Listen With The Lights On

Latest Episodes:

Terror Behind The Walls Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

With more than one hundred thousand guests each year, the 27-year-old tradition of Terror Behind The Walls is scarier than ever. It is a fundraiser for Eastern State Penitentiary, located in the Fairmount neighborhood, in the historic city of Philadelphia, for the nation’s first penitentiary.

https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/lwtlo_esp_final.mp3

(more…)

Fearsome Creatures Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Around the turn of the 20th century, the lumber industry spanned the continental United States, and lumber camps dotted the countryside.

https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/lwtlo_ep042_lumberwoods.mp3

When they weren’t harvesting timber to feed the booming post-Civil War industrialization, working lumberjacks could often be found sitting around campfires together, telling tall tales of creatures that supposedly lurk in the dark woods. (more…)

An Orange County Christmas Sep 27, 2026

Show notes

Every year, during the first weekend in December, a small Hudson Valley town carries out an old tradition. We traveled to Rhinebeck, New York, to see it unfold. The annual Sinterklaas festival is a celebration that’s based the Dutch celebration of St. Nicholas Day. Dutch settlers brought it to the region over 300 years ago. Today it’s a colorful parade featuring costumes and puppets and paper lantern stars that draws crowds of thousands.

https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/LWTLO_Sinterklaas-FINAL.mp3

After dodging roving Grumpuses and decorating crowns and branches along the quaint streets of Rhinebeck- the branches are a modern day twist on the birch rod St Nicholas used to carry – we ran into Master Storyteller Jonathan Kruk. And he was kind enough to bestow us with another seasonal tale. (more…)

The Rose Ghost Jun 03, 2018

Show notes

Stories of ghosts and the afterlife were a popular obsession during the Victorian Era. This was particularly true for the residents of New York’s Hudson Valley. On this episode of Listen with the Lights On, we sat down with Gardiner Town Historian A.J. Shenkman, author of Wicked Ulster County, to discuss another supernatural Victorian Era legend from Ulster County.

https://wamcpodcasts.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/LWTLO_Rose_Shenkman1.mp3

(more…)