The terrible incident at Salem was not the last American witch hunt. It was also not the end of Puritan oppression in the region. They would leave a last impact on both New England and American history.

And no aspect of the Puritan experience remains as vivid in American memory as their fear of monsters, specifically the fear of witches that led to the trials of hundreds of settlers during the 1600s. For most of us today, the witch trials seem to be a brief flirtation with an irrational past. 

But there was nothing irrational about Salem to the Puritans. They hunted monsters for a generation before Salem, believing that strange creatures lurked in the “howling wilderness.” They imagined their religious experience as a war with monstrous beings birthed by the Devil. It was a struggle with the forces of darkness that turned the New World into a place teeming with such monsters in the minds of the Puritans.

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In the past on this podcast, we have often asked the question of whether a monster is born or are they made? This might be the episode that finally answers that question. The story that follows suggests that monsters are NOT born; they’re made – often by the very people who should protect them.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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The fires of the witchcraft allegations burned through the towns and villages of New England during the 1600s, leading to accusations, trials, and even hangings. Many communities regretted the belief that the Devil was at work in their own until it was too late and near the end of the century, the fires that had burned so hot began to cool.

But not before the events at Salem Village occurred in 1692, spawning the most infamous witchcraft panic in American history. The town was a hotbed of gossip, hostility, and family squabbles and when religious fanaticism was added to the mix, accusations of the Devil’s work soon followed.

But not just in Salem. Most don’t realize that another witchcraft panic was occurring at the same time, a short distance away, and that Salem’s so-called “Afflicted Girls” had a starring role in that terror, too. 

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In 1987, ten-year-old Amy Rachel Schulz vanished from the quiet town of Kell, Illinois. By morning, her body was found in a rural oilfield — brutally murdered. The investigation that followed tore through southern Illinois, led to a death sentence, and decades later unraveled into one of the most controversial cases in the state’s history. This is the story of innocence lost, forensic failure, and the haunting legacy Amy left behind.  

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A war raged in the Puritan New England of the 1600s with both the indigenous people who first settled the land and against the “Spirits of the Invisible World” who used “horrid sorcerers and hellish conjurers who conversed with demons” to torment and persecute the faithful. 

It was a time of sin, suspicion, wild accusations – and witchcraft. Those who had made pacts with the Devil were intent on the destruction of the “purified” world that the Puritans had created – and they would do anything to stop it.

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Riders on the Storm” turned out to be the last song Jim Morrison ever recorded. When the album was finished, he left L.A. for Paris and either died on July 3, 1971, or he went permanently off the grid – whichever you’d like to believe.

But it’s the lyrics behind the song that is the most unsettling of all – it was inspired by one of the most sinister spree-killers in history. His reign of terror began in the last days of 1950, and over the next two weeks, he went on a senseless rampage. He kidnapped nearly a dozen people, including a deputy sheriff, and murdered six of them in cold blood, including three children. 

During those 14 days, the killer – a born loser named Billy Cook – terrorized the highways of the American Southwest and earned a permanent place in the history of music and as the inspiration for two terrifying films.

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

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American Nightmares begins with the horror at the root of the stories that kept the early settlers huddled around the fire late into the night – the Devil himself.

Understanding the Devil in America is the key to understanding our undeniable taste for the evil and the monstrous in all their many forms. The pages of our history can be read as a tale of horror -- with the Devil as one of the main characters. The Devil, like the first white settlers, was imported to these shores, and he found great success here. At almost every turning point in our history, at every moment of great societal and cultural change, the Devil has embodied, and even legitimized our nation. He has been the uninvited guest at the American banquet and the inspiration for religious movements, politics, entertainment, and our country's greatest nightmares.

American Nightmares is part of the American Hauntings Podcast Network. You can find more about us, our books, tours, ghost hunts, dinner events, the Haunted America Conference, and the American Oddities Museum in Alton, Illinois, at the American Hauntings Website!

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Our nightmare begins, as all bad dreams do, in the dark.

The new show coming to the American Hauntings Podcast Network is AMERICAN NIGHTMARES, hosted by Troy Taylor (that’s me) and I’ll be delving into America’s history, hauntings, spirits, and sins in a way that we’ve never done before. I’ll be tackling the origins and the history of horror in America, from frightening stories of witch trials to monsters of literature and lore. In the shows to come, I’ll offer tales of terror and stories of revenge and despair, haunted houses, mysterious monsters, brutal murders, death and dying, and true tales of murder, madness, and mayhem that you may find hard to believe can be true. 

But I can assure you they are.

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“So, I’d been listening to this conversation and I finally walked over and picked up a film off the rack. I handed it to the biggest guy and told him, this is it. Take this home and watch it and if it’s not scary enough for you, I’ll give you your money back when you return it.”

“The guy came back the next day, and he handed me the case with the VHS tape in it. I asked him what he thought and he just had this look in his eye.”

“’Scared the shit out of all of us,’ he said. ‘Seriously man, I was so freaked out I barely slept last night. You were right – gotta be the scariest film in the store.’

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

Produced and edited by Cody Beck

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This Halloween, we discuss our favorite guilty pleasure Horror movies! And we try our best to not judge ourselves and others about the scary movies we all hate to love. Check it out!

Have a question or comment? Text us on the Haunt Line @ 217-791-7859

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Check out our updated website and sign up for our newsletter at AmericanHauntingsPodcast.com

Want an episode every week, plus other awesome perks and discounts? Check out our Patreon page

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Follow us on Twitter @AmerHauntsPod, @TroyTaylor13, @CodyBeckSTL

Follow us on Instagram @AmericanHauntingsPodcast, @TroyTaylorgram, @CodyBeckSTL

This episode was written by Troy Taylor

Produced and edited by Cody Beck

Our Sponsors:
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* Check out Shopify: https://shopify.com/hauntings
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