In Episode 463, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger hike up Mt. Washington to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut located in the saddle between Mt. Washington and Mt. Monroe in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The hut exists because of a tragic accident that took place there in June of 1900. Today they say the hut is haunted by the victim. Be sure to listen to the end for a free audiobook excerpt from Jeff’s latest book: The World’s Most Haunted Places.
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Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Theme Music by: John Judd
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
*A note on the text: Please forgive punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes. Like us, the transcripts ain’t perfect.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
RAY: It seems like a great day for a hike on Mt. Washington, Jeff!
JEFF: It does. Autumn just started a few days ago, but it’s still nice here today.
RAY: For those keeping score, Mt. Washington located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is 6,288 feet tall, making it the tallest mountain in New England.
JEFF: It’s a mountain I’ve hiked many times over the years. And while down here near the base of Tuckerman’s Ravine, the weather is pleasant, I know from experience it can be a whole other climate at the top.
RAY: I know the second-highest wind speed ever recorded on earth was 231 miles per hour at the top of Mt. Washington. That happened April 12, 1934. The record was number one until 1999 when it was broken by a weather station in Australia.
JEFF: The weather can change fast and get extreme up here. This mountain is beautiful, but also dangerous. 161 people have died on this mountain since 1849. This place is no joke.
RAY: 161! That’s a lot!
JEFF: I know! And we don’t want to add to that number today.
RAY: Why are we even doing this hike?
JEFF: Because we’re heading up to the Lake in the Clouds hut located in the saddle between Mt. Washington and Mt. Monroe. The hut exists because of a tragedy, and they say the place… is haunted.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger and welcome to Episode 462 of the New England Legends podcast.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every wicked strange legend in New England one story at a time. From ghosts to monsters, UFOs and aliens, roadside oddities, and the just plain weird, we love it all.
JEFF: Speaking of ghosts and hauntings, this week I’m thrilled to announce my latest book has just hit the shelves! The World’s Most Haunted Places is out now wherever you get your books or eBooks. OR your audiobooks! I got to narrate the audiobook version that’s out now. In fact, we have a gift for you. If you hang in there until the end, we’ve included an audiobook excerpt from the book. It’s chapter 14 – The Skirred Inn in Wales over in the United Kingdom. Listen at the end to check it out.
RAY: We’ll go searching for the ghost of the Lake in the Clouds Hut right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR
[HIKING IN WOODS]
RAY: So we’ve been to Mt. Washington before.
JEFF: We have.
RAY: Back in Episode 342, we covered the Lizzie Bourne tragedy. Back in 1855, Bourne made it almost to the top before getting caught in a storm. She died and a marker still stands where she was found.
JEFF: It happened then, it still happens today. As we said, the body count on this mountain is over 160 people. That’s an average of about 1 per year since they’ve been counting.
RAY: That’s a lot of people when you put it that way.
JEFF: It is. There are similarities between the Bourne story and this one. We’ll find out as we get closer to the top and head toward the saddle or dip between Mt. Washington and Mt. Monroe.
RAY: These mountains are part of what’s called the presidential range. Stretching a little over 20 miles, the mountain peaks are called: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce. And as we said, Washington is the tallest.
JEFF: That’s the range. As we get into these higher elevations, we climb above the tree line. The temperature drops, and the winds pick up.
RAY: Thankfully it’s not too bad today. The skies are clear.
JEFF: But we always have to keep an eye on the sky, Ray. It can change in an instant up here.
[LIGHT WIND]
JEFF: Look up ahead, Ray. We’re coming up to the Lake of the Clouds.
RAY: Wow! What a gorgeous spot! I mean, calling this a lake is being pretty generous.
JEFF: Yeah, lake of clouds, sure. Lake of water, not so much.
RAY: It’s more like a small pond, but on a still day, I can see how it would reflect the sky above.
JEFF: And just up the hill from the pond is the AMC Lake of the Clouds Hut. AMC being the Appalachian Mountain Club.
RAY: Just like it doesn’t seem fair to call that pond down the hill a lake, it doesn’t feel fair to call this building a hut. If this were a house it would be a pretty large house.
JEFF: It can sleep 90 people, so yeah, hut isn’t the right term. Back when the first shelter was built in 1901 it was just a hut. But this larger building was constructed in 1915 as this region grew in popularity and more hikers needed it.
