Bonus Episode: A Thanksgiving Ghost Story

11/16/18 • 15 min

Historium Unearthia: Unearthing History's Lost and Untold Stories

For years, on Thanksgiving, one former railroad worker from Pennsylvania told his family a chilling tale. Well, they thought it was a tale—a grandiose and macabre account almost certainly rooted in fiction. Yet, as the story traveled through generations, the family would discover that some ghosts lead to the truth; that some of our darkest secrets lie below our feet.

This is a Thanksgiving ghost story...

This is a Thanksgiving ghost story...

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Episode 25: Utah's Forgotten National Park is Rich in History and the Unexplained

In the heart of southeast Utah, water and gravity have sculpted one forgotten national park into a rugged landscape. Rich in human history and natural beauty, this vast and untamed terrain is also an epicenter of legend and lore. Have you ever heard of Canyonlands National Park?

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Credit:

For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Bentenson, Butch Cassidy’s great nephew and author of the book Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; David Weatherly, author, explorer, and investigator of strange phenomenon; and Clyde Denis, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who has explored, researched, and written extensively on the history and terrain of Canyonlands.

Sources:

Canyonlands; National Park Service; Retrieved October 2018.

Canyonlands National Park; Canyonlands Natural History Association; Retrieved October 2018.

Closing the road to Chesler Park: Why access to Canyonlands National Park remains limited; Denis, C.L.; Utah Historical Quarterly. 84: 328-346; 2016.

Canyonlands: The Story Behind the Scenery; Johnson, David; KC Publications; June 1, 1997.

Park History: Canyonlands National Park; National Parks Traveler; Retrieved October 2018.

Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; Bentenson, Bill; High Plains Press; May 1, 2012.

Lost Landscapes: Utah's Ghosts, Mysterious Creatures, and Aliens; Dunning, Linda; Cedar Fort; June 1, 2007.

Hypothesis: The pinnacles of the Chesler Park/graben region of Canyonlands National Park result from paleostream induration and inverted topographical relief; Denis, C.L.; In MacLean; J.S., Biek, R.F., and Huntoon, J.E editors; Geology of Utah’s Far South: Utah Geological Association Publication 43, p. 25-38; 2014.

The origins of Chesler Park: determining late 19th century snowfall records and occupations of inscription writers in Canyonlands N.P.; Denis, C.L.; Canyon Legacy 69, 2-9; 2010.

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Episode 26: This Double-Crossing General Deceived America and Walked Away

After the Revolutionary War, at a pivotal moment when Washington and Spain were fighting for control of North America, one American war hero deflected from honor and signed a secret allegiance with Spain. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "In all our history, there is no more despicable character.” Have you ever heard of James Wilkinson?

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Credit:

A huge thanks to New York Times bestselling author, Andra Watkins, whose new book I Am Number 13 pairs international aid volunteer Emmaline Cagney with the unsettled ghost of James Wilkinson—the former American general who’s stuck in an in-between world called Nowhere. I’m also grateful for the scholarly insight of James Lewis, a professor of history at Kalamazoo College.

Sources:

An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson; Linklater, Andro; Walker Books; September 8, 2010.

Spaniards, Scoundrels, and Statesmen: General James Wilkinson and the Spanish Conspiracy, 1787-1790; Savage, James E; Hanover College; Retrieved November 2018.

James Wilkinson: America's Greatest Scoundrel; Jewett, Tom; Varsity Tutors; Retrieved November 2018.

Tarnished Warrior: Major-General James Wilkinson; Jacobs, James Ripley; Literary Licensing; May 26, 2012.

James Wilkinson; Encyclopedia.com; Retrieved November 2018.