In Episode 442, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger investigate the Connecticut River in Westminster, Vermont, searching for a 100-foot-long monster serpent that’s been witnessed along the river for centuries. One of the earliest sightings led to a religious conversion to a historical figure. Is the beast still out there?
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Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Guest Voice: Lisa Strykowski
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.
[RIVER RUNNING]
RAY: It’s a nice spring day to be standing on the banks of the Connecticut River.
JEFF: It is! We’re in Westminster, Vermont, standing on the shore of the river. It’s a pretty spot.
RAY: Definitely. On the other side of the water across from us is New Hampshire. The Connecticut River is the longest river in New England. It starts in northern New Hampshire right near the Canadian border, then runs 410 miles south through New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, then Connecticut, and out into Long Island sound.
JEFF: A big river. New England’s main artery.
RAY: A lot of water, and a lot of history.
JEFF: A lot of history, a bit of intrigue, and if we’re to believe the stories… this river is also home to… a monster.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger. Welcome to episode 442 of the New England Legends podcast.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. We’re always on the hunt for monsters, ghosts, aliens, UFOs, roadside oddities, and all the other wicked strangeness that makes New England like no other place. So many of our story leads come from you, so please reach out to us anytime through our website where you can also find links to all things Jeff and Ray. Like links to Jeff’s books and zines, links to my online Raydio, and dates to see both Jeff and I live and in person.
JEFF: We’ll go searching for the Connecticut River Monster right after this word from our sponsor.
SPONSOR.
RAY: As we mentioned, we’re in Westminster, Vermont. Chartered in 1735, this is Vermont’s oldest town. In fact, it was also the first capital of the Republic of Vermont. It’s never been a large town as far as population. By the late 1700s, there were about 1,600 people living here. Today it’s just over 3,000.
JEFF: Not a large town, but historic, and located right on the banks of the Connecticut River.
RAY: A river you said that contains a monster?
JEFF: A monster, if we’re to believe the witnesses. A monster so significant and frightening it caused a religious conversion to a well-known historic figure.
RAY: Really?!
JEFF: Really. But this historic figure was not the only witness to the river monster. To watch how it unfolded, let’s head back to the year 1797, and explore the Connecticut River in Westminster.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: I’s April of 1797, and we’re in the town of Westminster, Vermont. Though the town received its charter in 1735, settlers didn’t arrive here until 1751. It’s a quiet farming town, that’s growing in population. The whole region is still getting used to the idea that we’re our own country now. The United States of America.
JEFF: One young town resident is a bit of a celebrity. 12-year-old Fanny Allen, is the eldest daughter of patriot and American Revolutionary War hero, Ethan Allen. Fanny was born in Sunderland, Vermont. After her father died eight years ago, her mother remarried. Fanny moved to Westminster with her mother and stepfather shortly after.
[SPRING SOUNDS]
[RIVER SOUNDS]
JEFF: Fanny Allen is out for a walk by the banks of the Connecticut River. There’s been a lot of rain lately, so the river is running fast and strong. That’s when young Fanny sees something in the water that shakes her to the core.
FANNY ALLEN: The water, although very clear, rolled by in torrents. Suddenly I beheld emerging from the river an animal more resembling a monster than a fish, for it was of extraordinary size and horrid shape. It was coming directly toward me and sent a chill of terror through me. What aggravated my peril was that I could not turn away from this monster. I seemed paralyzed and rooted to the ground. While I was in this torturing situation, I saw advancing toward me a man with a venerable and striking countenance, wearing a brown cloak and carrying a staff in his hand. He took hold of my arm gently and gave me strength to move while he said most kindly to me: “My child, what are you doing here? Hasten away.” I then ran as fast as I could. When I was some distance off, I turned to look at this venerable man, but I could see him nowhere.
RAY: After Fanny came home out of breath, telling her mother everything she just witnessed, her mother sent one of their servants out to find the mysterious man to thank him, but there was no sign of the stranger Fanny described.
JEFF: Years pass, and Fanny never forgot the man who she believed saved her from a monster. Over time, Fanny began to look at her encounter as something divine. The stranger must have been an angel sent by God to deliver her from certain doom. After turning 21, Fanny Allen moved north to Montreal to study French and explore Catholicism. All the while she never forgot the chilling event she witnessed by the Connecticut River. Fanny would go on to become a Catholic nun—something that her father would have never agreed with considering his strong stance against the Church.