RAY: And they say this building is haunted?
JEFF: They do. To find out why, let’s head back to the year 1900.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s June 30th, 1900. William McKinley is president of the United States, Frank Rollins is the Governor of New Hampshire, and here at the base of Mt. Washington near Crawford Notch, it’s a beautiful day for a hike. Clear skies, and it’s not too hot.
JEFF: Standing near the trail head is 63 year-old William Curtis, and his younger climbing partner, Allan Ormsbee—he’s 29 years old. Both are members of the Appalachian Mountain Club. Both are seasoned hikers who know their way around Mt. Washington.
[HIKING IN WOODS]
RAY: Even though Curtis is 63 years old, you wouldn’t know it by seeing him move up this mountain. The guy is ripped. I’m having a hard time keeping up with him!
JEFF: I hear you. This trail is 8.5 miles to the top of Mt. Washington. Do you want the good news, Ray?
RAY: (OUT OF BREATH) Please!
JEFF: Except for the relatively flat part in the beginning, it’s uphill the whollllle way.
RAY: Great.
[HIKING IN WOODS FOR A FEW SECONDS]
[WIND SLOWLY BUILDING]
RAY: The clouds are starting to move in. And the temperature is dropping.
JEFF: Up here the weather can change fast. Let’s keep moving. The good news is there’s a shelter at the summit of Mt. Washington. If the weather keeps getting worse, we can ride out the storm there.
[WIND LOUDER]
RAY: We just got above the tree line. It looks like dense fog, but I know these are actually clouds. Plus with the wind, the fog is swirling. I can see maybe 100 feet or so in front of us.
JEFF: Just keep heading up, Ray. That’s the goal.
[LIGHT RAIN/WIND]
[GETTING WINDED NOW]
RAY: This is getting rough. Now there’s some rain and sleet mixing in. I can’t see Ormsbee. Do you see him?
JEFF: I thought he was up ahead with Curtis, but you’re right. I don’t see him either. Let’s keep following Curtis.
RAY: Is he going the right way?
JEFF: Is he going up?
RAY: Yeah. But diagonally up, or straight toward the top, I can’t tell.
JEFF: Then we’ll have to hope it’s the right way. I think the shelter at the summit has to be the goal now.
RAY: There’s no longer a trail to follow. We’re Just pulling ourselves up these boulders. With the rain and sleet, it’s getting slippery.
JEFF: Curtis has added some layers of clothing.
[STORM GROWS IN INTENSITY]
RAY: Should we try to head back down and at least get below the trees?
JEFF: Visibility is so bad right now and the conditions are slippery, I’m not sure we could get lower safely. I think we need to head for the summit at all costs now.
RAY: I’m still not sure following Curtis is the way to go. He seems to be heading southwest of the summit now. The uphill isn’t so steep, but I don’t know what’s over that way.
JEFF: Mt. Monroe is southwest of the summit. Maybe he’s hoping to find a quicker trail back down to the trees that way. This is bad. And really slow going.
RAY: And I have no idea what happened to Ormsbee. He’s on his own now.
[STORM CONTINUES]
JEFF: Hours pass, and Curtis continues at a crawling pace. It’s getting darker, which means the sun is getting lower on the horizon. If we can’t find shelter, or if this storm doesn’t pass through, we’re going to be in serious trouble.
RAY: I see a pond up ahead, and some outcroppings of rocks. Maybe we can make some kind of shelter there?
JEFF: It’s our only hope at this point. Once the sun sets, we’re stuck for the night. I’m freezing. We don’t have a tent.
RAY: Curtis is trying to find some kind of nook or something where he can wedge himself in to get some kind of shelter. There really isn’t anything here but exposed rocks… and the sun has pretty much set.
[SLOW FADE OUT OF THE STORM]
JEFF: It’s the following morning. The storm has moved out, the temperature is cold. Maybe 35 degrees. The sun is just starting to rise. As the sunlight hits William Curtis, it’s clear that he’s gone. He died from exposure some time in the night. We’re about a mile and a half from the summit of Mt. Washington, and maybe a mile and a half from the tree line below. There couldn’t be a more dangerous place in the middle of a storm and no visibility. This is truly no man’s land.
