From phantom ship sightings to the elusive origin or Maine's official state cat, New England Myths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the region's most fascinating and compelling stories. Since its first recorded discovery in the 1600s, a 40-ton rock covered with enigmatic etchings has confounded scientists and historians. Were the carvings created thousands of years ago by Phoenician explorers? Or are they Native American records of a fifteenth-century visit from Chinese explorers? As deadly diseases devastated families in the 1700s and 1800s, folklore recommended exhuming the dead to save the living. How many were desperate enough to desecrate relatives' remains in hopes of a cure? Could this grisly superstition have had a kind of placebo effect? Captain William Kidd returned from three years at see with a fabulous treasure, but also faced possible charges of piracy. Before sailing into Boston to confront his accusers, did he conceal his riches somewhere along the New England coast? Does his ghost continue to stand guard over the undiscovered loot? Book jacket.