FtV - The Monster and Curse of Saco River

New England Legends Podcast

Jeff Belanger

History, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 143 – Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger head to an island on the Saco River in Biddeford, Maine. This site is ground-zero for an alleged atrocity that took place in 1675, when three British sailors tossed a Sokokis Indian baby into the river to see if he could swim. The baby's pregnant mother dove in to try and save him, but also drowned in her frantic attempt. These British sailors didn't know it at the time, but this woman was the wife of Chief Squando, a powerful sorcerer. And the children were his. Squando placed a powerful curse on the river that gave rise to a legend and monster that took countless lives in the Saco River. This episode first aired April 4, 2019

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome, legendary listeners.
0:02.0	Thanks for tuning in to From the Vault, a second look at some of our classic episodes.
0:06.5	Look for a new episode every week.
0:08.2	Now, can you go back and listen on your own at our New England Legends.com?
0:11.9	You bet.
0:12.6	But you won't get the added bonus of an after-the-legent segment featuring new commentary about that episode from your old pals Jeff and Ray.
0:21.0	So let's open up the New England Legends Vault and revisit another legendary episode.
0:27.2	Hey, kids, welcome to the Vault.
0:29.0	So glad to have you here in the vault, where we're going to go back and look for the monster
0:32.7	and curse of the Saco River.
0:35.1	First aired April 4th, 2019. Enjoy.
0:42.8	Oh, Jeff, it's such a nice spring day for a stroll here by the Saco River. First aired April 4th, 2019. Enjoy. Oh, Jeff, it's such a nice spring day for a stroll here by the Saco River in Bitterford, Maine.
0:48.4	It is. Even though we're pretty much in the heart of downtown, the river's just a gorgeous natural distraction.
0:53.8	Love it. All right. Where are we heading? Well, we're going to walk across the bridge here to Factory Island right in the middle of the river.
0:55.2	Okay. And what are we looking for? Well, they say this to walk across the bridge here to Factory Island right in the middle of the river. Okay, and what are we looking for?
1:00.2	Well, they say this river is cursed, and it's now home to a monster.
1:04.2	Hi, I'm Jeff Belanger.
1:08.2	And I'm Ray Osier, and welcome to episode 85 of the New England Legends podcast.
2:03.2	If you give us about 10 minutes, we'll give you something strange to talk about today. We are so glad you're joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England, one week and one story at a time. We sure are. And we couldn't do that without our Patreon patrons who are keeping our episodes commercial free. Woo-hoo! If you want to become a bigger part of this movement, head over to patreon.com slash New England Legends. And for as little as three bucks per month, that's like what? One fancy coffee? Yeah. Yeah, right. You get early access to new episodes plus bonus episodes that no one else gets to hear. And we love when you guys get involved. We do. Whether you join our super secret Facebook group or when you reach out... It's a secret. Or you reach out through our website. I thought you were having an issue right there. No. Our New England Legends.com. That's the website. Or you can call or text our legend line anytime 617-444-9683. Keep in touch. And please tell a friend about our show. We do appreciate that when you do. So thank you. Okay, so Ray, keep your eyes peeled for a white monkey river
2:09.4	monster. Wait a minute. A white monkey? Yeah. All right. In downtown Biddeford-Main.
2:14.6	Right. Okay. Maybe we should set this up. I think that might be the same thing to be.
2:21.0	The year is 1675 here on Saco Island.
	...

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