RAY: That encounter with a river monster as a child put Fanny on a course no one could have predicted. One that lead her to become a nun. From here we jump ahead almost a century to the year 1886.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s now the spring of 1886. The U.S. Civil War is becoming a distant memory. Here along the banks of the Connecticut River, there’s a different kind of turmoil. Folks are talking about a River Monster
JEFF: They’ve called it a sea serpent because the descriptions match some of the giant snake-like creatures that have been reported in Casco Bay, Maine, in Gloucester, Massachusetts…
RAY: (INTERRUPTING) And even Champ in Lake Champlain!
JEFF: Good point! Sightings have happened in salt water and fresh water. But this particular giant, elusive serpent makes the Connecticut River home. Recently, sightings have been growing more frequent.
RAY: It’s not uncommon to see people setting out chairs by the river to watch for the monster. The stories are circulating. Some folks scoff at the idea, others believe, many more are on the fence about it. But everyone can’t help but stare a little longer at the river whenever they’re nearby.
JEFF: It’s not just the rumor mill, either. Even the New York Times is taking an interest in the story. Go ahead and give this recent article a read, Ray.
[SHUFFLES PAPER]
RAY: Okay, it says quote, “All along the banks of the Connecticut River people eagerly watched for a glimpse of the great sea serpent. Out of the froth rose a big black head as large as a flour barrel and with eyes as big as small plates. The head kept rising higher and higher until 10 feet of the neck appeared. The men didn’t stop to make a long or thorough examination, but they feel sure that the sea serpent must have been a clear hundred feet long.”
JEFF: Can you imagine that?!
RAY: Wow. It does sound like a monster. Do you think that’s what Fanny Allen witnessed almost a century ago?
JEFF: The description sounds similar, doesn’t it?
RAY: It does. That New York Times article mentions other Connecticut River Monsters sightings too. Back in 1878 the assistant engineer on a steamer called State of New York, claimed he saw a monster raise his head several feet above the water. When the monster dove, the engineer said the body formed an arc under which you could drive a team of oxen.
JEFF: In 1881, a yacht called A.M. Bliss was returning from a fishing cruise when passengers saw a giant sea serpent snaking its way along calm waters.
[RIVER RUNNING]
RAY: And now in 1886, sightings of the Connecticut River Monster are getting frequent enough that watching for it on the banks of the river is becoming a leisure-time activity.
JEFF: That’s the thing, isn’t it? You read these stories in the newspaper, you hear neighbors and friends say they know someone who knows someone who saw the monster, and pretty soon we’re all watching the waters. Folks estimate the serpent is over 100 feet long with the strange head of a monster. It’s been sighted and made it in enough print that locals can’t help but keep a cautious eye on the river. And that brings us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
JEFF: In 1894, the Hartford Courant newspaper quoted an East Deerfield, Connecticut, farmer named Austin Rice as spotting a giant serpent in the river near his farm on the banks of the Connecticut River.
RAY: Back in 1995, in White River Junction, Vermont – just about 45 miles north of Westminster, where the Connecticut and White Rivers meet, the Main Street museum issued a press release about a strange monster frolicking near where the two rivers meet. They claimed it to be a cousin of Champ of Lake Champlain. They have the odd skeleton on display in their museum. Although, to be fair, this skeleton looks like a large fish, not a 100-foot snake.
JEFF: The Connecticut River is still a mighty artery moving through New England. It’s possible that back in the 1800s when there were more fish and cleaner waters, there may have been enough food to support a giant serpent. And if those food supplies have dwindled, maybe an animal that large moved on to greener aquatic pastures somewhere else, or they died off. Still, we can’t help but stare at the rolling waters and keep an extra eye pealed in case today is the day the Connecticut River Monster returns.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: And you have just returned to After the Legend where we take a deeper dive into this week’s story and sometimes veer off course.
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To see some pictures related to this week’s story, click on the link in our episode description, or head to our website and click on Episode 442.
You already subscribe to our podcast, right? You should! It’s free wherever you find your podcasts. We have new episodes every Thursday, and From the Vault every Monday. We keep it short and sweet, and love when you share your story ideas. We’re a big community of legend seekers always searching for the strange and unusual. Also please tell a few friends about our show. That’s how we grow.
We’d like to thank Lisa Strykowski for lending her voice acting talent this week. Thank you to our patreon patrons, thanks to our sponsors, and our theme music is by John Judd.
Until next time remember… the bizarre is closer than you think.