The birthplace of the New Hampshire Ripper
We’re pretty proud that we gave the world astronauts Alan Shepard and Christa McAuliffe. Also the legendary Old Farmer’s Almanac. It’s braggable to be…
J.W. Ocker
Ocker with the “Muse of Comedy” statue (Nicknamed “Stoneface”) at Saint Anselm College. Photo by Alyssa Doust
J.W. Ocker is originally from Maryland but has lived in New Hampshire for more than a decade.
He is the Lowell Thomas- and Edgar Award-winning author of macabre travelogues, spooky kid’s books, and horror novels. His books include Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe; A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts; Death and Douglas, Twelve Nights at Rotter House and Cursed Objects.
Visit him at oddthingsiveseen.com or send him New Hampshire oddities that he should visit at ockerjw@gmail.com.
The Grumpy Grave of Caroline Cutter
Epitaph levels accusations from the other side
Morphy the Corpse Flower for State Plant
Did you know there's such a thing as a corpse flower? And that one of these rare (and smelly) flowers native to western Sumatra grows in New Hampshire?
A Ramble Among the Wreckage
In 1942, a B-18 crashed in the White Mountains — it's still there.
Mr. Crowley, Do You Like My White House?
This quaint little house in Hebron once hosted the Wickedest Man Alive.
Gravity Free in the Granite State
In Keene and New Boston you can find monuments to the man who held a grudge against gravity. Yes, gravity.
A Witch House in the Wrong State: The New Hampshire Witch House
Why is columnist J.W. Ocker talking about the Massachusetts home where a Salem witch trial judge once lived? Read on to find out the strange connection to New Hampshire.
We’ve Got Bette Davis’s Plaque
Some of the hikes in New Hampshire can take you to some really weird, fascinating stuff. Like ghost towns. And airplane crash sites. Art installations. Carnivorous plants. This one brings you to a plaque in the woods installed by movie star Bette Davis.
Live Free and/or Weird: Heroes in a New Hamp-shell
Did you know that four very famous comic book characters were first doodled at a house in Dover? Here's a hint: They love pizza, fight crime and share names with certain Italian masters of art.
Live Free and/or Weird: A Monster of a Cliff
Frankenstein Cliff, outside the town of Bartlett in Crawford Notch, soars 1,400 feet above sea level, and while that makes it a monster of a cliff, its namesake isn’t the lumbering spawn of a mad scientist, is it? Well, walk this way.
Live Free and/or Weird
Each week, J.W. Ocker will reveal an odd, unknown or quirky fact about our beloved state. First up is the grave of the first American-born magician.
New Hampshire’s Strangest Attractions and Landmarks
Alien abductions. A ghost town. Mysterious stone formations. An empty gorilla cage. Here’s a guide to the state’s most curious locations where weirdness reigns.
