations directly connected to the investigation. So if you have any information yourself, you'll know who to contact. Now, Detective Perspective offers fact based storytelling with personal and professional experiences sprinkled in with the ultimate goal of raising awareness for each unsolved case in hopes that someone listening has new information to help solve it. Also, Detective Perspective covers cases that might not have been covered extensively, so you won't hear a lot of repeat cases that you've heard on other true crime podcasts. Listen to Detective Perspective every Monday wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube every Tuesday. Don't forget to let them know that MAU sent you swinging a miss down the chase slider. Our next hometown legend takes us to Canada. Staff, go ahead with your story.
- [22:51]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Hello Derek, this is Stephen calling from Canada. I've called in before with a hometown Legend story in previous seasons. I have another one about my hometown that I grew up in, of Bassano, Alberta. This isn't a very pleasant story. This involves murder. It's a very sad story. So I'll just warn everybody right now. Back in 1980, this incidentally was the year before I was born and the year before my parents moved to Basano. Something happened that really scarred the town. A man named Irwin Levins. He was apparently abusive to his wife and children. And one day he shot and killed his wife and his two children. And there had been a pastor and his wife who were trying to help his wife and kids and counsel them and apparently his wife was going to leave him and he found out about it. So as a result, he shot and killed them. And then he went down the street and he shot and killed the pastor who was trying to help and his wife, which is just awful. Then he had more people on his list of community members who he believed wronged him in some way, and he was going to go after them and shoot and kill them. But the police found where he was. He was hiding out in someone's motorhome in their backyard. And after a long standoff, Irwin Lewins took his own life before he could hurt other people in the town. Now, I grew up listening to these stories. The whole town was shook and shocked by this. There was a book written about the murders that took place. It's called the Bazzano Tragedy. And it was written by Kathleen Lawrence Smith, who is the sister of the pastor that was murdered. And incidentally, the church that the pastor used to work in was up the street from my parents home. So flash forward to the late 80s. That church had been converted into a house. The congregation decided they wanted a fresh start in a new building. There was rumors that the old church was haunted. That old church building had been converted into a home and it was always coming up for sale. People would never stay long. It seemed the longest anyone would stay was a year. And then the people would move out and someone else would move in. Well, late 80s, I'm a kid and a family moves in and they have a daughter about my age. So of course we become friends. And I remember going over to their house and this girl that I was friends with, she said, oh yeah, we can hang out at my house, but we can't go in the basement. And I said, why? And she said, well, that's where the sad man is. And I said, what sad man? She said, oh, he's a ghost. I never experienced anything but her telling me things like that. And it only took a few more months before once again, the house went up for sale. That family moved away. I never saw that girl again. And over the years, no one ever stayed in this church. Converted to a house, they wouldn't stay long. However, there is some good news. The current people that own the building now, apparently they've been there for, I think it's coming on close to 10 years. They did some renovations, gave the house some much needed tlc and apparently they report nothing odd or strange happening in the house. So I like to think that if the building was haunted by the pastor who was killed, that maybe he's found some peace and was able to cross over. So thank you very much for your podcast. To everybody out there, stay safe. Thank you.
- [27:12]
Derek Hayes
Thank you, staff. Another gruesome tale. There aren't too many hometown legends that began with a bunch of people having a good time. And coincidentally, this next entry is also equally as grizzly. So let's push play on Alma's entry out of Texas, since we're already in the headspace.
