Spooky Times with Eric D

Tonight we look at one of the most famous ghost stories of Massachusetts, The Legend of Lucy Keyes and the Ghosts of Mount Wachusett!

In the spring of 1755, four-year-old Lucy Keyes went missing from her semi rural home in Princeton, MA. Professionals poured in to help search for Lucy, but eventually all hope was lost and most stopped searching for the girl. Only her mother held out any hope. Most believed a tribe of Native Americans had kidnapped or murdered the girl. Still others believed her quarrelsome neighbor, Tilly Littlejohn, may have known much more than he let on.

Some say Lucy never really disappeared. In fact, if you visit Mount Wachusett today, some believe there is a chance you just might run in to the ghost of little Lucy or her mother who roams the trails of the mountain still searching for her daughter.

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You asked for it, and Eric delivers! We're diving into some little local legends that may not have enough information to create an entire episode based on, but when combined together the form Myths of Massachusetts Vol. 1!

We begin in Westford, MA, where some strange clues about the founding of America may lay written in stone. The town is home to what has become known as The Westford Knight: a supposed figure of a Scottish Knight holding his shield and sword carved into a slab of stone. Is it possible that a clan of Knights Templar fled Europe in the 14th century to make a new home in Westford? People have been disagreeing over what the design is and who could have created it since at least the late 19th century. If you visit the knight today, you'll see it has been given a very grand viewing area complete with a probably untrue history presented as complete fact!

Next stop, the scariest road in Billerica, MA: the haunted Dudley Road! Why should this semi-rural, forested road be considered so scary? According to the legends, there is an old abandoned insane asylum just off the road. Some say tortured should still linger and possibly seek revenge! Or maybe it has to do with the old abandoned convent. Stories about that place vary, but most involve a combination of nuns and witches...or witch-nuns! spookyas.com

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In a surprise return to the show, Eric welcomes back Fatima Elmi to talk about the world's most famous ghost ship, The Mary Celeste! Fatima was slightly disappointed when she realized tonight's story did not contain any actual ghost, but it is a great mystery none the less! In 1872, The Mary Celeste was found drifting in the middle of the Atlantic with her sails half set. She had left new York several days earlier with 10 people on board...but now the credit was missing. There was no sign of a struggle and no note left behind. There was no serious damage done to the ship. It's as if the crew and passengers had just vanished into thin air. So what happened? That's what we'll try to figure out on tonight's episode!

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Eric welcomes guest cohosts Olivia and Mackenzie, hosts of the true crime podcast Death By Champagne! Tonight Eric, Liv and Mack will cover the case of The Smiling Widow, Jessie Costello.

Jessie was accused of poisoning her husband in 1933. Her trail received little fanfare...until the press started to focus on Jessie's looks. Suddenly, she was transformed into a bewitching enchantress who was able to capture the heart of any man she wished...including the jury at her trial! Jessie became infamous and she loved the spotlight being cast upon her. She posed for picture in her cell and even received flowers from her jailers.

You can find Death By Champagne wherever podcast are available.

Follow them on Instagram @deathbychamps

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Tonight we take a break from historic murders and get slightly silly as Eric offers up some Spooky Commercials. Sure, you'd expect to see something scary if you were watching Tales from the Darkside...but what about Full House? Surely nothing could scar you for life during an episode of one of the most saccharin shows in TV history, right? 

These commercials could pop up and terrify you when you least expected. Like the one where a monster, most likely Freddy Kruger, demands you call his 900 number to chat. Or the bizarre Japanese commercial where a beautiful woman introduces a monster baby to Kleenex. How about The Smurfs getting bombed? Death watching over a local pond waiting to kill children? Vincent Price hawking books full of arcane knowledge? It's all here. Plus the PSA where McGruff the crime Dog convinced Eric that he was mere moments away from being kidnaped and never seen again!

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When you think of a thug, chances are good you imagine an Indian man wearing a yellow scarf, but that's exactly what the term originally described! The Thugs were bands of roving bandits/murders who may have been practicing ritual sacrifice to appease a bloodthirsty goddess in a way of life they called thuggee...or they may never have existed at all.

We'll try to separate fact from fiction and you'll get an update on Hannah Duston and Salad Fingers on this week's Spooky A S!

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Tonight, Eric is joined by special guest Charles Gustine, host of the podcast Iconogrophy. When these two let met, Eric was a guest on Charles' podcast to discuss witchfinding and modern Salem. Tonight Charles returns the favor as the two discuss Hannah Duston: A Mother's Revenge!

Hannah Duston was a puritan woman living in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1697 when she, her servant and her infant daughter were taken captive by Native Americans. The Natives were involved in a war against the English at the time, and they told Hannah their plan was to torture the captives and then ransom them back to their families. Hannah didn't like the sound of this, but when one of the natives killed her infant daughter, Hannah began plotting not only an escape, but very possibly a shocking act of revenge.

Eric and Charles will discuss the complicated legacy of Hannah Duston's story, what to do with monuments erected to celebrate people/events we're not so sure we should be celebrating anymore, the over simplification of Native American history, the Matter Family, and Tarantino films on tonight's episode! 

Check out Charles' podcast at www.iconography.com

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Thanks to busted equipment and St. Patrick's day being just around the corner, we're dipping into the archives to re-present you an early episode about Leprechauns and Banshees! Actually, we cover a lot of Irish mythology and this episode deserves more downloads than it got the first time around.

Eric and guest Tom Cole will also discuss words they have trouble saying and, as a new added bonus, Eric will tell you about the time he met Warwick Davis, The Leprechaun himself!

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Tonight Eric welcomes Back Lilith Beest (aka Lil' Beesty) to talk about Halloween 2018 (the movie, not the holiday). Eric and Lil are both huge fans of Halloween 1978, but will they share the same passion for the latest entry?

Spoiler: No, they will not. One will love it, one will tolerate it. They'll also give their thoughts on Jamie Lee Curtis, the motivations of Michael Myers and the sad state of the mental health profession as represented by all Halloween movies.

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Tonight we discuss the intriguing and heartbreaking case of Mr. Cruel, Australia's most infamous child murderer. The masked stranger crept into family homes at night, tied up the parents and disappeared into the night carrying a child under his arm. In two incidents, he let the children go after holding them captive and filming himself carrying out his perverse fantasies with them. But in his last known crime, he crossed the line from kidnapper to murderer.

Now, nearly 30 years after his last known offense, investigators are ramping up their efforts to finally unmask Mr. Cruel. This case is often compared to America's Golden State Killer and some have even speculated that Mr. Cruel and Golden State are one and the same. We'll attempt to separate fact from fiction on tonight's Spooky A S.

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