Slightly Odd Fitchburg

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Fitch Bits: Boston's Murder of the (19th) Century DID YOU KNOW that Boston was home to the murder of the century? Oh, yeah! As PBS puts it: "The Parkman murder has been called the O. J. Simpson trial of the nineteenth century. It had everything a good murder story needs: a rich, well-known victim; a well-respected suspect; gruesome evidence; and a possible underdog hero." So, basically, it all began in November of 1849 when Dr. George Parkman, a scion of one of Boston's richest families, suddenly vanished. One week later, the janitor of the Harvard Medical College discovered body parts hidden in the laboratory of a mild-mannered professor of chemistry named John Webster. Though his influenti

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the haunting story! Fitch Bits: Ghostly Inhabitants of the Central Burying Ground! DID YOU KNOW that the Central Burying Ground in the Boston Common is rife with spectral activity? There's no way to miss this cemetery, if you've ever been to the Common, and it might just be the best place to meet a ghost! This spot was "established to alleviate overcrowding at King's Chapel, Copp's Hill and Granary Burying Grounds." It was also considered "least desirable because it was the farthest from the market center of the town." It's filled with British soldiers, revolutionaries who fought at Bunker Hill, and foreigners who died while visiting Boston. It's essentially a paupers' field f

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Fitch Bits: The Witch of the Common DID YOU KNOW that there's a Witch of the Common? Mary Dyer is her name and getting unjustly executed is her game! This woman was hanged on the Gallows Tree on Boston Common in 1660. If you don't know what the Gallows Tree is, it doesn't exist anymore. It was used to hang many a folk, back in the day, but it fell over 1876. Anyway, Mary was a Quaker in Puritan run Boston and liked to preach her religion on the streets. That ruffled more than a few Puritan feathers and there was nothing they enjoyed more than a good hangin'! There's a lot to this fascinating story, but I'm limited in space with these posts, so I'd like to write a real story about h

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Well, the weather is certainly changing and it makes me miss walking around Boston Common and being assaulted by entitled squirrels looking for a handout. As such: DID YOU KNOW that Boylston Station is haunted? Yeah, so not only is it the very first subway station in the United States, it's also the location of a mass burial site! Workers uncovered between 900 and 1,100 bodies when they dug out the tunnel, and they were all British soldiers! Most people don't realize the entire Common was a British encampment during the war. The only good Redcoat is a dead Redcoat and they all had to get buried somewhere! Early trolley drivers used to report seeing apparitions of men in red coats in the tunnels around

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Fitch Bits: The Windham Frog Attack DID YOU KNOW that Windham Center, Connecticut was attacked by frogs?   Okay, not really, but that's the myth. It all stems from one summer night in 1754. This was a little before the start of the American Revolution and right at the beginning of the French and Indian War. Tensions were high and the British and French were constantly fighting for control of this area.   So, you have people on edge, hot weather, and the general boredom of being alive in the 18th century when the good residents of Windham Green got jolted awake in the middle of the night and "Rushing out from their beds, they listened with horror and amazement... A din, a roar, an indescribable hubbub

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story!   Fitch Bits: Concealed Shoes DID YOU KNOW that your old New England home might have shoes in its walls?   Although it's not unique to New England, there happen to be more instances of it here than anywhere else in the country. It's even more common in New England's prequel: England, England. That's why the phenomenon is most likely an immigrant from the U.K. and Europe.   They're called concealed shoes and there's no single consensus as to why they were put in the walls. It could go all the way back to ritualistic sacrifice on new foundations to protect and bless new homes and public houses. As sacrifice fell out of fashion, the tradition stuck and people used leather shoes (animal sk

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post. We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at  Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg  and following us at  Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg ! Now onto the odd story! Fitch Bits: The Bennington Triangle DID YOU KNOW that Vermont has its own triangle?   It's called the Bennington Triangle and, much like the Bermuda and Bridgewater varieties, it's plagued with disappearances, mysterious lights, untraceable sounds, and unidentified creatures! It's located in the Green Mountains and was avoided by Native populations in the area.   Five people disappeared between 1945 and 1950. No traces of them have ever been found and one man was even seen getting onto a bus but never seen getting off it!   While I have you here, How about getting your very own Ouija Board , made by me! They help support the site and you'll never find a higher quality, handmade board anywhere!