- [27:41]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Hello, Derek, My name is Alma. I'm calling from Texas. I think this story would be a good story to share during your hometown legend series that you do at the end of the season. I was recently talking to my mother. She lived in Mexico City for a few years when she was younger. They have a stadium, they call it Estadio Steca, which is a stadium that was built in the 60s and it was usually a soccer stadium. It hasn't been used in a very long time, but they still use it for different functions. It's just no longer used for sporting event. And one of the stories we're talking about is that there's an urban legend that when they were constructing the stadium in the 60s, that they were burying some of the workers working on the stadium alive. It goes back to the urban legend, or I guess the tradition that some of the ancestors that lived in Mexico City that apparently there's a belief that you have to appease the devil. And one of the ways to do that when you're building new construction is that you offer human sacrifices. In this case, the urban legend is that they offered some of the workers and offerings to the devil. And there's a belief that if you offer human sacrifice, the bones of those human sacrifices will help give a solid structure to whatever structure you're building. Because if you don't, there's a belief that then your construction project or whatever you're building, in this case stadium, will suffer a lot of construction issues. They call it emparredar, which means to give more weight and solid structure to whatever structure you're building. So there's an urban legend associated with it as well, that apparently one of the workers survived because they wanted him to become a sacrifice. And so apparently what they would do, according to the urban legend, is that they would dig holes in the ground, as underneath the stadium, and they would send in one or two workers, usually one, and they would drop a ladder down and they would have one of them go down there to make sure that it was structurally sound, nothing was happening underneath. And then apparently they would wait and then they would pull up the ladder so the person that was in the ground could not get out and then they would just cover it up with cement. Apparently someone survived one of those possible being buried alive because the workers that have told him to go down to the ground, they went off to start making the cement so they could fill the hole in with the guy. And the worker walked up the ladder. No one had taken the ladder up yet because he wanted to go to the bathroom. And so he went up the ladder and then when he came back from going to the bathroom, he saw him filling in the hole and he realized that they meant to bury him in the ground. So he left and never came back. And apparently he told that story to other people, which is not that urban legend that there's actually human remains because there are human sacrifices under the statistica in Mexico City. That's all my story today. Thank you.
- [31:07]
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Alma. Great to hear from you as always. Bodies under a stadium. That's quite unsettling. But maybe it wouldn't be so unsettling if you realize just how common that actually is. According to my research, there are several stadiums and ballparks here in the US that were purportedly built over burial grounds. The Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans Saints. It's said that during construction in 1971, workers discovered remains and learned they were digging up the former Gyrod Street Cemetery. It is believed that many of those bodies still remain buried there beneath the turf. Clemson Football Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, home of the Clemson Tigers. If you've tailgated there for the big game, it's very likely that you partied on top of hundreds of unmarked graves left over from a forgotten cemetery that was located on the site. Keenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where the North Carolina Tar Heels take the field on Saturdays. That stadium was built on the site of a historical massacre, with some historians estimating over 100 black men were killed there. And just last year, a gruesome discovery was made at the home of baseball's Tampa Bay Rays.
- [32:46]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Last summer, archaeologists with STANTAC did a radar search on Lot 1 of Tropicana Field, an area that was once the Oakland Lawn Cemetery, a segregated graveyard which was established in 1905 and closed in 1926. Givens recently asked about the results of that survey, which led him to this report, completed in November. STANTAC found seven possible burials and three additional areas of interest, adding to what they have previously found during a search in 2021. It brings the total number to 10 graves. 11 areas of interest and nine areas of disturbance. The company recommends more testing.
- [33:29]
Derek Hayes
That clip comes to us from WTVT Fox 13 out of Tampa Bay. And if you couple a history like this with the energy that these places feel on game day. And I'm actually surprised more stadiums don't have their own ghost stories to share. Or maybe they do and we just haven't heard about them yet. Either way, a big thanks to both Steph and Alma for those horrific entries. Right hander against right hander.
- [34:09]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [34:40]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
But it'll help her downsize to a smaller home.
- [34:43]
Derek Hayes
You had five of these virgins. Now, what sort of hometown legend episode would it be if we didn't explore a haunted road? So here with just such a story is Sebastian out of the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado.
