One of my interests is in folklore and legends, particularly those that come from my native New England. Being one of the oldest parts of the country it has a long history of strange and spooky stories. Many fears and superstitions were brought here from Europe and some are still deeply rooted in our culture.

Over the years I have amassed a huge collection of books recounting these tales, many written by authors Edward Rowe Snow and Robert Ellis Cahill. The Snow and Cahill books are a treasure trove of material with tales of ghosts, witches, haunted houses, old ships and pirates.

One of my favorite stories is that of the deserted village of Dogtown. Once located near Gloucester, Massachusetts, this small village of about 100 people was named after all the dogs, unkempt and underfed, that roamed the streets. It was mainly populated by ‘old crones’ who were widows of fishermen or soldiers and had to resort to ‘arts’ such as fortune telling to make a living. Because of the ‘old crones’ and wild dogs the town gained the reputation of being the home of shape changing witches and werewolves. Today all but nothing reamins in the overgrown area but it is reported to be haunted.

Every now and again I’ll write another blog recounting another spooky or strange story from New England. I will also be incorporating some of these into the adventures of The Graveyard Gang. In fact, the next issue (#2, which I am currently working on) is loosely based on one of these mysterious tales.