Wicked Curious Radio With Roxie Zwicker

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Deep in the forests of Waterbury, Vermont, the remains of a forgotten community are quietly being reclaimed by nature. In this episode, we explore Ricker Basin and Kelty Corners, two interconnected nineteenth-century hill-farming settlements that once stretched across thousands of acres and were home to roughly 50 families.

We’ll uncover the story of the hardy settlers who carved farms from the rocky Vermont hillsides, built schools, operated sawmills, raised families, and created a thriving community in what now feels like wilderness. We’ll also explore why the settlement gradually disappeared—including the challenges of farming, the devastating 1927 flood, and the construction of the Waterbury Dam, which ultimately submerged portions of the old community.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Today, hikers can follow old settlement roads through Little River State Park, discovering cellar holes, stone foundations, the Ricker Cemetery, the remains of the Waterbury Last Block Company sawmill, and the remarkable Almeron Goodell farmhouse. Nearby, the ruins of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp tell another chapter in the area’s history.

Plus, discover a wonderful inn, where the spirits have been looking over their guests for almost 200 years. It’s a fascinating journey into a Vermont - where the may seem distant—but the stories haven’t disappeared.

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Have you ever wondered whether ghosts celebrate?

In this episode of Wicked Curious Radio, Roxie Zwicker explores a fascinating side of New England folklore—stories of spirits who seem to gather long after the living have gone home. Travel from Salem’s elegant Hamilton Hall, where shadowy figures are said to dance beneath the chandeliers, to a delightfully spooky 1916 “Ghost Dance” that transformed an Elks Hall into a Halloween spectacle.

Along the way, discover what a Boston Globe investigation revealed about ordinary New Englanders who quietly shared extraordinary encounters with the unexplained. Then journey to historic Sandwich, Cape Cod, where local legend tells of master glassmakers who return each year for a phantom Glassmakers’ Ball, complete with ghostly music, mysterious dancers, and the unforgettable Gaffer Bonique.

Are these lingering spirits, echoes of history, or simply the stories we continue to tell? Join us as we explore the places where New England’s past refuses to fade away.

History, folklore, haunted traditions, and a little mystery await. Stay wicked curious.

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In this episode of Wicked Curious Radio, we journey into the forests of Maine through a collection of forgotten newspaper accounts from the early twentieth century. Hidden among their yellowed pages are tales of phantom caribou wandering lonely trails, haunted pines that groan when threatened with an axe, sacred trees that preserved lives during winter storms, and the mysterious Silent Brothers.

The featured story takes us deep into the wilderness of Grand Lake and the infamous Coffin Point, where a fisherman vanished after declaring, “I’ll be back to supper… or I’ll eat it in Hell.” His disappearance gave rise to one of Maine’s strangest haunted clubhouse legends—a tale repeated by guides, woodsmen, and caretakers who all claimed to encounter the same terrifying apparition.

Were these simply campfire tales… or did generations of Mainers preserve something stranger hidden among the pines?

Join Mystery Maven Roxie Zwicker as she uncovers these forgotten legends and explores why the forests of New England have always been places where history, folklore, and the supernatural seem to grow together.

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Far beyond the Maine coast, on the rugged cliffs of Monhegan Island, sits a strange rock formation known as the Devil’s Mortar. For generations, islanders whispered that the hollow in the stone was created by the Devil himself—a place where he cracked bones, ground corn, and watched fishermen struggle against the sea.

In this episode of Wicked Curious Radio, Roxie Zwicker explores an eerie 1888 legend involving a fisherman, a reckless oath, demonic laughter echoing across the water, and a mysterious death high upon the cliffs of Green Point. Was it simply a cautionary tale born from the dangers of life at sea, or does something darker linger in the folklore of Monhegan Island?

Join us as we uncover one of Maine’s strangest coastal legends and journey into a world where the line between superstition and reality becomes dangerously thin.

🌊 Maine Folklore
 🌙 Coastal Legends
 👹 Devil Traditions of New England
 ⚓ Maritime Mystery
 📖 Based on an 1888 Monhegan Island Newspaper Account

“If you hear laughter carried on the wind from Green Point… be careful what promises you make.”

