In Episode 419 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger travel to Portland, Maine, to search for John L. Aitchison, the man, they say, who only spoke twice. Back in 1864, something happened to 44-year-old Aitchison that made him quit every part of life. For the rest of his days he didn’t work, didn’t venture outside, and spoke only twice.
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CREDITS:
Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Guest Voice: Marv Anderson
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.
[CITY SOUNDS]
JEFF: Do you ever think some people talk too much, Ray?
RAY: Definitely. I dare say people have even accused you and me of talking too much at times.
JEFF: I’m sure you’re right. That’s the nice thing about our podcast. We have volume control, I guess.
RAY: That’s true. There’s only so long I can keep my mouth shut.
JEFF: Same.
RAY: So we’re in the heart of downtown Portland, Maine.
JEFF: We are.
RAY: We’re walking along Park Avenue, right next to the Portland Expo Center.
JEFF: Yes, that’s right where we are, Ray.
RAY: The Expo center is a massive building. Behind it is Hadlock Field where they play professional baseball, there’s a football stadium beside that, and a middle school.
JEFF: It’s a massive area that can hold all kinds of events.
RAY: And just to our eat is Deering Oaks Park. It’s a large park with a pond, plenty of trees, another baseball field, and plenty of space. It’s a great area in the heart of Portland.
JEFF: It is. The reason there was so much space to turn this into a recreation area and a park is because this used to be a farm. A poor farm, specifically. And next to that, was an Alms house where those who had nothing could go. We’ve come here to search for John Aitchison. The man, they say, who only spoke twice.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger, welcome, Legendarians, to the New England Legends podcast. Thanks for riding along with us as we chronicle all of the ghosts, monsters, aliens, UFOs, roadside oddities, and all of the other Wicked Strangeness that makes our region unique. Please check out our website to see everything happening with us, like Jeff’s story tour, dates to see my band the Pub Kings, links to buy Jeff’s new book Wicked Strange New England, the 2026 Haunted New England calendar, and more.
JEFF: We’ll explore the haunted Fort Gorges right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR
[CITY SOUNDS]
RAY: So was the Expo Building – which holds the ice arena – the old Alms House?
JEFF: No. This building was constructed in 1914. Before all of this was here, there was the poor farm and alms house.
RAY: We’ve talked about poor farms below. It’s a place where people could go who were broke, down on their luck, or who needed extra help. They were expected to work the farm and help the place be self-sufficient.
JEFF: Exactly. Almost every large community had some version of this. Portland, being a city, also had an Alms house located right next door to the poor farm. The alms house was a place where people went who couldn’t work, and who needed others to take care of them. That could include the elderly, the physically or mentally disabled, or anyone else who had nowhere else to go. It was the responsibility of the community to care for them.
RAY: Here’s a little more background on the city of Portland. There were people here as far back as 11,000 years ago. The Algonquin were the first to live here. Being located in a harbor within Casco Bay, it was a great area for fishing and hunting. Europeans first settled here in 1633 when they established a fishing village. Eventually it was named Falmouth. The area was hard-hit by the King Philip’s War, the King William’s War, and the American Revolution. Falmouth split in 1786 into Falmouth Neck and an area they called Portland. By the nineteenth century, Portland was growing fast. To give you an idea just how fast, in the year 1800, the population was about 3,700 people. A century later it was just over 50,000 people.
JEFF: That’s a big increase. With that many people, they needed to take care of those who couldn’t take care of themselves. A poor farm was first established right here in 1803. Over the next century, many would come and go. Most passed through unnoticed. But there was one man folks talked about quite a bit. They talked about him, ironically, because he didn’t talk… and he refused to work. So let’s head back to the year 1864 and meet him.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s October of 1864 here in Portland, Maine. The country is still in the middle of a brutal Civil War. Considering how many men from this region are far away fighting in the war, it’s clearly on a lot of minds in Portland. There’s hope there will be an end to it soon, but for now, people are trying to go on as best they can. Folks still need to work, kids need to go to school, and Portland must press on.
JEFF: One of those people going to work is 44-year-old John L. Aitchison.
RAY: Aitchison is a promising man. He’s a scholar. He loves to read and even collects books. He’s in the dry goods business with his brother. And though he’s a confirmed bachelor and never married, he’s well traveled in Portland’s social circles. He’s currently renting a room at the Elm House Inn and tavern over on the corner of Temple and Federal Streets.
JEFF: It’s a nice place, too. Aitchison takes his mail at the Elm House. He takes many of his meals there too. It’s a great setup for a bachelor like him.
RAY: One day, a letter arrives for Aitchison at the front desk.
[RIPPING OPEN LETTER]
RAY: No one paid the letter much attention at first. Aitchison opened it in the lobby and began to read.
JEFF: As he’s reading… he’s face suddenly turns serious. Then sad.
[WALKING OFF]
JEFF: And now he’s walking off to his room at the inn.
RAY: I guess the news is serious.
JEFF: It’s the following day, and Aitchison doesn’t show up to work in his store he runs with his brother.
RAY: Maybe he’s sick? A cold or something like that?
