In Episode 455, Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore New Haven Harbor in Connecticut, searching for a haunted schooner named the “Robert P. King.” Back in 1896, the story of the haunted ship made the newspapers. The ship’s Captain, Parker Hall, claimed to hear voices, and said he couldn’t keep a crew on board a haunted ship. However, we uncover Capt. Hall hid a deadly secret.
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CREDITS:
Produced and hosted by: Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger
Edited by: Ray Auger
Guest Voice Actor: Michael Legge
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.
[OCEAN SOUNDS]
RAY: It’s summer and we’re by the harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. I hope we have time for some of that famous New Haven Pizza, Jeff!
JEFF: We’ll make time. Pepe’s, Sally’s, Bar… there’s a lot of great choices in town.
RAY: Mmmm sounds good. Searching for legends always makes me hungry.
JEFF: Amen. This legend is a little different than some of the others we’ve explored.
RAY: How so?
JEFF: Well, we’re looking for a ghost.
RAY: We’ve done that plenty.
JEFF: True. But usually the haunts we’ve hunted are tied to buildings or land.
RAY: Right.
JEFF: Ray, we’ve come to New Haven harbor to search for a haunted ship.
[INTRO]
JEFF: I’m Jeff Belanger.
RAY: And I’m Ray Auger. Welcome to Episode 456 of the New England Legends podcast. Thanks for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England one story at a time. We love when you send us your story leads for ghosts, monsters, UFOs, roadside oddities, and other wicked strangeness that makes our region unique.
JEFF: You can also help by subscribing to our podcast, posting a review, or sharing our episodes with your friends. We don’t have a big podcast network behind us, we work for you. We appreciate the help.
RAY: We’ll go searching for this haunted ship right after this word from our sponsor.
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RAY: Jeff, way back in Episode 43, we explored the Ghost Ship of New Haven Harbor.
JEFF: That’s right! In January of 1647 the Great Ship sailed from New Haven Harbor bound for Europe and was never seen again. In the Spring of that year, the ship appeared as a cloud in the sky that drifted toward shore then dissipated. Locals took it as a sign from God as to the fate of the Great Ship and her crew.
RAY: In that case we’re talking about a ship that was a ghost.
JEFF: Right.
RAY: We’ve also covered the story of the Mary Celeste. That was a real ship that was found sailing itself near the Azores with no passengers or crew.
JEFF: Right. That’s a traditional definition of a ghost ship. A real physical boat seemingly sailing itself. But this story is different than either of those, Ray. We’re talking about a real ship, with a living crew, haunted by a ghost on board.
RAY: A haunted ship, like a haunted house or building.
JEFF: Exactly. So let’s head back to the year 1896, and search for this haunted ship in New Haven Harbor.
[TRANSITION]
RAY: It’s May of 1896 here in New Haven, Connecticut. Grover Cleveland is president of the United States. He’s serving the final year of his second, non-consecutive term. He’s the first president to ever serve two terms in office non-consecutively. O. Vincent Coffin is the governor of Connecticut, and the economy is booming driven by a large influx of immigrants performing all kinds of factory and innovative work. The country is changing fast.
JEFF: Yet shipping and fishing are still significant industries here along the shores of New Haven. The 1890s have been a transitional time for shipping. The industry is mostly switching from sails to steam. Powered vessels are faster, bigger, more efficient, and not at the mercy of the wind. But there are still plenty of sailing ships still around. Like the two-masted schooner called the Robert P. King, which is anchored right now in New Haven Harbor.
RAY: The Robert King is captained by Parker Hall. Hall is a man who was destined for the sea. The 34 year-old captain was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts. The son of a lighthouse keeper, by age 13 he began his seafaring career by ferrying boats. He eventually purchased his own sloop called the Rosewood. He used it to hall gravel from Quincy, Mass, to Blue Hill, Maine. In 1890, he bought the schooner Robert P. King. In 1894, Hall agreed to contract his schooner as a lightship.
JEFF: A lightship is a special vessel that serves as a floating lighthouse. They anchor in dangerous waters and harbor entrances to warn ships at night and in storms. It’s been two years since the Robert P. King has been serving as the lightship for New Haven, and now captain Hall is having trouble keeping a crew on board.
