In this episode, we dive into the lasting folklore of Boston’s sea serpent, a supposedly true tale rooted in the early colonial history of New England. The story begins with a dubious 1639 account, continues through repeated sightings in the early 1800s, and extends into the 20th century. From the beginning, skeptics poked holes in accounts of the serpent, even when the scientific Linnaean Society fell for the story hook, line, and sinker. However, the idea of a sea monster on Massachusetts shores helped transform Nahant into a summer tourist destination, drawing curious visitors eager to spot the serpent and keeping the legend alive for a century.

Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/312/

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The Boston Harbor Sea Serpent

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hoax photo

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George Dexter’s hoax photo
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From Samuel Adams Drake’s book
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From Ballou’s
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• More pics from Ballou’s are coming when the Internet Archive is back online


• New England Legends and Folk-Lore, by Samuel Adams Drake


• An account of two voyages to New-England, by John Josselyn


• Brown, Chandos Michael. “A Natural History of the Gloucester Sea Serpent: Knowledge, Power, and the Culture of Science in Antebellum America.” American Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 3, 1990


• Erickson, Evarts. “When New England Saw The Serpent.” American Heritage, Volume 7, Issue 3, April 1956


• “Report of a committee of the Linnæan society of New England, relative to a large marine animal, supposed to be a serpent, seen near Cape Ann, Massachusetts, in August 1817”


• Fish Experts Study Rare Deep-Sea Oarfish in the Lab


• News Stories
  
  
  
  • The (Greenfield) Recorder, Tue, Aug 06, 1822
  
  
  • New England Farmer, Wed, Jul 03, 1833
  
  
  • Boston Post, Mon, Jul 08, 1833
  
  
  • Boston Post, Tue, Jun 29, 1841
  
  
  • Boston Post, Mon, Jul 05, 1841
  
  
  • The Springfield Daily Republican, Wed, May 24, 1854
  
  
  • Springfield Weekly Republican, Sat, Sep 14, 1839
  
  
  • New England Farmer, Sat, Jul 05, 1851
  
  
  • Boston Evening Transcript, Mon, Aug 16, 1858
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Thu, Nov 15, 1923
  
  
  • The Boston Globe, Thu, Jul 19, 1877
  
  
  • “Sea-Serpent Exposed as Sunning Shark,” Harvard Crimson, November 17, 1970
  
  
  
  


• Past Spooky Episodes
  
  
  
  • Puritan UFOs
  
  
  • Ghost Stories
  
  
  • Boston Witch Trials
  
  
  • <a href="https://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/puritan-count