JEFF: Maybe… When he doesn’t show up to work the following day, his brother grows concerned. So he pays a visit to the Elm House.
[DOOR OPENS/CLOSES]
JEFF: When he asks about his brother, he learns that John comes down from his room twice per day and sits in his usual seat at the table where he takes his breakfast and later his dinner.
RAY: The Elm House owner tells Aitchison’s brother that he’s not talking much these days. There’s been a change.
JEFF: Days go by, and John Aitchison is showing no sign of changing his behavior. He’s still not going to work, and he’s only leaving his room twice per day to take his meals. Each day he’s saying fewer and fewer words, until eventually he’d only come down for meals, load up his plate with food, then bring it back to his room to eat it in solitude.
RAY: More weeks pass. Nothing has changed for Aitchison. He’s becoming more reclusive by the day. He’s not talking to anyone anymore. He visits the washroom once per week to bathe, and twice a day to get food and return to his room.
JEFF: Months pass, and Aitchison is now out of money. Residing at the Elm House full time isn’t cheap. Now broke, his friends fetch the overseer of the poor farm. Their hope is that being forced to leave the luxury of the Elm House will rattle John into getting back to work and being productive once again.
[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK]
JEFF: They knock on Aitchison’s door at the Elm House.
[DOOR OPENS]
JEFF: Aitchison sees who has come for him. He shrugs, and goes quietly with the overseer to the poor farm.
[HORSE WAGON]
RAY: It’s a short wagon ride over to the poor farm about a mile away. Once at the farm, Aitchison is informed he’s going to need to work the grounds to stay here. That’s when John speaks up for the first time in months.
JOHN: I swear I won’t work.
RAY: And he clearly means it. When the overseer points toward the barn, Aitchison just sits down on a log.
JEFF: When it’s clear working the farm isn’t going to happen, they move John next door to the alms house.
[DOOR SLAMS]
JEFF: And that’s where he remains. He stays in his room all day and night, except to use the bathroom. He comes downstairs three times a day for meals, but brings the food back to his tiny bedroom.
RAY: This behavior goes on for weeks… and then months. Aitchison never ventures outside. When people catch a glimpse of his room it’s neat and tidy. As is his appearance. He keeps himself clean shaven. His eyes are bright. His face looks intelligent. Even curious. Yet he doesn’t read anymore. He just sits in silence.
JEFF: Months turn to years. And all the while Aitchison keeps his silence and his routine. The only words he spoke were on the day they brought him here when he refused to work. He’s kept his word too. He’s never worked. Never been outside since. But then, an officer of the poor house arrives to inspect his room.
[BANG BANG BANG ON DOOR]
JEFF: That’s when Aitchison utters…
JOHN: I am engaged, sir.
JEFF: John Aitchison never spoke again. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: They say silence is golden.
JEFF: They do. But quitting life doesn’t seem like a good thing either.
RAY: No. It doesn’t. Did anyone ever find out what happened that made John Aitchison turn recluse and quit?
JEFF: We don’t know. His story made a lot of newspapers back in 1884 because it was just so strange. Someone who was doing well by all outward appearances, but then everything changed. He left a productive life where he was a business owner and living in a nice place, to literally the poor house where he never worked again.
RAY: That is strange.
JEFF: We’ve said it before. All work is noble. Jobs matter, not just so you can make money, but so you can be part of something bigger. You’re contributing to society in the form of labor, taxes, and spending your earnings where you live. I can’t imagine not having some sort of occupation to keep me busy and feeling all of those good feelings you get from earning a paycheck.
RAY: But this guy just quit all of it. People are thinking it, I’ll just say it. He was a freeloader.
JEFF: I agree. He probably also suffered agoraphobia or some other disorder where he didn’t want to go outside. But he also chose not to talk to anyone for decades. He spiraled into total solitude.
RAY: That makes his story even stranger. This is a guy who literally quit every part of life. He quit working, he quit contributing in any way, and he quit talking to people. It’s one thing to keep your silence… it’s another become a burden.
[OUTTRO]
JEFF: I get it. It’s not a path I’d pick either. And that takes us to After the Legend where we take a deeper dive into this week’s story and sometimes veer off course.
RAY: After the Legend is brought to you by our Patreon Patrons! This group is the best, they help us with all of our production costs, hosting, marketing, and everything else it takes to bring you two podcasts each week. If you could spare $3 bucks per month, it goes a long way in helping our cause. For that you’ll get early ad-free access to new episodes plus bonus episodes and content that no one else gets to hear. Just head over to patreon.com/newenglandlegends to sign up.
To see some pictures related to this week’s story, click on the link in our episode description or go to our website and click on Episode 419.
Got a story you think we should check out? Email us through our website. Most of our story leads come from you! Plus, we love to hear from you, and we love it when you post a review for us, and when you tell your friends about our show. That’s how we grow.
We’d like to thank Marv Anderson for lending his voice acting talents this week. Thank you to our patreon patrons, thanks to our sponsors, and our theme music is by John Judd.
Until next time remember… stay legendary.