Episode 218: Notorious (ad-free)

Some of the darkest folklore in America is hidden right inside many of the place names that are dotted across the landscape—and one special location that defies the norm.

Written and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with research by Cassandra de Alba and music by Chad Lawson.

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Further Reading

1. “Codex Gigas (The Devil's Bible),” Atlas Obscura, August 2022, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/codex-gigas-the-devil-s-bible.
2. Agnew, Aileen. “The Devil and the Wilderness.” Maine History Online. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/772/page/1181/display
3. Alexander, Kathy. “Stull, Kansas.” Legends of America, October 2020. https://legendsofkansas.com/stull-kansas/
4. Anderson, Brian. “The Hell Portal Where NASA's Rocket King Hung Out With L. Ron Hubbard.” Vice, October 28, 2012. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qqqkx/hunting-the-hell-portal-where-the-founder-of-nasa-s-jpl-divined-cosmic-rockets-with-l-ron
5. Aschaiek, Sharon. “Demons within: U of T researcher writes about spiritual life in France's North American colony.” University of Toronto News, October 29, 2021. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/demons-within-u-t-researcher-writes-about-spiritual-life-france-s-north-american-colony
6. Barber, John Warner. Connecticut Historical Collections, Containing a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, Etc., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Connecticut, with Geographical Descriptions (Durrie & Peck, 1849). https://books.google.com/books?id=aOxHAQAAMAAJ
7. Berman, Tosh. “Remembering Cameron and the late bohemian world of L.A.” Please Kill Me, September 2, 2020. https://pleasekillme.com/marjorie-cameron/
8. Blair. “Top 10 Most Haunted Woods and Parks in the Midwest.” Mysterious Heartland. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://mysteriousheartland.com/top-10-most-haunted-woods-and-parks-in-the-midwest/
9. Bogdan, Henrik. “The Babalon Working 1946: L. Ron Hubbard, John Whiteside Parsons, and the Practice of Enochian Magic.” Numen, 63(1), 2016. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24644838
10. Cave, Alfred A. “New England Puritan Misperceptions of Native American Shamanism.” International Social Science Review, 63(1), Winter 1992. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41882032
11. Davis, Erik. “Babalon Laughing: Jack Parsons, Rocketry, and the ‘Method of Science.’” In Magic in the Modern World: Strategies of Repression and Legitimization, ed. Edward Bever and Randall Styers (Penn State University Press, 2017). https://www.academia.edu/35960422/Davis_Babalon_pdf
12. “Devil Places.” Spooky Geology, July 30, 2018. https://spookygeology.com/devil-places/
13. “Devils, Demons, and Spirits.” Encyclopedia.com. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/legal-and-political-magazines/devils-demons-and-spirits
14. “Devil’s Gate.” Atlas Obscura. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/devil-s-gate
15. “Devil’s Gate.” WyoHistory.org, January 2, 2015. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/devils-gate
16. “Devil’s Gate: Pasadena’s Personal Portal to Hell.” California Curiosities. Accessed May 30, 2022. http://www.californiacuriosities.com/devils-gate/
17. “Devil’s Gate (Wyoming).” Atlas Obscura. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/devil-s-gate-wyoming
18. “Devil’s Gulch.” Geocaching. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC238DZ_devils-gulch?guid=51d0c295-df54-40bd-9f4f-9f1042fe9833
19. “Devil's Gulch: Jesse James Jumped Here.” Roadside America. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/17917
20. “Devils Tower.” National Park Service. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
21. “Devils Tower.” Roadside America. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/42055