- [35:06]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
Hey, good morning, Derek. This is Sebastian from Colorado. This encounter is for your hometown legends segment coming up. So there's a well known legend from where I live about a place called Courtner Road, which is an actual road out in the county east of town. Now the legend goes that at this spot it was a farm. The man who owned it was Mr. Courtner. Apparently he for some reason, I don't think it's ever been really stated, he for some reason murdered his entire family. He killed his wife and his daughter and he even unfortunately killed the dog. And once he did this, he hung them from the tree that is in the front yard of the property in between the barn and the house. And after he did that, he set fire to the place and offed himself as well. Now my experience with this place was this was back in gosh. This was my sophomore year of high school, it was Halloween time and my cousin and a group of our friends, that was two car fulls of us, I think about six or seven of us were there, go to Courtney Road and we are walking up the road because it's fenced off, it's private property. So we hop the fence and you have to walk down a trail to get to the barn and then the house and it Is a slightly wooded area. At least it was back then. I don't know if it still is. Anyhow, as we're walking, we're getting closer to the barn. We can see it in our flashlights. As soon as we illuminate the barn with our flashlights, it sounds like there is hundreds of dogs barking. And I mean, it was extremely loud. It was so loud. And it sounded like hundreds of them. And it sounded like it was coming from all around us, like we were surrounded by dogs. And it was extremely loud barking for about a good solid minute. It felt like forever. But then immediately it stopped. There was no, you know, a couple of dogs still yipping. After the group stops, it sounded like they, in unison, completely just stopped. Extremely unsettling. After that happened, it was complete silence. And we're all standing in a group completely freaked out by this. We've heard many other stories of this place. Like I said, it's a very well known legend from where I'm at. And after that, we get a little bit closer towards the barn because that's where we were going to go explore first. And one of our friends stops and he says, do you guys see that? And we're all like, what are you talking about? He shines his flashlight up in the tree. We all shine our flashlights up in the tree. And there is a figure of somebody hanging from a very high branch. Now, could this have been, you know, a doll or something? Because this was like a. I don't know if it still is now in this day and age, but this was like a destination where people would go for a scare, for a spooky place to go to. However, the height that this was at, it seems very, very unlikely that that's what it was, at least in my personal opinion. I got a good look at it. I have to say. It looked like a woman was hanging in this tree. She was directly above us. And it was terrifying because we all saw it. And once we all saw it, we ran. We take off running. We run out of the property, get in our cars that our cars won't start. It took forever to get those cars to kick on and start. Once they did, they didn't move. They moved very, very slowly. It was very odd. It was like something was holding onto the vehicles and not letting them go. Their full acceleration. We were pressing down on the gas, they wouldn't go. We slowly crept away from the property and they eventually, you know, kicked back on to normal. Yeah, that was just my experience at Courtner Road here, where I live. At as of now, I'm pretty sure they demolished the structures that were standing. They had been up for a very long time. I have not been out there since that night. I never cared to go back. Of all the experiences I have had, that place is extremely unsettling. Whether the story of this man actually murdered his family. You know, I've done research on it. I can't find anything on it. This could have happened years ago though, because this legend has been around for since my mother was in high school. I'm pushing 40, so it's been around for a long time. That's it. You and all the Monsters Among Us team are truly phenomenal and we appreciate you very much, Derek. Hope you have a good day. Bye bye.
- [40:28]
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Sebastian. Well, we did some digging and there are no reports of crimes similar to that from that area of Colorado. At least not in the last 75 years or so. If the murder occurred before, say, 1950, those details might have been lost to history. But as Sebastian said, it's a well known legend in the area and that story had to have come from somewhere. Well, there is one last little detail regarding this story. The legend is so well known that someone in the area even created an escape room. Based on the legend, the house on Corner Road Escape Room boasts finally a haunted house you actually have to escape from. Legend has it that in an old farmhouse out amongst the corn fields in the county, an old man went on a killing spree decades ago. And that even now, if you go there at night, you'll see and experience things you'll never be able to explain. I do love a good escape. Rom and Sarah has been pushing for us to go to Colorado again sometime soon. Thank you again, Sebastian, for turning us on to this legend. And you know, his legend kind of reminds me of a hometown legend I heard from back near where I grew up. Now, the person that told me about this said that this took place on the other side of a town called Zanesville, Ohio. So that would put this story somewhere west of town. Anyway, the rumor going around was that there was once an orphanage tucked back into the rolling hills just on the outskirts of town. Now, I have not been able to verify nor debunk the claims that this orphanage really existed, but there were many in operation over the years in Muskingum County. So it is