The Antichrist has been the boogie man for those who follow the ways of the new God for generations.

Religious zealots have been waiting for him to show up for centuries, expecting him to begin

wreaking the havoc that would eventually destroy the world.

And there have been those who have actively sought him out, and some who would do anything

to destroy him.

Like a woman named Rhoda Wakeman, a prophet and religious leader of the 19th century.

In fact, on the morning of December 24, 1855, Rhoda killed a man who was possessed by the

Antichrist and New Haven, Connecticut.

The man was a member of her own sect, and he participated in his own execution, during

which he was bound and beaten with a stick, had his throat cut, and was stabbed, all to prevent

the Antichrist's malignant spirit from infecting Mrs. Wakeman.

It's a story of murder, prophecy, religious mania, and a death crazed belief that the end

of the world was coming soon.

Welcome to American hauntings, the podcast dedicated to the history, hauntings, and the dark

side of American history.

And welcome to our new season, Woods & Fields Dark & Wicked, which is hosted and produced

by Cody Beck and written and performed by Troy Taylor.

That's me.

We have a long road ahead of us this season, traveling to America's forests, farms and

fields, with tales of witchcraft and hexes, cults and curses, calamities and cannibalism,

massacres and mysterious disappearances, and more magic mayhem, sinners and spirits than

we've ever offered before.

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