22. Donnelly, Claire. “How Curious: What Is The Spooklight?” KGOU, October 15, 2018. https://www.kgou.org/oklahoma-news/2018-10-15/how-curious-what-is-the-spooklight
23. Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz (eds). American Indian Myths and Legends (Pantheon Books, 1984). https://www.gusd.net/cms/lib/CA01000648/Centricity/Domain/2027/AmericanIndianMythsAndLegends.pdf
24. Fanebust, Wayne. “Where Myth Meets the West: The James Brothers Escape Through Dakota.” Conference paper, 47th annual Dakota Conference, 2015. https://www.augie.edu/sites/default/files/u78/2015DakConfPapers.pdf
25. Faye, Shon. “Why did Satan start to possess girls on screen in the 70s?” Dazed, July 19, 2016. https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/32103/1/why-did-satan-start-to-possess-girls-on-screen-in-the-70s
26. Ferguson, Kevin. “Obscura Society brings you face to face with Los Angeles' weird history.” KPCC Off-Ramp, February 21, 2014. https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/offramp/2014/02/21/36140/obscura-society-brings-you-face-to-face-with-los-a/
27. Gelo, Daniel J. Indians of the Great Plains (Taylor & Francis, 2016). https://www.google.com/books/edition/Indians_of_the_Great_Plains/w8SlDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
28. Gencarella, Stephen. Spooky Trails and Tall Tales Connecticut: Hiking the State's Legends, Hauntings, and History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). https://books.google.com/books?id=EwqiDwAAQBAJ
29. Gintowt, Richard. “Hell hath no fury.” Lawrence.com, October 26, 2004. http://www.lawrence.com/news/2004/oct/26/stull/
30. Hallberg, Mary. “The truth about Stull Cemetery.” Mary Hallberg. July 11, 2020. https://www.maryhallbergmedia.com/post/the-truth-about-stull-cemetery
31. Heitz, Lisa Hefner. Haunted Kansas: Ghost stories and other eerie tales (University Press of Kansas, 1997). https://archive.org/details/hauntedkansasgho0000heit/
32. Horjus, Maureen. Haunted Hikes: Real Life Stories of Paranormal Activity in the Woods (Falcon Guides, 2017). https://www.google.com/books/edition/Haunted_Hikes/SQ8oDwAAQBAJ
33. Huffstetler, Edward W. Tales of Native America (MetroBooks, 1996). https://archive.org/details/talesofnativeame00huff
34. Hunhoff, Bernie. “Did Jesse Jump Devil’s Gulch?” South Dakota Magazine, July/August 1994. https://www.southdakotamagazine.com/devils-gulch
35. “Indian Ford New Hartford Beauty Spot.” Hartford Courant, June 17, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image/369445140/
36. “Is the Arroyo Seco’s Devil’s Gate the seventh portal to hell?” Arroyo Monthly, July 1, 2017. https://arroyomonthly.com/is-the-arroyo-secos-devils-gate-the-seventh-portal-to-hell/
37. Kastner, Marianne Sue. “Iktomi: A Character Traits Analysis of a Dakota Culture Myth.” Doctoral dissertation, Portland State University, 2012. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1895&context=open_access_etds
38. Kelley, Kevin J. “What's in a Name? Mysterious, Devilish and Kinky Monikers in Vermont.” Seven Days, August 28, 2013. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/whats-in-a-name-mysterious-devilish-and-kinky-monikers-in-vermont/Content?oid=2265873
39. La Puma, Joe. “Ariana Grande: ‘Shadow of a Doubt.’” Complex, November 5, 2013. https://www.complex.com/music/2013/11/ariana-grande-interview-shadow-of-a-doubt-2013-cover-story
40. Loewen, James W. Lies across America: What our historic sites get wrong (Simon & Schuster, 2000). https://archive.org/details/liesacrossameric00loew/
41. Lukpat, Alyssa. “Here’s a little known Halloween fact: Satan’s Kingdom is in Massachusetts.” The Boston Globe, October 29, 2019. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/29/here-little-known-halloween-fact-satans-kingdom-massachusetts/QLcVnsPqDjz0hAKKnsX7yN/story.html