quite possible that it did exist and burned to the ground, as the story claims. It's said that the building caught fire late one night and it burned to ashes along with its inhabitants, an untold number of young Children. Now the story goes that if you drive out to a bald hill overlooking where this orphanage once sat, shut off your lights, turn off the engine and honk your horn three times, you'll begin to hear the cries of those children as they fight to escape the ghostly flames. Now apparently this was a big thing to do back in the day, pre late 1970s I believe. Believe up until then, all the teens of driving age knew about this location and about the phenomenon and went out there frequently to experience it. So frequently that a nearby farmer began to complain. And when his cries went unheard, he took matters into his own hands and he slaughtered his entire flock of peacock and peow, decimating his entire operation in a single fit of rage. Now what I was told was that each night kids would sit on the hill above the farm and blow their car horns, causing his birds to startle and make a terrible racket. A wailing, whooping, crying sound. Sounds that were eerily similar to what children might make trying to escape a fire. Well, after years of enduring the commotion, one night the noise became too much for this farmer and he put an end to it all. Now the kids would still venture out there, but the call and response no longer worked. One by one they stopped trying until eventually the story and the location was lost to history. Except that someone shared some of the details with me and I never forget a good story and I certainly won't forget a story like that. So how about it listeners? I know we have some people from back home tuning in, so have any of you heard of this story? How close am I? Or does this tale really even exist at all? Maybe I was simply getting my leg yanked. Well I can promise you there will be no leg yanking involved in this next entry because it details one of the most well known weird events to have ever taken place. Please join me in welcoming Matt from my state of California. Hey MAU crew and Derek, you were asking for some hometown legends, so submitting one. My name is Matt, out of LA county, specifically from San Pedro, California. This isn't as much of a legend as it actually happened, but there's some speculation on what really went down and I don't know how well known this is. You may have heard of it before, it's called the Battle of Los Angeles. So during World War II, three months after Pearl harbor, there was an anti aircraft artillery barrage that took place over the LA skyline and up and down the coast. So Santa Monica, San Pedro, it was all over the place. So three months after Pearl harbor at 2 in the morning, in 1942, this craft in the sky shows up on radar and there's a bunch of military bases around here from that time. So they all start freaking out and basically just start lighting this thing up with gunfire. And there's some comments from people that were observing. They said that it was not reacting to the bullets with a heavy gunfire and that it was moving erratically, which is important later. So initially it was thought as a attack from Japan, but then it was called a false alarm later on. And later on they actually said that it was a meteorological balloon that was sent out like an hour before. I don't really buy that, but yeah, people just speculate that it was a ufo, all that good stuff. I don't really buy the official explanation. So I think it's pretty interesting. Not really a legend, but you know, I thought it was pretty cool. That is pretty cool. And having lived in LA for a decade, I'm kicking myself for not nabbing this as my own hometown legend because it actually connects to me in more than one way. But I'll get to that here in a moment. Now, as Matt had said, the Battle of LA is a real event that really happened. Here are all the details in case Matt missed anything. February 25, 1942. Just a few short months after the attack on Pearl harbor, coastal cities like Los Angeles were on high alert. They'd been instructed to perform citywide blackouts to prevent incoming bombers from visually making contact with the city. They would black out everything, city lights, homes, billboards, cars. If it lit up, it was turned off or covered up. Well, the city had just finished one of these blackout drills when suddenly at 2:25am air raid sirens ripped through the silent city, sending folks in a panic. As anti aircraft guns began firing from strategic locations around the city. It was full on war. In total, 1400 anti aircraft rounds were fired that night, yet not a single thing was shot from the sky. The only evidence they have that anything was there is a grainy photograph that seems to show some sort of object illuminated by the searchlights. Of course that photograph is in the show notes if you would like to take a look. Now, as one would imagine, 1403 pound shells raining down on the city created quite a bit of damage and officially five people died in the skirmish, three in auto accidents trying to flee the scene and two more of heart attacks thinking that they were being invaded. But like I said famously, nothing was recovered after the near hour long affair. But if the rumors and stories are true, that might not be the case. Now, like any Good conspiracy. There are a few pieces of evidence that could suggest an alternative ending to this mysterious event. Evidence that suggests these weren't Japanese invaders, but rather invaders from another planet. Some of the eyewitness statements help fuel.
- [50:00]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
This theory that this is a UFO.
- [50:02]
Derek Hayes
Because of this strange ability to be.
- [50:05]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Very slow on the radar, and then.
- [50:07]
Derek Hayes
Suddenly it speeds up, that it's maybe hovering, then suddenly it's moving very fast, that it's at a low altitude, and then it's at a high altitude.