RAY: Meanwhile, a mile and half from us, and about 100 yards south of the summit shelter on Mt. Washington, the cut and bruised body of Allan Ormsbee is discovered. Had he made it just a little bit further, he would have survived. Wooden crosses are placed at the site where the each man’s body was found.
[HAMMERING AND SAWING]
JEFF: It’s one year later, and the Appalachian Mountain Club is building a hut in the exact spot where William Curtis perished a year ago. This no man’s land in the saddle between two mountains, now has a refuge. 14 years later, the hut is expanded into a proper lodge. From here, we jump ahead 80 years.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s now April of 1994 here at Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mt. Washington. An AMC crew member named George is going to hike his way up to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut to check on any damage from the previous winter and report on the state of the hut.
JEFF: George is well seasoned, he’s got the right gear, snow shoes, and of course his two-way radio. George sets out early to make the climb up to the Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
[CRUNCHING THROUGH SNOW]
JEFF: The going is slow, but steady. It’s early afternoon when George reaches the hut.
RAY: The windows to the hut are all boarded up, just the way they were left in the fall.
[RADIO SQUAKS]
RAY: Meanwhile, down at the base, the AMC crew radios up to George to make sure he’s made it to the hut okay. They wait, but there’s no reply on the radio.
JEFF: This isn’t that unusual. George may have left the radio in the hut and explored around the building to check it over. No big deal.
[RADIO SQUAKS]
RAY: A few hours later, the base crew radios again. But again receives no reply. As the sun begins to set, they’re worried.
JEFF: But there’s nothing they can do now. They’ll have to wait for morning.
[RADIO SQUAKS]
JEFF: It’s the following morning. There’s still no reply on the radio. So, a rescue party begins their climb up the mountain.
[CRUNCHING THROUGH SNOW]
RAY: It’s pretty easy to follow George’s trail up the mountain through the snow. It’s also clear he didn’t take any side journeys. His footsteps lead right up to the Lakes of the Clouds hut.
[DOOR CREAKS OPEN]
RAY: Once inside the hut, the search party finds George’s backpack set on the dining room table of the hut. And there’s his radio, still powered on.
JEFF: It’s dark in here. The windows are still boarded up. And it’s so quiet.
[FAINT WIMPER OF A MAN IN THE BACKGROUND]
JEFF: Do you hear that?
RAY: It sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen area.
[WIMPER GROWS LOUDER]
RAY: I think it’s coming from the cabinets beneath the sink.
JEFF: Careful Ray, it could be some wild animal.
[DOOR OPENS]
JEFF/RAY: It’s George!
RAY: He looks like he’s in shock. And he’s clutching an axe.
JEFF: The rescue team pulls George from the cabinet and brings him outside. George can’t get away from the hut fast enough. They get George down the mountain, and to a hospital where he recovers.
RAY: It’s in the hospital that George finally reveals what happened that day at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut.
JEFF: George said when he arrived at the hut, he was tired and hungry, so he unlocked the padlocked door, and set his gear inside. He pulled out some of his food, and began to eat. He figured a quick break and meal, and then he’d radio down to base. But as he was eating, he said he felt as though someone else was in the dining hall with him. George turned to see a grotesque and distorted face staring at him from between the window and the boards covering the window outside. He turned to the next window and saw the same face. And the next window, and the one after that. Petrified, it’s the last thing he remembered until he was discovered the following day hiding in the kitchen cabinets. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: Yikes! So it’s assumed that was the ghost of William Curtis?
JEFF: He’s the man who died right on this spot. His death led to the construction of this building.
RAY: That gives me the chills.
JEFF: Not nearly as chilly as it can get up here on this exposed rock on the roof of New England.
RAY: Good point.
JEFF: Today you can make reservations at the Lake of the Clouds Hut to stay overnight during the summer. If the weather is clear, the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular and worth seeing. But you need to hoof it here, passing over trails and near places with dozens of people have perished over the years. You can’t blame this building for being haunted, it was built right where a man died doing what we’re doing—reaching for the highest peaks. Just trying to slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: And you’ve just climbed into After the Legend where we take a deeper dive into this week’s story and sometimes veer off course. Just a reminder to listen all the way to the end today to get an excerpt of Jeff’s new audiobook: The World’s Most Haunted Places. It will roll after our credits.
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Until next time remember… the bizarre is closer than you think.
And now… an audiobook excerpt from my latest book The World’s Most Haunted Places.