RAY: Why’s that?
JEFF: Because Captain Hall says the ship is haunted.
[OCEAN SOUNDS]
JEFF: Let’s row out to his ship and check it out.
[ROWING ON WATER]
RAY: We’re coming up on the two-masted schooner, Robert P. King.
[WALKING ON WOODEN DECK]
RAY: It looks like a lot of other schooners, except there’s the lighting rig fixed on the deck to serve as the beacon light.
[WALKING DOWNSTAIRS]
[OCEAN NOISES FADE OUT]
RAY: We’re walking by the galley. And….
[ECHOY GHOST VOICE: Captain Parker Jones Hall… CAPTAIN HALLLLLL]
JEFF: Captain Hall, what’s going on with your ship?
HALL: I first had occasion to notice this mystery one day while sitting at the table. I heard some person call out my name. The noise seemed to come from the deck, and I immediately went up there and looked around. There was no one to be found. I had a sailor with me in the cabin at the time, and he also heard the call plainly. Since that time I have often been sitting in the cabin when someone would call my name right out loud. I have rushed up on deck and found no one in sight. This has happened when the weather was calm and when no person was in sight of the vessel. The strange thing about the calling is that it does not always happen in the nighttime.
[ECHOY GHOST VOICE: Helloooooo]
RAY: it doesn’t sound like anyone is overly afraid of whatever this ghost may be.
JEFF: No, it’s more of a curiosity, but you know how sailors are.
RAY: They are a superstitious bunch.
JEFF: Right, and a ghostly reputation wouldn’t help Captain Hall.
HALL: These strange noises caused one of my sailors to leave during the winter. He refused to stay on board the vessel. He said that everything was satisfactory with the exception of the vessel itself. Sometimes the ghost will just call, “Hello.” Two or three times I have been asleep when a voice would call out in loud tones for help. I have invariably rushed on deck to find that all was quiet and no person within reach.
JEFF: Captain Hall said he’s heard haunted stories about his ship for years, but never paid the tales too much mind until he started to experience the voices himself.
HALL: I have had trouble with just about all the crews I ever shipped in the schooner. When we reached port, the men desired to leave the vessel. They all complained that the schooner was not right. They claimed that they heard persons talking when no one was within reach. I have never paid any attention to their statements, but now know there is something to their stories after all.
RAY: Have you ever seen the ghost, Captain Hall?
HALL: Well, no—that is the funny thing about it. I have heard him talk, and all the sailors have also, but no one has ever seen him.
RAY: So we have a haunted ship. The ghost seems harmless enough, but I get it, if you can’t crew a ship because of a ghost, then the ghost is NOT harmless.
JEFF: Right. It does beg the question… who is haunting this ship, and why? According to Captain Hall, the ship had a reputation when he bought it about five years ago.
RAY: I wonder why it’s only recently that Captain Hall began to also hear the voices?
JEFF: (WHISPERING) Ray… can I talk to you over here?
RAY: (WHISPERING) Okay… uhhmm why?
JEFF: (WHISPERING) I don’t want Captain Hall to hear us.
[WALKING ON WOODEN DECK]
RAY: What’s up.
JEFF: Captain Hall hasn’t said anything about this, but I think it’s relevant. Before we came out to his ship, I found this newspaper article.
[PAPER SHUFFLE]
RAY: Okay, this is from the New York Times newspaper. October 18, 1894. So about a year and a half ago.
JEFF: Right.
RAY: The headline says: Acquittal for Capt. Hall. He did not murder one of his crew, the jury says. (GASP) Oh my gosh! It goes on to say: An Affecting scene in court when the accused was made a free man. Capt. Hall testified that he was attacked, and in defense he fired. Charles Duard now to be charged with assault with intent to kill Capt. Hall.
JEFF: Right?!
RAY: So there was a murder? Or at least a killing?
JEFF: Skip ahead to this part…
RAY: Okay… it says quote “The defense said that they would show that upon Capt. Hall’s return to the King—[That would be the Robert P. King – his ship]—on the night of the shooting, he was attacked by the Duard brothers. Haill said while he was standing near the cabin, he was dealt a severe blow across the face, and then he fell backward on the cabin roof. The blow blinded him for a moment, and he was unable to realize what had happened. A fierce struggle followed the unprovoked assault, and the Captain drew his revolver and fired at random.” End quote.