- [50:15]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
All of these help fuel this idea.
- [50:17]
Derek Hayes
That maybe this is some kind of unknown aircraft from another planet that's coming down to Earth. There are going to be questions from the highest ranks of leadership and command in the military and civilian government. And reports about this incident go all the way to the Secretary of War. They go all the way to US Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, and they have to report to the President what happened in la.
- [50:40]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
Report.
- [50:40]
Derek Hayes
Components of the UFO theory point to a series of unauthenticated memos. There are a number of documents floating around purporting to be from George Marshall.
- [50:51]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
To FDR talking about the recovery of two craft.
- [50:56]
Derek Hayes
One of these was apparently recovered off the coast between Los Angeles and Catalina island, the other in the San Bernardino Mountains. Marshall also goes on to allegedly explain to FDR in these memos that the objects that were recovered didn't resemble any conventional aircraft. And he presumes that whatever these objects were were of an interplanetary origin. And that clip comes courtesy of History's Greatest Mysteries on the History Channel. And here is where that double connection comes in. The primary location that the army first engaged this craft was just east of Culver City. Well, that's exactly where I lived for the entire decade that I lived in the City of Angels. Whatever that craft was, if I was there at the time, I likely would have been able to see it right from my yard. And the connection doesn't stop there either. You might have heard Nick Pope mention in that clip that an unverified memo states that two objects were in fact shot down that evening. One landing in the ocean between Long beach and Catalina island, and the other landing right here in my current backyard in the San Bernardino Mountains. Now, I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to track down that exact location, but no luck thus far. But trust me when I say that my ears are open. Now, many people claim the object was merely a weather balloon. Others think it was friendly fire. But for those few that hang on to the notion that this was an unidentified flying object, I say thank you. Because it's awfully fun to keep legends like this alive. Thank you again, Matt for sharing the details of this amazing event.
- [53:07]
Dutch Representative / Sponsor Voice
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- [53:41]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
You will read and fall implications.
- [53:45]
Derek Hayes
All right, gang, time for our next hometown legend. And it comes to us from New England. Please welcome Aiden out of the state of Vermont.
- [53:58]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Hello, my name is Aiden Reynolds. I live in Vermont. Kind of an old story, but a kind of a spooky one. Me and my friends were out driving one night and there's this local legend in the loyal county where I live. It's called Emily's Bridge. Lots of places have it. It's like a covered bridge. And the local legend was a girl met a guy to get married to him and they were gonna meet at the bridge and he never showed up. And, you know, she killed herself. She jumped off the bridge or she fell off the bridge. I don't know the exact details, but basically she died there. And it's located in Stowe. And all of us were like, do something kind of spooky tonight. You know, let's go out and see what's going on there. So we drove there and decided to park on the bridge and turn our lights off and nothing really happened. So we thought, you know what, let's get out of the car, let's go in there. And we all went in there and sat down, you know, turned our lights off and just waited again. Nothing happened. And we were like, oaks, whatever. So we start the car, we go to leave, we drive through the bridge, and as we're leaving the bridge, we hear the loudest just like bang on the side of my passenger door. It was right next to my friend. Me and him were in the back seat. Sounded just like this. It was like a, like very loud on the outside of the door. Everyone like yelped like little girls. And we speeded to get out of there. It was on a dirt road and basically we stopped at the nearest parking lot to kind of like think what has happened. We go outside the car. And there is a long nail scratch along the side of my friend's paint job. It really, really freaked us out. I don't really have an explanation for it. We thought maybe a tree branch, but we were in the middle of the road. Didn't really make sense for that to happen, but yeah. Thank you. I just started listening to your podcast. Yeah. Have a good day.
- [56:09]
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Aiden. Now, let Aiden's story be a cautionary tale to all you legend trippers out there. Sure, it's fun to spook your friends and give yourself an adrenaline rush, but the fun and games end when your paint gets scratched. Maybe it was Pigman's tusk, Aiden, Isn't he supposed to roam those parts now? Whoever or whatever was responsible, we're glad you took the time to share the story here with us. Aidan. Thank you again for making the call. Well, folks, admittedly this year's hometown legends have been light on monsters. It's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. I can't play the calls if I don't have them. But that's not to say that this year's effort is completely devoid of all monsters. Tuesday's episode introduced us to an East Texas Bigfoot. In tonight's episode two has a creature to showcase. But first, we need to begin in a haunted cemetery. Please welcome Deb out of Illinois to the program.
