Listen With The Lights On

WAMC

4.5 (38)
SOCIETY & CULTURE

Why do legend and lore fascinate us? Be they tales of ghosts that haunt our towns, myths of creatures that roam our forests or sightings of the unexplained in our skies, these stories have the power to both unite and enthrall people around the world. Listen with the Lights On is a deep dive into the mysterious, the occult and the unknown, and how it connects us.

06/03/2018

The Rose Ghost

Stories of ghosts and the afterlife were a popular obsession during the Victorian Era. This was particularly true for the residents of New York’s Hudson Valley. On this episode of Listen with the Lights On, we sat down with Gardiner Town Historian A.J. Shenkman, author of Wicked Ulster County, to discuss another supernatural Victorian Era legend from Ulster County. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/LWTLO_Rose_Shenkman1.mp3 (more…)The post The Rose Ghost appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

10 min
12/20/2017

An Orange County Christmas

Every year, during the first weekend in December, a small Hudson Valley town carries out an old tradition. We traveled to Rhinebeck, New York, to see it unfold. The annual Sinterklaas festival is a celebration that’s based the Dutch celebration of St. Nicholas Day. Dutch settlers brought it to the region over 300 years ago. Today it’s a colorful parade featuring costumes and puppets and paper lantern stars that draws crowds of thousands. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/LWTLO_Sinterklaas-FINAL.mp3 After dodging roving Grumpuses and decorating crowns and branches along the quaint streets of Rhinebeck- the branches are a modern day twist on the birch rod St Nicholas used to carry – we ran into Master Storyteller Jonathan Kruk. And he was kind enough to bestow us with another seasonal tale. (more…)The post An Orange County Christmas appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

13 min
11/19/2017

Fearsome Creatures

Around the turn of the 20th century, the lumber industry spanned the continental United States, and lumber camps dotted the countryside. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/lwtlo_ep042_lumberwoods.mp3 When they weren’t harvesting timber to feed the booming post-Civil War industrialization, working lumberjacks could often be found sitting around campfires together, telling tall tales of creatures that supposedly lurk in the dark woods. (more…)The post Fearsome Creatures appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

10 min
10/26/2017

Terror Behind The Walls

With more than one hundred thousand guests each year, the 27-year-old tradition of Terror Behind The Walls is scarier than ever. It is a fundraiser for Eastern State Penitentiary, located in the Fairmount neighborhood, in the historic city of Philadelphia, for the nation’s first penitentiary. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lwtlo_esp_final.mp3 (more…)The post Terror Behind The Walls appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

15 min
10/22/2017

Theatre Ghosts: Proctors

Every theater has a story to tell. And not just onstage. Theater legends abound worldwide, from ghosts in the wings to phantoms of the opera. In this episode of Listen with the Lights On, we step into the historic Proctors Theater in Schenectady, New York. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lwtlo_ep_039_proctors_web.mp3The post Theatre Ghosts: Proctors appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

21 min
10/18/2017

Tales From The Tavern: Live From The Olde English Pub

The Original Albany Ghost Tour founders Maeve McEneny Johnson and Paul Nooney join us at the Olde English Pub in Albany for a seasonally appropriate discussion of Albany legends and lore. We touch on the Shadow People of the Lincoln Park Gully, the ghosts of area theaters and get a surprise story from an audience member who grew up in a certain legendary local house that has been featured on a previous episode of Listen with the Lights On. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lwtlo_live_oldeenglishpub3_NEW.mp3The post Tales From The Tavern: Live From The Olde English Pub appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

1 hr
10/08/2017

Theatre Ghosts: Cohoes Music Hall

Every theater has a story to tell. And not just onstage. Theater legends abound worldwide, from ghosts in the wings to phantoms of the opera. In this episode, we step into the Cohoes Music Hall. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LWTLO_Ep038_Web.mp3 Built in 1874, it’s the fourth oldest operational Music Hall in the country. The 475-seat theater stands in the heart of the Spindle City’s historical district. In it’s early days, it played host to many a famous Vaudevillian. Today, it hosts a wide variety of performances, from traditional theater to rock concerts and movie screenings. It’s an intimate space, featuring old-fashioned cushioned benches as well as traditional theater seats. The walls are adorned with much of its original gilded décor, or facsimiles of what was originally there. It’s also supposedly home to one of it’s original performers, famous early 20th century Vaudeville actress Eva Tanguay. We met up with the Music Hall’s event coordinator, Hannah Milkins, who told us more about Eva and the theater. The post Theatre Ghosts: Cohoes Music Hall appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

16 min
10/01/2017

Promises To The Dead

Hearing a good scary story can send shivers up your spine. And when it’s billed as a true story, the chills can be even more intense. We talked to novelist and writing instructor Barbara Chepaitis during a previous episode of Listen with the Lights On, in which we discussed the elements that make a story scary. She returns to the podcast now to share a terrifying tale that she experienced firsthand. https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/LWTLO_Ep037_Chepaitis.mp3The post Promises To The Dead appeared first on WAMC Podcasts.

15 min

See All (44)

4.5

out of 5

38 Ratings

Like the local stories

Jun 23

PFK1968

Such a great podcast for NY legends and stories. Just too bad it ended in 2018.
A Favorite

01/01/2021

Rogue Medievalist

I enjoy this podcast tremendously! It’s entertaining and educational, and I so enjoy hearing both the folklore and the stories of the paranormal from the Hudson Valley. I wish WAMC would bring this show back into production!
Local lore buff

10/25/2017

Koshaugh57

I so enjoy local stories, especially ghost stories!
Incompetent on so many levels

03/24/2019

9mmmedia

This is quite literally one of the worst podcasts I have ever heard. Imagine four or five people in a room that is not built for capturing sound. One or two of them have a microphone, the others do not. The microphones that are being used sound like they were purchased in the bargain bin at KMart, bearing muffled, distorted sound that continually fluctuates in amplitude. So one person is speaking and you can barely hear them then suddenly some dude who has a microphone two inches from his lips pipes in and it’s loud as hell. Now, imagine this technical incompetence transferred to the quality of the content being produced. It amounts to a group of people sitting around a room laughing and joking about material that is so trite and off topic that at times you’re having to double check the title and description to make sure you’ve got the right podcast selected. These people are so self-unaware of the topic, it sounds like they’re a bunch of middle aged nerds having a dinner party chuckling and giggling over silly chit chat about their boring upper class lives. If you’re interested in scary, creepy or something with ambience, avoid these incompetent jokesters at all cost.

Why do legend and lore fascinate us? Be they tales of ghosts that haunt our towns, myths of creatures that roam our forests or sightings of the unexplained in our skies, these stories have the power to both unite and enthrall people around the world. Listen with the Lights On is a deep dive into the mysterious, the occult and the unknown, and how it connects us.