JEFF: Some of those random bullets struck and killed Frank Duard. Frank’s brother Charles continued his fight with Capt. Hall, but then pulled off of him and left the ship. He was later arrested as the police tried to sort out what happened.
RAY: So Capt. Hall shot and killed a man right on this ship a year and a half ago?
JEFF: That’s right.
RAY: And the ship had a haunted reputation before that incident?
JEFF: According to Captain Hall, yes.
RAY: And then Capt. Hall started hearing the ghostly voices too?
JEFF: Right.
RAY: Ohhh man… the plot thickens. I mean, no wonder this ship is haunted!
JEFF: We should get back to Capt. Hall.
[WALKING ON WOODEN DECK]
RAY: Now that I know what happened on this ship, I’m even more creeped out. I don’t think I’d want to serve on this ship either.
JEFF: Let’s give Capt. Hall the last word on this one.
Hall: I do not object to ghosts if they are sociable. This one does not trouble me very much. The sailors, however, say they don’t want to ship on board a vessel where there are five men and only four sit down to the table to eat.
JEFF: And that takes us back to today.
[TRANSITION]
[OCEAN SIDE SOUNDS]
JEFF: Capt. Hall sold the Robert P. King in 1899—three years after the story of the ghost on board made the Meriden Record-Journal newspaper in May of 1896.
RAY: Capt. Hall would go on to own other ships after the Robert P. King. He eventually earned the nickname the Lone Mariner because he preferred to sail solo. He was the only man known to have sailed a 136 ton schooner without a crew.
JEFF: That’s not easy to do, and wouldn’t be allowed anyway because it’s entirely unsafe to sail a ship that big alone. But if you own the ship, who will stop you?
RAY: Exactly. Parker Hall got married in 1905, divorced in 1922, and eventually retired in Sandy Point, Maine.
JEFF: By 1941, the schooner Robert P. King found a new life as a floating dude ranch according to the Portland Press Herald. So people could pay to spend a few days working the schooner and pretend they’re living in the 1800s. The article even quoted former owner Captain Parker Hall talking about the ship being haunting and how he often had to sail it alone because no sailor would step foot on her.
RAY: Captain Hall died in 1948. He was 86 years old.
JEFF: We lose track of what happened to the schooner Robert King after the 1940s. At some point it was likely scrapped.
RAY: The Robert P. King was built in 1847 in Philadelphia. It survived and served for about a century, which is incredible.
JEFF: It is! The ship no doubt saw calm waters, rough seas, storms, and at least one killing on deck that we know about. Though we can gaze out on New Haven harbor today and not see anything but modern ships, there was a time when at least one of those vessels out there on the harbor struck fear into the hearts of sailors. Event the ship’s Captain was spooked believing his ship was haunted… by a ghost.
[OUTTRO]
RAY: That takes us to After the Legend where we sail further into unchartered waters and sometimes veer off course.
JEFF: After the Legends is brought to you by our able-bodied crew, our patreon patrons! They keep our ship on course through even the most treacherous of seas. Is the sailing analogy getting old? Our patrons help us financially with our hosting costs, production, travel, marketing, and all of the other expenses it takes to bring you two stories each week. For just $3 bucks per month they get early ad-free access to new episodes plus bonus episodes and content that no one else gets to hear. To sign up sail over to patreon.com/newenglandlegends to sign up. We’d appreciate it.
To see some pictures related to this week’s story including a picture of Captain Hall, click on the link in our episode description, or go to our website and click on episode 455.
If you’ve got a story lead you think we should check out, please reach out to us anytime through our website. We love hearing from you! Plus on our website you can find an interactive map with links to all of the stories we’ve covered so far in case you want to plan an epic road trip, there’s links to buy Jeff’s books, plus a calendar with dates for Jeff’s story tour plus dates to see my band the pub kings!
We’d like to thank Michael Legge for lending his voice acting talents this week, thank you to our sponsors, our patreon patrons, and our theme music is by John Judd.
Until next time remember… the bizarre is closer than you think!