- [57:27]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
Hi, Derek and monsters among us fans, this is Deb from southeastern Illinois. I have a hometown legend for you. This is about the Ramsey cemetery. Now, my husband and I have been out there checking out the cemetery. We never saw anything strange or experienced anything ourselves, but supposedly there have been stories of werewolves and a man wearing a cloak, a black cloak, and he has glowing red eyes. Now again, there's the werewolf with the red eyes, so that's possible. They've also said that there were stories of figures on horseback. I'm not sure where that would relate to, but the werewolves supposedly live in caves that are in the area. And there are supposed to be several haunted caves there. Now, most of the land is privately owned that surrounds the cemetery, but it's little ways off the track. When you go to it, you're thinking you're going to get lost or, you know, children of the corn type atmosphere. But it's pretty neat back there. I just thought I would call that in. And thank you very much. Keep it spooky. Bye bye.
- [58:48]
Derek Hayes
Thank you for calling in, Deb. The werewolves of Central Illinois. That's not a bad band name. Now I feel like I know all about werewolves. Or dogmen, as they're commonly referred to in this field. But I'd never heard of this story, nor had I heard of this cemetery. But boy am I glad that I did, because I love a good dogman tail. Delaney and I did a lot of digging, but there just wasn't much information on the Ramsey Cemetery or Casbahr Cemetery as it's also known. There are a few mentions here and there, but none of them really offer up any further details. But in doing all that research, I was reminded of a story I'd heard years ago about another cemetery that was plagued with werewolf sightings. Of course, I'm speaking of Hans Grof Cemetery near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Just north of Marietta lies the small and quiet village of Rowenna. Along Old River Road sits an eerie two centuries old cemetery that has been a hotbed for paranormal activity in recent years. As marked in stone, this is the resting place of Hans Grof's descendants and is often referred to as Hans Grof Cemetery. Hans Grof was a Swiss immigrant who was one one of the first settlers of Lancaster County. This small cemetery includes around 30 markers, many of which are unreadable or crumbled altogether. Like many old and peculiar cemeteries in Lancaster, these grounds are the central topic of various local legends. For some reason, the tales surrounding this cemetery involve werewolves and ghost canines. One legend says that a handful of Grof's descendants were accused of being werewolves and were shot down under a full moon at this very spot. Another legend says that Hans Grof was killed by a werewolf, or perhaps was one himself, and placed a curse on these grounds and now forever haunts it in canine form. That clip Property of Lancaster Online. Now what wasn't mentioned in this video is that the werewolf that's often reported near this location has a striking feature. Snow white fur. Not your typical dark dogman that we usually hear about. And if you watch the full clip, the production team does a pretty good job at poking holes in the story. For example, Graff isn't even buried there. He died decades before the cemetery was even established. Although it does seem that many of his relatives may be entombed there. But one thing to know about these tall tales is that most folks don't let the truth get in the way of an entertaining yarn. So you can pick and choose which parts of this legend you'd like to believe in. But back to Ramsay Cemetery. 29 year old Alexander Ramsay was the first to be buried there in a marked grave in 1851. A few years later, three more of his family Would join him there. The official foundation of Ramsay was probably in 1863, during the American Civil War. And history aside, Delaney uncovered something interesting that although it doesn't address the werewolf problem, it does suggest that this area has harbored strange activity for quite some time. In the book entitled History of Effingham County, Illinois, from 1883, it discusses the witch deer that hunters in Effingham County Would come across this from the book directly, Hunters would say, sometimes be almost bedeviled out of their minds by witches that would appear to them in the woods as beautiful deer which would career and gallop around them in easy range. And yet, no matter how often he shot, he could not touch them. It came to be well known that a leaden bullet would not touch a witch. But a silver bullet carried death on its wings. When this kind of ball was fired, a witch deer, if the aim was fatal, the deer would run home, return to its human form, go to bed and die. So maybe these not deer entities that we've been speaking about have been around a lot longer than we first realized. And I think the connection here is quite obvious. Two stories, stories from the same location. One about people turning into deer, the other about people turning into wolves. Presumably, both creatures can be killed using the same method, silver bullets. And like I said, both of these stories originate from Effingham County. I can't help but wonder if there is any connection between a witch deer, any werewolf. And that's pretty much all we were able to find on such short notice. But I do think it's enough to give the area a second look, Especially if a few new stories come out of the woodwork. But until they do, a big thanks, Deb, for sharing. Trust me when I say I'm dying to learn more. All right, everyone, I only have one more story left to share with you tonight. But like Debs, it too covers two completely different paranormal subjects. So you'll get double the fright right after these final messages. And it's a handoff to Hampton Hands. It hit at the line of scrimmage. Well, it's come down to this, folks. The final call of season 19. To close us out, we venture to the great American Southwest, where we meet with Jerry down in Arizona.