42. Mark, Joshua J. “Religion & Superstition in Colonial America.” World History Encyclopedia, April 9, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1725/religion--superstition-in-colonial-america/
43. Mays, Kevin. “Picturing history: Devil’s Gate, Natrona County, Wyoming.” Deseret News, July 10, 2019. https://www.deseret.com/2019/7/10/8936029/picturing-history-devil-s-gate-natrona-county-wyoming
44. “New England Notes – No. 7.” The Paterson Daily Press, September 16, 1873. https://books.google.com/books?id=3EVVAAAAIBAJ
45. Newitz, Annalee. “The strangely true connection between Scientology, the Jet Propulsion Lab, and Occult Sorcery.” Gizmodo, January 24, 2013. https://gizmodo.com/the-strangely-true-connection-between-scientology-the-5978746
46. Owens, Jay. “Atomic California.” Roads and Kingdoms, October 19, 2015. https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/atomic-california/
47. Parsons, Jack. “The Collected Writings of Jack Parsons.” Sacred Texts. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib49.htm
48. Pendle, George. “Strange Angels.” Frieze, March 4, 2002. https://www.frieze.com/article/strange-angels
49. Philips, David E. Legendary Connecticut (Curbstone Press, 1992). https://archive.org/details/legendaryconnect00phil/
50. “Police, not devil, to greet people at Stull Cemetery.” The Iola Register, October 31, 1989. https://www.newspapers.com/image/636336794/
51. Randle, Kevin. “The Joplin Spooklight.” A Different Perspective, September 17, 2006. http://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2006/09/joplin-spooklight.html
52. Rasmussen, Cecilia. “Life as Satanist Propelled Rocketeer.” Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2000. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-19-me-10501-story.html
53. Rea, Tom. Devil's Gate: Owning the Land, Owning the Story (University of Oklahoma Press, 2012). https://books.google.com/books?id=QjVN80kxqHoC
54. Reid, Hiram Alvin. History of Pasadena: Comprising an Account of the Native Indian, the Early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the Colony, and the Incorporated City, Occupancies of the Rancho San Pasqual, and Its Adjacent Mountains, Canyons, Waterfalls and Other Objects of Interest: Being a Complete and Comprehensive Histo-cyclopedia of All Matters Pertaining to this Region (Pasadena History Company, 1895). https://books.google.com/books?id=uRU1AQAAMAAJ
55. “Satan's Kingdom State Recreation Area.” Atlas Obscura. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/satans-kingdom
56. Solon, Olivia. “Occultist father of rocketry 'written out' of Nasa's history.” Wired, April 23, 2014. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jpl-jack-parsons
57. “Strange Disappearances at the Cursed Devil’s Gate Reservoir.” Weird U.S. Accessed May 30, 2022. http://www.weirdus.com/states/california/unexplained_phenomena/devils_gate_reservoir/index.php
58. “Stull Cemetery Church Reduced to Rubble.” Lawrence Journal-World, March 30, 2002. http://genealogytrails.com/kan/douglas/stullchurch.html
59. “Stull, Kansas: Gateway to Hell.” Weird U.S. Accessed May 30, 2022. http://www.weirdus.com/states/kansas/stories/gateway_to_hell/
60. “Stull – Property Owner Ordered Razing of Abandoned Church.” Lawrence Journal-World, March 31, 2002. http://genealogytrails.com/kan/douglas/stullchurch.html
61. Thomas, Justus. “Places Named After Satan in the US.” Reddit. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/a1yxr6/oc_places_named_after_satan_in_the_us_posted_an/
62. “Town tires of cemetery myth.” The Iola Register, October 30, 2000. https://www.newspapers.com/image/636449021/
63. W., Victoria. “Some Believe The Devil’s Gate In California Could Be A Portal To Hell.” Only In Your State, August 22, 2016. https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/southern-california/devils-gate-ca/
64. Wood, Steve. “Satan’s Kingdom, New Hartford.” CTMQ. Accessed May 30, 2022. https://www.ctmq.org/1-satans-kingdom