Legends and Lore of the North Shore

by Arcadia Publishing

Overview

For over three hundred years, stories of witches, sea serpents and pirates have amazed and terrified residents of Massachusetts's North Shore. In the summer of 1692, phantom men were spotted in the fields of Gloucester. Farther north, "A" marks the spot for pirate treasure in the marshes of Newbury, while to the east, full moons might bring out the werewolf of Dogtown. The devil himself has burned his mark on the boulder-strewn landscape, while shaggy humanoids have been sighted loping along the coast. From Boston to New Hampshire, Massachusetts's North Shore is filled with remarkable stories and legendary characters. Join author Peter Muise and discover the North Shore's uncanny legends and tales of the paranormal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626195172
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/15/2014
Series:	American Legends
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	361,482
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Peter Muise was born in Massachusetts and has lived his entire life in New England. He has degrees in anthropology from Bates College and Brandeis University. Local folklore has been his passion for almost twenty years, and he blogs about it weekly at newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com. From his home in Boston he makes frequent excursions to the North Shore in search of strange places and unusual stories.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Native American Lore and Magic 11

Manitous and Spirits 12

Passaconaway 16

Weetamoo and Winnepurkit 17

2 Witches and Wizard of the North Shore 19

Witchcraft Beliefs 19

Elizabeth Morse and Caleb Powell: Witchcraft in Old Newbury 23

The Salem Witch Trials: the Witch Hunt Begins 26

The Salem Witch Trials: Spectral Evidence and Nineteen Executions 28

The Salem Witch Trials: "More Weight" 35

Salem Witchcraft in the Nineteenth Century 39

Peg Wesson, the Witch of Gloucester 40

The Good Witches of the North Shore 41

3 Pirates and Buried Treasure 47

John Quelch, the Accidental Pirate 47

John Phillips, the Pirate Who Was Pickles 50

Fanny Campbell Saves the Day 52

Burried Treasure in Byfield? 56

Harry Main and the Treasure Cats 57

The Treasure of Pine Point 60

Thomas Veal and the Treasure of Pirate's Glen 62

4 Strange Places and Weird Locations 65

Dungeon Rock 65

Devilish Places 70

Witch Rock 76

Beverly's Witches Woods 77

Danvers State Hospital Cemetery 81

Dogtown Common 85

5 Three North Shore Eccentrics 91

Lord Timothy Dexter 91

John Murray Spear and the New Motive Power 95

John Hammond, the Master of the Castle 98

6 Scaly Monsters, Hairy Monsters and Speciers 101

The Gloucester Mermaid 101

The Deep Ones: Fact or Fiction? 105

The North Shore Sea Serpent 109

The Dogtown Werewolf 112

Bigfoot on Plum Island 115

The Gloucester Soecters 117

Bibliography 121

About the Author 127