- [65:19]
James / Segreg / Aiden Reynolds / Jerry / Sebastian (various callers)
Hey, Derek, My name is Jerry. Love the show. I'm in Arizona. By the way, I've got something that might be a fun hometown legend for you. My wife and I and our family has been going to Coronado, California, Like a lot of Arizonans, for the summer, for a little over 20 years. Now, but on one of our very first visits, my wife and I, alone, without our kids, stayed at the Hotel Dell. And as many people may know, the Hotel Del has a famous ghost story. This woman named Kate Morgan. And as the story goes, Kate Morgan was brought to the hotel at some time in the early 1900s. I think around the turn of the century. Then she was waiting for her fiance or boyfriend or something to come get her, and he never showed. Long story short, she was found on the back steps that at the time led down to the beach wearing a black lace dress. And ever since then, her ghost has been said to haunt the hotel. Well, we went. Neither one of us knew anything about this story at the time, but my wife went into the gift shop and saw this book about the ghost of Hotel Del. She picked it up, she read it on the beach. And while we were there, she has this fascination where she wants to see a ghost. I personally don't want to see a ghost. I've seen one before and I don't want to see one again. But she wanted to see a ghost. And she kept trying to have her own little personal seance with this ghost, asking the ghost to show itself to her and give her a sign or something. And it became kind of a running joke with us. I was making a little fun of her about it. Anyway, our last morning at the hotel, I left to go pick up coffee for us, and I came back and my wife said, take a look at this. And she threw this black ball about maybe the size of a large marble or something at me. And I caught it. I looked at him, I said, what is it? She said, look at it. And I could see that you could unravel it. And I started pulling it, and it turned out to be about a half inch to an inch wide strip of black lace that had been balled up. I said, where did you find this? And she said that when she got up in the morning and she went to pack, it had been sitting on top of her clothes in the drawer in the dresser. And I have no explanation for it. I'm like, how do you think it got there? She said, I don't know. She said, maybe somebody put it there. And I said they were like, who? Who would come in our room and put a ball of black lace on top of your night clothes in the dresser drawer? And it was a head scratcher. So I'm not saying that it was the ghost that left a calling card, but I have no explanation for it. She meant to take it home. She thought she had put it in her bag when we left because she was going to bring it home. But when we got home, she couldn't find it. So I don't even know if Kate Morgan actually existed or is just a legend. Might be something worth looking into. So thanks a lot. Take care. Bye.
- [68:21]
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Jerry. Now, of course, he's speaking of the Hotel Del Coronado. And according to kfmb, CBS News, eight out of San Diego. You're spot on with your retelling, Jerry. Step inside.
- [68:40]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
The Hotel Del Coronado. It's a San Diego icon. Over the years, it's hosted movie stars and presidents. It's also gained fame for something else. You hear a lot of strange noises, especially here late at night. Jesus. Tina Petrone showed us where paranormal activity is seen the most. One of these places is where a woman named Kate Morgan stayed on the third floor.
- [69:02]
Derek Hayes
She's a young lady who checked in.
- [69:04]
Cindy / Steph / Alma / Deb / Fraser / Stephen / Alma (various callers)
In 1892 and checked in under an assumed name. And five days later her body was found here at the hotel. Guests and even staff report seeing a woman wearing a long black dress. We have a room where a guest reportedly checked in, now, never checked out, disappeared, vanished completely.