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As summer settles across Maine’s lakes, thousands gather along the water’s edge to swim, boat, and relax beneath sunny skies. But beneath the sparkling surface lie stories of loss, tragedy, and communities forever changed.

In this episode of Wicked Curious, we explore two haunting chapters of Maine history. First, we journey beneath the waters of Flagstaff Lake, where entire towns—including Flagstaff and Dead River—were sacrificed and flooded in the name of progress. Then we travel to the shores of Belgrade Lakes, where a devastating fire consumed the grand Belgrade Lakes Hotel, leaving behind memories, legends, and whispers of a bygone era.

From burning forests and drowned homesteads to vanished landmarks and lingering spirits, these stories reveal how the lakes we treasure today often conceal forgotten histories beneath their calm surfaces.

So pull up a chair by the campfire, listen to the loons calling across the water, and join us for an evening of Maine’s most fascinating lake legends.

Because sometimes the deepest stories are the ones hidden beneath the surface.

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In the shadow of the Berkshire Mountains, two chilling legends have endured for more than two centuries.

In Williamstown, a traveling peddler vanishes after visiting a remote farmhouse. Strange lights are seen in the night, a deserted house is discovered, and a horse with muffled hooves becomes the center of one of Massachusetts' most enduring ghost stories.

Miles away on Three Mile Hill near Great Barrington, travelers report terrifying encounters with phantom lights, a headless horseman, and a ghostly peddler walking a lonely mountain road. When human bones are unearthed years later, locals begin to wonder if the hauntings are connected to a long-forgotten murder.

Join New England Curiosities as we explore two of Berkshire County's most fascinating supernatural legends—where folklore, mystery, and haunted locations blend into tales that continue to haunt western Massachusetts to this day.

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The sea has always belonged to the living and the dead.

In this chilling live episode of Wicked Curious, we voyage into the haunted waters of New England to explore some of the region’s most enduring maritime legends: the Dead Ship of Harpswell and the fiery phantom known as the Palatine Light. For generations, sailors, fishermen, and coastal villagers reported seeing ghostly vessels emerging from the fog—ships with no crew, no voices, and no hope of reaching harbor.

Was the Dead Ship of Harpswell truly a harbinger of death, appearing before a fisherman was lost at sea? 

In the episode of Wicked Curious we’ll uncover other coastal mysteries from the waters of Casco Bay and beyond.

Dim the lantern, listen for the foghorn, and keep your eyes on the horizon.

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On a frigid February night in 1887, the Montreal Express plunged from a bridge into the frozen White River, creating the deadliest railroad disaster in Vermont history. Through eyewitness accounts and newspaper reports from the scene, we follow the harrowing stories of passengers trapped in the wreckage, desperate rescue attempts, and final acts of courage amid fire and ice. We uncover how a broken rail, outdated railroad technology, and a devastating inferno combined to claim dozens of lives. And as the smoke cleared, local legends began to emerge—stories of phantom trains, restless spirits, and a young boy said to still wander the riverbank searching for his father.

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In 1874, a dam high above Williamsburg, Massachusetts burst without warning, unleashing a wall of water that destroyed entire mill villages and killed more than 130 people in less than an hour. In this haunting episode, we follow the desperate ride of gatekeeper George Cheney, the heroic warnings carried by milkman Daniel Graves, and the lingering ghost of a disaster many believe was caused not by nature — but by greed. Deep in the woods where the ruins still stand, the Mill River Flood continues to echo through New England history.

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A grieving widow beckons a young woman into a recurring nightmare inside a windswept Victorian mansion perched above Martha’s Vineyard Sound. Across the island, correctional officers at the old Dukes County Jail report phantom footsteps, ghostly figures on security cameras, and the lingering presence of an inmate known only as Old Joe. In this chilling episode, we uncover three of Martha’s Vineyard’s most unsettling hauntings—where the dead may never have truly left.

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