- [69:23]
Derek Hayes
Now, did you catch that last part? A guest up and vanished. Now, do you remember when I told you that this place was home to two separate phenomenon? Well, the second just might explain that strange disappearance. Would you believe me if I told you that Hotel del Coronado is also home to one of history's most interesting alien abductions? Follow along if you can. Our story begins on Coronado Island. There, at Hotel Del Coronado, the weekend of March 26 and 27, 1994, dozens, if not hundreds of UFO experiencers and researchers have gathered at the conference room in the hotel for a UFO event known as Triad, an event co hosted by the group ciro, or Close Encounter Research Organization. In person was every major player in the alien abduction game. Robert Bigelow of Skinwalker Ranch fame. But also heavy hitters like John Mack, the psychiatrist out of Harvard, and Bud Hopkins, artist, author and ufologist. Now, these experiencers were there to spend the weekend communicating, trading information and, as they put it, healing from traumatic events. Everything seemed to be going as planned until on the second night of the event, something strange took place. Witnesses later described being pulled from sleep by a blinding bluish white light and hearing a humming through the walls. Some couldn't move, frozen in bed, while sinister gray figures surrounded them. One man, Mike, woke to find blood on his pillow and a fresh puncture wound in his ear. Another guest discovered a scoop of skin and flesh removed from her leg. Many reported nausea, confusion and missing time. In addition to the physical marks left on their bodies under hypnosis, several recalled a similar scenario. A cold metallic room, rows of tables, beings performing examinations, and some even said they saw each other there together. A seemingly shared alien abduction experience and add confusion to the entire thing. All the while, President Bill Clinton was only a few hundred feet away visiting Coronado island that very same weekend, his Secret Service buzzing about the building. Now for believers, it was the most compelling mass abduction in modern UFO history. Direct evidence that the phenomena is real and really does take place. But to many skeptics it was dismissed as a combination of power of suggestion and sleep paralysis. In other words, wishful thinking by attention starved weirdos. But for those that live the experience, including author Yvonne Smith, that night at the Hotel del Coronado wasn't a dream or a coincidence. It was a downright nightmare. A double whammy to close this thing out. The perfect way to wrap all of this up. And one more big thanks to Jerry for sharing the story. And a huge thanks to you listener, not only for joining us here tonight, but also for helping us to have our best season yet. Now, I do need to share some important information about the future release schedule before I duck out of here. Somehow the end of the season has come in October, the only month of the year that we cannot take a single day off. So we're going to go straight from this episode to the very beginning of season 20. No fanfare to that episode is just a regular Tuesday episode. Then we'll do some sort of Halloween special later in the month and then after that we might sneak in a couple of days off. But the important thing right now is that you're here on Tuesday per usual, because I will see you there with a brand new installment. Now Beyond Folks. Folks, sadly there will be no new beyond tonight. I'm just too far behind with all this hometown legend stuff. But I'll gather something soon and make it up to you in the coming weeks, I promise. And because this is a hometown legend episode and the end of the season and am out of time, there will be no secret entry here tonight. But don't forget worry, that feature will return next Thursday. So please don't write me an angry letter. Alright folks, that was season 19. What a ride again. On behalf of my team and myself, we can't thank you enough for your continued support. Now buckle up because season 20 is going to be our best season yet. So tell a friend, share the show where you can be sure to join us back here every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh episodes. Monsters Among Us is written and produced by me, Derek Hayes, copyright Red Crow Media. Additional support is provided by Sarah Carter Hayes and Delaney Bowers. All media used in this production is done so under the protection of fair use. Give us a like and follow on our social media pages, give us a like and follow on YouTube, leave us a rate and review wherever that sort of thing is possible. And don't forget to join us on our Discord server now. You can catch the show every Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern on the NX Digital Network. Just visit onyxnetwork.com to tune in. And finally, tonight's score was provided by Iron Cthulhu, Apocalypse Co AG Music and Carl Casey at Whitebat Audio. Alright folks, you keep it spooky. Now go check out a legend in your area. And above all that, be sure to have yourselves a great night.